Tag Archive for: bible

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The Fruit of Generosity

If you are like me, when you hear the word “generosity,” you immediately think of someone giving a significant gift like money. But have you ever considered that being generous might also mean giving someone the benefit of the doubt?

Think about it. Instead of jumping to the worst possible conclusions, you might consider that they are doing the best they can. Before jumping to conclusions, consider what they might be experiencing within themselves, their families, or their life situation?

Brené Brown, in her book, Dare to Lead, writes that generosity is giving others the benefit of the doubt and generously interesting their motives.

As a follower of Jesus, living a holy life, filled with God’s love, generosity is a fruit you produce. Paul gives a description of the soil for cultivating the fruit of generosity.

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18

Make sure no one repays a wrong with a wrong, but always pursue the good for each other and everyone else. Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Reflect on 1 Thessalonians 5

In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes about how to treat difficult people and then moves to how to cultivate an inner posture of joy, prayer, and gratitude.

He begins with relationships. When someone hurts you. Often your immediate response is retaliation. “You hurt me, so I’ll hurt you.” Paul says that as a follower of Jesus, you are to break that cycle. He doesn’t say “Don’t retaliate.” He says, “Always seek to do good.”

The point is that you don’t simply avoid revenge; you look for ways to bless, heal, reconcile, and serve others, even when they don’t deserve it. To seek the good of others is to love them. You love them even if they hurt you. You always seek to do good to those who mistreat you.

Then he says, “rejoice always.” Your deepest joy isn’t determined by whether life is going well. Your joy comes from knowing that God is always with you. You can experience sadness, brief disappointment, and even anger while still possessing a deeper joy. Joy is not the denial of pain and disappointment. Joy is rooted in the confidence of God’s presence in the midst of the pain and disappointment.

Then comes the direction to “Pray continually.” Paul instructs his readers to develop a life in which conversation with God becomes woven into everything you do. You live in the ongoing awareness of God. Prayer becomes a posture, a way of living, a way to approach every situation and circumstance.

Then, give thanks in all situations and circumstances. Paul doesn’t say to “give thanks for all circumstances.” He says, “to give thanks in all circumstances.” You don’t have to be thankful for grief, injustice, betrayal, or suffering. But even in those circumstances, you can find reason to say, “God, I am grateful that you are with me in the midst of this.

Gratitude changes the way you see your circumstances. It might change the situation, but it allows for the opportunity to acknowledge that God is with you, and nothing can separate you from God.

Paul provides fertile soil of generosity. Rooted in generosity, you respond with goodness rather than retaliate. You cultivate joy, remain connected to God, and practice gratitude when you cultivate generosity. This is a life shaped by the character of Jesus.

Respond to 1 Thessalonians 5 

How will you be generous today?

Brené Brown defines being generous as extending the “most generous interpretation possible” to the intentions, words, and actions of others. Giving others the benefit of the doubt and generously interpreting their motives.

Maybe you can think of this way.

What’s Your Most Generous Interpretation?

I read recently of a mother who was teaching her two children what they might expect in a new school environment. She had taught them to be kind and genuine and how to navigate the complexities of the new school.

At the end of one school day, her oldest daughter began to explain about the most recent incident of bullying, hurt feelings, and distress. Although the mother had taught her children to use their words, seek adult support, and defend themselves, the “lessons were lost in the heat of this moment.” She declared, “Why didn’t you simply put the girl in her place?” Her words were a direct command to end bullying once and for all.

Her youngest child replied, “Mom, something hard must be going on in her life. Maybe we should pray for her.” The words coming from her first-grader stung, and the mother immediately regretted what she had said.


The decision not to repay a wrong with a wrong is a way of living that results from our desire to express gratitude rather than fear. It is a lifestyle that includes an attitude of kindness and generosity even in the face of unfairness. It requires continually cultivating holy habits that foster a better world for everyone.


It is difficult to be a positive witness of God’s love without aligning your words and actions. Nothing will be solved by repaying wrong actions with wrong actions. When we see and experience wrongs, choose a different path. The path of generosity reflects the love you have received in and through Jesus.


What kind of community would exist if we truly cared about each other? How different would our world be if we were generous with the people around us, in the decisions we make, and in the actions we take?

In a world where bullying, meanness, selfishness, and greed exist, choose to respond from a place of generosity and actively work for the good of everyone. Generosity requires us to live like Jesus, in a Christlike manner, which is often counter to the world’s view.

So, how will you be generous today?

Return 

Give thanks for the people you encountered today. In what ways were you generous with them? In what ways did you assist others in being generous?  With whom do you need to celebrate the generosity you have experienced in and through them? What will you do differently tomorrow?

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Begin to Engage Your Community – Part One – Preparation

As a follower of Jesus, in a rapidly changing world, you have the responsibility to lead and model God’s mission. By centering on God’s mission, engaging with the community, and embracing our context, you can lead with purpose and authenticity. You have the opportunity to lead our church in reclaiming its role as a vibrant and relevant force in the lives of the people in your community and beyond. 

Engaging in Mission

You have been preparing for mission. The time has come to engage in the mission for which you have been preparing.  David Bosch wrote, “Mission is seen as a movement from God to the world; the church is viewed as an instrument for that mission. There is the church because there is a mission, not vice versa. To participate in mission is to participate in the movement of God’s love toward people; since God is a fountain of sending love.” 

The time has come to move into the community with God’s love. But before you move too quickly, take a quick overview of the mission in which you are engaged.  (For a more in depth overview go to Preparing for Mission: Building on HOPE) .  

Read Matthew 28:19

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19).

Reflect on Matthew 28:19

People are sent out into the community to live the life of love as they have experienced in and through you and other followers of Jesus. As they experience hospitality, they extend hospitality. As they are immersed in God’s love, they invite others to be immersed in God’s love. As they practice loving as they have been loved they are inviting others to experience and to practice God’s love. 

Remember, you are sent out by Jesus. “Go” literally means “as you go.”  Wherever you are, you are set apart to live the life of love as experienced in and through Jesus.  

You are sent out to “make disciples.” A disciple is a student or follower. You have been invited, called, and commissioned to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus. This is important. You have not chosen Jesus. Jesus has chosen you. You are a follower of Jesus for the purpose of loving others as you have been loved. 

Making Disciples

Now, some people misread the word “make” as coercion, but that is not what Matthew means by “make.” Matthew is concerned about developing healthy relationships. So, how do you make disciples? You make disciples, followers, and students of Jesus, the same way Jesus did. You love people. You bless them, help them, and care for them. Just as with Jesus, (agape) the well-being of people becomes your priority.  

You practice the love of Jesus so you might become like Jesus. When you read the Gospel of John, you discover that the followers of Jesus are known by the way they love one another. So, to “make disciples” means to love people as you have been loved.  It is to engage in the love of God in the places you live, work, play, and associate with people. 

Making Disciples Begins with Love

The greatest part of loving others as you have been loved is, you are not left alone to love others.  The Risen Christ is with you.  God does not leave you to fend for yourself. The very birth of Jesus is announced as “and they shall name him Emmanuel which means, ‘God is with us.’” The mission of making disciples is God’s mission. You have been invited to participate in God’s mission.  If God calls you, God will equip you. When God calls and equips, God will be with you, even to the end. 

With that review, you are now ready to move forward with the mission clearly in focus. 

“Go therefore and make disciples…” 

Seven Missional Questions

To help engage in mission, below are seven questions to answer:

1.      Where have you witnessed God’s presence in your community? (God’s Presence)

To help lay a foundation for mission and assist in developing a clear focus, consider asking this question at the beginning of every meeting. Have every group that meets engage in answering this question. It is one of two foundational questions that contribute to congregational health. People who follow Jesus should be able to articulate God’s movement in their lives. The question can be asked in different ways. For example, “Where did you experience the light of Christ today? (Matt 5:14-16) How did God’s love become real today? Take note of the responses as one way of preparing for mission.

2.      What is the mission of the church? (Mission)

This question is about the purpose of the church. It is not about mission projects, trips, or work. It is about why your church exists. What is the mission, the purpose, of Christ Church? Does everyone know the mission? Can they repeat it? Do they embody it? This is the partner question to naming God’s presence. Both are essential for healthy disciple-making movements. It’s one thing to have words on a website or framed on the wall. It’s another thing to use the mission to guide what you do and to measure the direction and activities of the church. Use the mission as a sorting mechanism to ask, “Does this help us further or fulfill our mission?” If not, why are we doing it? Don’t confuse activity for missional impact. Don’t try to justify all your activities as contributing to your mission. If you’re having a party and it’s simply for fun, name it as fun. Otherwise, the mission becomes fuzzy for people. Lack of focus leads people to inaction.

3.      What is our mission field? (Mission Field)

Your mission field can be described in multiple ways. Most often, it is a geographic region where people live. Using the location of your church building as the center of a radius, what is the geographic area of your missional outreach? Although most of our church members live in the suburbs, if the building location is in the urban core of the city, your mission field is a section of the urban core of the city. The question to answer is, “are you a suburban church that meets downtown or are you an urban church in ministry downtown?  Once you have defined and are clear regarding your geographic region, then identify who lives within the mission field. What are their habits and interests? Listen to their stories, identify activities and symbols that help you learn more about them. Although you live someplace other than where your building is located, identify the area around your building as your mission field and the people within your mission field as your mission partners.

4.      What are the assets of our community? (Assets)

This is an important “preparing for mission” activity. Your assets start with the people who live in your mission field. As you meet people and begin to develop relationships, take note of their skills and resources. As you walk your mission field, take note of the services, businesses, physical attributes (parks, attractions, poverty, trash, etc.) and financial assets. If you’re having trouble identifying assets, take a walk in your community and ask people to respond to the questions: “What do you love about our community (neighborhood, or city)?” and “What would you change if you could change it?”

5.      What are the needs in our community? (Needs)

 This is another important “preparing for mission” activity. The needs start with the needs of people in your community. In general, the basic needs are food, water, and shelter. These are followed by safety, love, belonging and self-esteem/respect. Recognizing and realizing our potential, learning, faith, and service round out the list. As you walk your mission field, ask the people you meet to respond to a couple of questions. The first question is, “What do you love about our community (neighborhood, city, etc.)” Make sure to start with what they love, or you will not get much feedback. People like to talk about what they love to anyone who will listen. Then ask the second question, “What needs does the community have?” As you engage people in conversation, follow-up with “Would you like to help address the needs?” Make sure to get contact information so that you might engage them in meeting their needs.

6.      What relationships exist with leaders in our community? (Relationships)

 How are you and other church leaders developing relationships with the following sectors of the community: business, government, education, first responders, faith/religion, arts and entertainment, non-profit, health (hospitals, doctors, nurses, clinics)? Who are the people you already know and what relationships do you have with them? What relationships need to be nurtured, reconciled, re-established? What community leaders are members of your church? One person with whom to start building a relationship beyond the walls of the church is the principal of your local elementary school.

 7.      What is one way we can collaborate with other churches? (Collaborations)

Every local church, at their best, is focused on Jesus. Your practices and theology may differ, but you are in the same business of loving others as you have been loved. In other words, you are not in competition with other churches. We are all on the same team. Now is the time to model for others what collaboration can look like, even in the face of differences. Now is the time to have a conversation with another local church leader or pastor. Listen to their stories. Learn of their faith and God’s call upon their lives. Take note of how they express their mission and what disciple-making looks like to them and their faith community.  Reflect upon how you might partner with them in God’s movement of grace and mission of love in your mission field.

You have received much information regarding engaging in mission. As you read, reflect, and respond to this information, prepare your head and heart for the next part of Begin to Engage Your Community: Part 2.

Respond

To engage in mission, prepare your heart and mind with prayer. Ask God to help you to be aware of and sensitive to the people you encounter in your mission field. 

Prepare your heart and mind with bible study. Read Luke 10:1-12 and ask God to send you out as a missionary to learn about the mission field you have defined and within which you serve. 

Engage the leaders of your church in participating in the seven questions above. Send your leaders out in teams of two or three to experience the mission, to encounter the people, to assess the assets and needs of the mission field. 

Assist your leaders in identifying and developing the relationships within your mission field. What relationships need to be nurtured, reconciled, or re-established? 

Continue to engage in prayer and study. Continue to ask God to help you be aware of and sensitive to the people you encounter. 

Now, how will you love the people God sends your way?  How will you reach and receive them in love? How will you introduce them to God’s love? How will you practice who you are as a follower of Jesus?  In what new way will you love them as Christ has loved you? 

Remember, practice makes perfect. It helps you become who you are created to be. A

Prayer

O God, make me aware of the people around me today. Help me yield a little more of myself so that I may love others as you have loved me. By your grace, help me be an extension of your love in the lives of the people you send my way. Help me be faithful to your call so that I may be a blessing to someone, somewhere, today. Amen 

Return

As you reflect upon your day, give God thanks for the opportunities you had to love others. How did you engage in God’s movement of grace and God’s mission of love? How did you engage the seven missional questions?  Who did you invite to participate with you? How did you feel like a missionary?  

If you did not engage the seven questions today, how will you engage them in the near future? Who will you invite to participate with you? How will you use prayer and study to prepare?

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Begin to Practice Your Faith – Part 2

(This is the second in the series or Begin To Practice Your Faith. Read Part 1 here)

One of the characteristics of God’s mission is practicing your faith. Practicing your faith comes in two ways. First, to practice means to perform an activity or exercise a skill repeatedly in order to improve or maintain your proficiency. In other words, you rehearse or practice. 

Second, practice means to put into action or to implement what you have learned and experienced. It is the actual doing or application of an idea, belief, or method as opposed to talking about it. In other words, you apply or practice what you have rehearsed. 

Nurture and Equipped to Live Out Your Faith 

As a follower of Jesus, you have the opportunity to nurture people in their faith as well as equip them to live out their faith in everyday situations and circumstances. You have the opportunity to assist them in rehearsing their faith as well as applying their faith in everyday situations with every person they encounter.    

So, as you invite people into the movement of God’s grace and equip them for the mission of God’s love, you provide opportunities for them to practice by learning and growing in their faith. It might be you’re helping people practice their faith through the means of grace, a small group, or a Sunday School class. Whether it be serving meals, caring for those who are homeless, or teaching children to read, assist people by incorporating scripture, prayer, and reflection as ways of practicing their faith. Whether it be a finance meeting, trustee meeting, choir rehearsal, a women’s or men’s meeting, youth fellowship, or nursery school board, offer people opportunities to talk about faith experiences as ways of practicing their faith. 

The point is you have the opportunity to nurture and equip people by providing opportunities to rehearse their faith and apply what they have rehearsed.    

People experience God’s love and learn to share God’s love through practice. Jesus gives clear direction in Matthew’s good news. He says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). When you are preparing for mission, practice makes perfect.

Let’s explore several examples of practicing faith from the early church in The Acts of the Apostles, Acts 2:42.

Read

Christ-Centered Leaders Develop Community

Christ-Centered Leaders Develop Community – Part 2 

Read Acts 2:42-47 

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.  

Reflect on Acts 2:42-47

The first followers of Jesus practiced by devoting “themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship…” Part of the practice of the first followers was to gather in community. Practicing community was important. 

It is mentioned three times: They devoted themselves to “fellowship” (verse 42), “All who believed were together” (verse 44), and “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple…” (verse 46). Being together was an important characteristic of their faith development. They practiced their faith in relationship with other Jesus followers. 

Practicing Community

Practicing community was seen in the relationships they made and deepened as they gathered to listen and learn of the gospel (apostles’ teaching). They practiced community when they ate together, (breaking of bread). 

They practiced God’s love, agape, by working for the good of others, especially with those who had little to eat. They practiced relationships by praying together and by gathering with glad and generous hearts in gratitude to God. They practiced by seeking direction on how to live their lives as followers of Jesus. 

Studying the Scripture

They practiced by studying the scripture together. “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching…” Wesley called this “searching the scriptures.” 

One of the distinctive marks of Jesus’ followers was they sought to understand how to live their lives in relationship with one another.  Just as the apostles’ teaching was transformational in the lives of the early followers of Jesus, practicing living the good news of Jesus Christ is transformational both personally and socially.  

Practicing Fellowship

They practiced fellowship together. “They devoted themselves to…fellowship.”  When they gathered, they practiced loving one another. Their time together was formational as they grew together in their personal faith and learned to have compassion and encouragement in their social interactions.  

They practiced accountability. “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple.” Those early Jesus followers spent time together sharing stories, asking questions, learning, and growing together. It was in their conversations (Christian conferencing) they practiced accountability. 

For a more in-depth exploration of accountability can be found in the blog Christ-Centered Leaders Develop Community 

Practice Sharing Your Faith

Their practice inward led to their practice beyond themselves. As they practiced their faith together, they were led to practice their faith outside their group. They discovered new ways to love others the way God Jesus had loved them. They practiced their faith by sharing what they had with others. Whether it was their food, clothing, shelter, money, or other possessions, they practiced generosity by offering themselves to one another in love. 

Their practice helped them become more of who God had created them to be. How are you practicing your faith? Who you are is how you lead. 

Respond

How will you practice your faith today? Be aware of the people God sends your way today. How will you participate in community? How will you develop relationships with people who are not part of your inner circle? In what new way will you love others the way God in Christ has loved you? 

How will you practice your faith by reading and studying the scripture, by praying, by entering conversations about faith and how to grow in love? 

How will you practice your faith? Sometimes it is by feeding people who are hungry or finding shelter for those who are homeless. At other times, it is by providing care for children or finding jobs for those unemployed. Sometimes it is by taking time to listen, really listen, and responding with encouragement and support. At other times, it is being with someone, just by coming alongside them and being present. 

Practicing your faith helps to turn your inner faith into an outward expression of love and care. How will you practice your faith today? 

Prayer

O God, make me aware of the people around me today. By your grace, help me be an extension of your love in the lives of the people you send my way. Help me yield a little more of myself so that I may love others as you have loved me in Jesus. Help me be faithful to your call upon my life so that I may be a blessing to someone, somewhere, today. Amen  

Return

As you reflect upon your day, give thanks for God’s call to follow Jesus. In what ways did you practice your faith? With whom did you share God’s love? How did you invite people into God’s movement of grace and mission of love? How did you practice hospitality? How did you practice offering Christ to the people around you? With whom do you need to celebrate the love you experienced in and through them? What will you do differently tomorrow?

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Becoming a Person of Hope

As a follower of Jesus, your primary purpose is to focus on God’s mission and to equip those whom you influence to do the same.  So, as a reminder, it is not your mission, and it is not your church’s mission. It is God’s mission. It is important that you start with the knowledge and understanding of “missio Dei,” God’s mission. 

It is also important to understand that you and the people you lead are invited into God’s mission through baptism. Each of you are claimed by God and commissioned to be about God’s business of loving others as you have been loved.  So, your primary call is to be who God created you to be. You are a “beloved child of God” gifted for loving and serving the people you encounter every day in everyday situations. Every aspect of your life and ministry is focused on God’s mission. 

Your Priority is Jesus

To say it another way, your priority call is to follow Jesus and to teach, equip, and lead others to do the same. When Jesus becomes your priority, you love others as you have been loved and the church fulfills God’s mission by loving the people in the community, the neighborhood, and the world. 

When Jesus is the priority, the church itself is not only a product of God’s love but is compelled and destined to share God’s love. The mission flows directly through every Jesus follower and every group of people who define themselves by God’s love. So, to focus on God’s mission is to make Jesus your priority and become agents of God’s love in the world. 

For a more in-depth exploration, read the other blogs in the Preparing for Mission series:

· God’s Mission for the Church – Part 2

· God’s Mission for the Church

· Your Call To God’s Mission

· Being About God’s Business

· Being God’s Loving Embrace

Now, let’s move on to structuring for God’s mission. Let’s look again at Matthew 28:19-20. 

Read Matthew 28:19-20 

 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

Reflect on Hope

(To get a firm foundation for Building on Hope, read Preparing For Mission: What is God’s Mission? Part 2) 

Using Jesus’ commissioning of his followers, Matthew provides a structure of HOPE upon which you can build a system for living into and equipping others regarding God’s mission. Although it is an imposed structure, it is one way to live into loving others as you have been loved in and through Jesus. 

HOPE is an acronym for Hospitality, Offering Christ, Practicing Faith, Engaging the Community. So, since it is God’s mission and you are invited to participate in it, Jesus sends you out to live into and to participate in God’s mission. He says, “Go…” 

The word “go” literally means “as you go.”  It carries with it both presence and movement. The idea here is that wherever you are, you are in mission. For example, as you go (wherever you are) to the office, to school, to the grocery store, on vacation, etc. These are the times and places you are set apart to live a life of love. These are the times and places you live in the life of HOPE. 

Let’s look at the structure of HOPE. 

H – Hospitality

Verse 19 notes, “make disciples of all nations.” The word “nations” literally means “ethnic” or “people.”  “All nations” is an all-inclusive word. At the risk of being over-simplistic, it includes all people. So, wherever you go, you are participating in God’s mission. At every moment you are working for the well-being of the people you encounter. 

Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” You have been invited, called, and commissioned to be a person of hospitality, where you live, work, and play, for the purpose of loving others as you have been loved. 

You are a person of hospitality as you reach out and receive the people God sends your way. Why do you receive them? It is who you are as a follower of Jesus. Hospitality is God’s business. You reach and receive all of God’s people, loving each of them as you have been loved. 

As a Christ-centered leader, you are modeling hospitality for the people entrusted to your care so that each of them will become persons of hospitality by loving others as they too have been loved. 

You reach and receive all people, for the glory of God. 

O – Offer Christ

Verse 19: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  The words “to baptize” carry with them something more than water baptism.  “To baptize” means to dip or to immerse. As you encounter people, you love them. You dip them, you immerse them in the love of God by the way you receive them and care for them. But only that, you immerse them in the “name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” 

The words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit refer to the movement of God. We are instructed to immerse those becoming Jesus followers in the movement of God, or into “missio Dei,” God’s mission.  We are instructed to saturate them in God’s love as experienced in and through Jesus. So, wherever you are or whatever you are doing you have the opportunity to love the people you encounter. You have the opportunity to invite people to learn of Jesus and to immerse them in God’s love in such a way they too will love others. 

The movement of God’s grace and the mission of God’s love, agape, is made real in and through you and through your relationships with the people you encounter each day. 

As a Christ-centered leader, you are offering Christ, God’s agape, to the people you meet by what you say, how you say it, and by the way you receive and love them. Your action of agape is a greater invitation than your words. You become so immersed in the love, the movement, the mission of God, that all you say and do invites others to love as they are being loved. 

You offer Christ by the way you live your life and interact with the people you meet each day. By your living, you are inviting people into God’s movement of grace and God’s mission of love. 

P – Practice

Verse 20” “teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” The word “teaching” for Matthew refers to what he wants you to do about “holiness.”  It is what you learn as a follower of Jesus. It is what the movement of God is all about.  At the very heart of “holiness” or “righteousness” is relationship, relationship with God and with one another. 

This “holy living” or different living implies a right relationship with family, friends, strangers, and enemies.  It includes being proactive in how you treat others.  You act on behalf of others not because they have acted on your behalf but because you have been loved by God in and through Jesus. 

This “holy living” means having integrity. It means being as good as your word. It means you can be trusted when you let your “yes” mean “yes” and “no” mean “no.”  It means that you are not conflicted but integrated into your living.  How you act and relate to others grows out of who you are, from the convictions of your heart. 

This “holy living” does not get tripped up on things but seeks first the kingdom of God. The “holiness” of God is not focused on buildings or furniture, but upon people regardless of their economic, social, or political status. 

This “holy living” means your caring for others becomes so natural that you care for everyone the way you would care for Jesus. You care because that is who you are, a grace-filled Jesus follower who is putting your faith into action. 

This “holy living” means taking the initiative in forgiveness.  It means to forgive as many times as it takes to restore the relationships that are being broken.  It is the relationship that is important. 

The words “to obey” mean “to observe” or to “pay attention to.”  To obey “these things” means to practice what you are learning. To obey these things means to observe or pay attention to this holy living.  It is easy to talk about this “holy living,” but it is not so easy to live it.  To “obey” or “pay attention” means to do or to live these things.  It means to make these “holy living” a part of our daily living. 

As a Christ-centered leader, you lead others in practicing hospitality and in offering Christ in all they say and do. You practice faith by the way you love others. You practice faith by inviting others to practice what they are learning about “holy living” in relation to the people they meet each day. 

You nurture the people around you in God’s love and lead them into practicing God’s love in everyday situations and circumstances. 

E – Engage

People are sent out into the community to live the life of love as they have experienced in and through you and other followers of Jesus. As they experience hospitality, they extend hospitality. As they are immersed in God’s love, they invite others to be immersed in God’s love. As they practice “holy living,” they are inviting others to experience and to practice God’s love and to live a holy life. 

Remember, you are sent out by Jesus. “Go” literally means “as you go.”  Wherever you are, you are set apart to live the life of love as experienced in and through Jesus.   

Verse 19: “make disciples.” A disciple” is a student or follower. You have been invited, called, and commissioned as a follower of Jesus. This is important. You have not chosen Jesus. Jesus has chosen you. You are a follower of Jesus. 

Now, some people misread the word “make” as coercion, but that is not what Matthew means by “make” disciples. Matthew is concerned about the “holy living” as developing healthy relationships. So, how do you make disciples? You make disciples, followers, and students of Jesus, the same way Jesus did. You love people. You bless them, help them, and care for them. Just as with Jesus, (agape) the well-being of people becomes your priority.  

You practice the love of Jesus so you might become like Jesus. When you read the Gospel of John, you discover that the followers of Jesus are known by the way they love one another. So, to “make disciples” means to love people as you have been loved.  It is to engage in the love of God in the places you live, work, play, and associate with people. 

Verse 20: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  The greatest part of this “holy living” is that you are not left alone to do these things. The Risen Christ is with you.  God does not leave you to fend for yourself. The very birth of Jesus is announced as “and they shall name him Emmanuel which means, ‘God is with us.’” The mission of making disciples is God’s mission. You have been invited to participate in God’s mission.  If God calls you, God will equip you. When God calls and equips, God will be with you, even to the end. 

So, you have been given a structure of HOPE to help facilitate God’s mission in and through the church. The structure of HOPE equips followers of Jesus to live out God’s mission in the world. HOPE assists you to become who God created you to be, and who you are is how you lead. 

Respond to Matthew 28

Today be aware of how you model HOPE for the people you lead. Be alert to opportunities to welcome others as Christ has welcomed you.” Take notice of the occasions you have to offer Christ by what you say and do. Be mindful of your “holy living” in your interactions with the people you meet. Begin to build a structure of HOPE by the way you model hope in everyday situations and circumstances. 

Prayer

O God, make me aware of the people around me today. By your grace, help me be a person of HOPE to everyone you send my way. Help me yield a little more of myself so that I may love others as you have loved me in Jesus. Help me be faithful to your call upon my life so that I may be a blessing to someone, somewhere, today. And help me be a person of HOPE to everyone you send my way. Amen 

Return

As you reflect back on your day, give thanks for God’s call to follow Jesus. In what ways were you hospitable? Who did you invite into God’s movement of grace and into God’s mission of agape? How did you practice your faith? With whom did you practice? How did you engage your community in God’s mission, God’s love? With whom do you need to celebrate the love you experienced in and through them? What will you do differently tomorrow?

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God’s Mission for the Church – Part 2

Read Part 1

As a follower of Jesus, your primary purpose is to focus on the mission and to assist those around you to do the same. In part one of God’s Mission for the Church we explored “mission Dei,” and what God’s mission means for you and for the church. 

Mission: It Matters Where You Start

Fundamentally, when it comes to mission, it matters where you start. The mission is God’s mission. Although we do a lot of talking about it, the mission is not the church’s mission. And even though you are focused on the mission, it is not your mission. To start with anyone other than God is to misunderstand “missio Dei” and is to lead people away from a “loving and sending God” to “how can we get people to do what we want them to do” God. 

It is God’s mission, and we are invited to participate in it. As we explored in Part 1, God’s love is the one true and authentic principle of the church. When the church is loving the people in the community it is fulfilling God’s mission, God’s purpose. The church itself is not only a product of God’s love but is compelled and destined to share God’s love. The mission of God flows directly through every believer and every community of faith who follows Jesus. 

So, a working definition of mission for the church is a community of God’s people who define themselves by God’s love, organize themselves around God’s love, and who become agents of God’s love in the world. 

With God’s mission for the church in mind, let’s look at Matthew’s call to God’s mission.     

Read Matthew 28:16-20 

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

Reflect on Matthew 28

So, this scripture is Matthew’s way of telling his followers how to live the “holy” set-apart life, the life of love. Jesus is sending his followers out to love others into being his followers.    

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” 

Authority

The biblical definition of the word authority is understood and used to describe the power or responsibility given by God. In this case, it is the power or responsibility given to Jesus. From Matthew’s perspective, that authority was to teach and instruct the way to live before God a “holy” life, a life set apart by loving one another.   

Therefore

The word therefore refers back to something earlier.  In this scripture, it refers back to Jesus having authority. In other words, Jesus is our authority regarding “holy living” or the set-apart life. Jesus gives us instructions on how to live as his followers. The instructions are as follows: 

“Go and make disciples of all nations…” 

Go

The word “go” literally means “as you go.”  It carries with it both presence and movement. The idea here is that wherever you are at any particular time or place is the time and place. For example, as you go (wherever you are) to the office, to school, to the grocery store, on vacation, etc. These are the times and places you are set apart to live a life of love. 

Make Disciples

The word “disciple” means “student.” The word occurs over 250 times in The Acts of the Apostles. Every reference is connected to a person, and overwhelmingly that person is Jesus. So, to make disciples is to make students or followers of Jesus. 

Now, some people misread the word “make” as coercion, but that is not what Matthew means by “make” disciples. Matthew is concerned about the “holy living” as developing healthy relationships. 

So, how do you make disciples? You make disciples, followers, and students of Jesus, the same way Jesus did. You love people. You bless them, help them, and care for them. Just as with Jesus, (agape) the well-being of people becomes your priority.   

You might think of a disciple as a “grace-filled follower of Jesus who puts faith into action.”  You practice the love of Jesus so you might become like Jesus. When you read the Gospel of John, you discover that the followers of Jesus are known by the way they love one another. So, to “make disciples” means to love people as you have been loved.  It is to engage in the love of God in the places you live, work, play, and associate with people. 

Nations

The word “nations” literally means “ethnic groups” or “people.”  It is an all-inclusive word.  It includes everyone. So, wherever you go, you work for the well-being of everyone you encounter. 

As you go

As you go, wherever you are, you love people, you work for their good, so that they will love as they have been loved and grow into becoming “grace-filled” Jesus followers who put their faith and love into action. 

“Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”

Baptizing – The words “to baptize” carry with them something more than water baptism.  “To baptize” means to dip or to immerse. As you encounter people, you love them. You dip them, you immerse them in the love of God. 

Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

The words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit refer to the movement of God. We are instructed to immerse those becoming Jesus followers in the movement of God.  We are instructed to saturate them in God’s love as experienced in and through Jesus Christ.  So, wherever you are or whatever you are doing you have the opportunity to love the people you encounter. You have the opportunity to invite people to learn of Jesus and to immerse them in God’s love in such a way they too will love everyone. The movement of God is the agape of God. God’s love made real in and through your relationships. 

“Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” 

Teaching – The word “teaching” in this place refers to what Matthew wants us to know about “holiness.”  It is what we learn as followers of Jesus. It is what the movement of God is all about.  At the very heart of “holiness” or “righteousness” is relationship, relationship with God and with one another. 

Holy Living

This “holy living” or different living means a right relationship with family, friends, strangers, and enemies.  It includes being proactive in how you treat others.  You act on behalf of others not because they have acted on your behalf but because you have been loved by God in and through Jesus. 

This “holy living” means having integrity. It means being as good as your word. It means you can be trusted when you let your “yes” mean “yes” and “no” mean “no.”  It means that you are not conflicted but integrated in your living.  How you act and relate to others grows out of who you are, from the convictions of your heart. 

This “holy living” does not get tripped up on things but seeks first the kingdom of God. The “holiness” of God is not focused on buildings or furniture, but upon people whether they have money or not. 

This “holy living” means your caring for others becomes so natural that you care for everyone the way you would care for Jesus. You care because that is who you are, a grace-filled Jesus follower who is putting your faith into action. 

This “holy living” means being proactive in forgiveness.  It actually means to forgive as many times as it takes to restore the relationships that are being broken.  It is the relationship that is important. 

To obey

The words “to obey” mean “to observe” or to “pay attention to.”  To obey “these things” refers to the teaching on “holy living.”  To obey these things means to observe or pay attention to this holy living.  It is easy to talk about this “holy living,” but it is not so easy to live it.  To “obey” or “pay attention” means to do or to live these things.  It means to make these “holy living” a part of our daily living. 

“Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” 

The greatest part of this “holy living” is that you are not left alone to do these things. The Risen Christ is with you.  God does not leave you to fend for yourself. The very birth of Jesus is announced as “and they shall name him Emmanuel which means, ‘God is with us.’” The mission of making disciples is God’s mission. You have been invited to participate in God’s mission.  If God calls you, God will equip you. When God calls and equips, God will be with you, even to the end. 

So, the mission of the church, according to Matthew, is that wherever you go, love others with God’s love, invite them into God’s love, immerse them in God’s love, and model God’s love for them.  You make disciples the way Jesus did. You love people. You work for their good. As others experience God’s love through you, they will begin to love as they have been loved. This is “holy” or “righteous” living. It is working for the well-being of all people. It is God’s mission of love.  

This is Matthew’s description of “missio Dei” God’s mission. 

Respond

Today, wherever you go, be aware of God’s mission in every situation and circumstance. Look for opportunities to model God’s love for those whom you lead. 

Reflect upon this story, told by Spring Bowlin, as an example of a simple act of love. She said, “My heart was warmed at Wal-Mart during lunch. The gentleman, in front of me in the checkout line, had his items scanned and the cashier had given him the cost of his purchase. 

“He took a handful of change out of his pocket and laid it on the counter. As he attempted to count out the coins, he became frustrated when he miscounted. Then, aware of me and others waiting behind him, he became embarrassed. He looked back at me apologetically and with hands and voice shaking he said, ‘I’m so sorry.’   

“The cashier patiently helped him separate his change on the counter, looked up at him and said, ‘No need to apologize, Honey. This is not a problem. Let’s count out the money together.’  

“Although he continued to apologize, both the cashier and I assured him it was okay. With the cashier’s help, he completed his transaction and shuffled away. 

Bowlin said, “I looked at this wonderful woman and said, ‘Thank you for being so caring and patient with him.’ 

“She shook her head and replied, ‘You shouldn’t have to thank me for helping someone who needs a little care and compassion. What’s wrong with our world is, we’ve forgotten how to love one another.’ 

Bowlin said to herself, ‘I want to be more like her.’” 

So, today, watch for opportunities to be an instrument of God’s love. Become aware of the people around you and how you might model God’s love in difficult situations and circumstances.

In other words, the church’s true and authentic organizing principle is love. When the church is loving the people in the community, it is fulfilling God’s mission. The church itself is not only a product of that love but is obligated and destined to extend that love. The mission of God flows directly through every believer and every community of faith that follows Jesus.

So, wherever you go, as you experience God’s love, remember to share God’s love so that others will want to be like you. Love, agape love, is God’s mission for you, me, and all creation.

Prayer

O God, make me aware of the people around me today. By your grace, help me yield a little more of myself so that I may love others as you have loved me in Jesus. Make me a blessing to someone, somewhere, today. Amen 

Returm

Give God thanks for the people you encountered today. With whom did you experience God’s love? In what situations were you able to model God’s love? How did you express God’s love? With whom do you need to celebrate the love you experienced in and through them? 

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Focus and Purpose

You want your life to count for something, but your daily actions don’t always line up with your values. You want to make a difference in the lives of your family, colleagues, neighbors, even strangers, but you feel as though you are pulled in too many directions to make much of an impact.

Often, to make a difference that counts, you have to live beyond yourself. Your impact will not be seen in your titles or achievements. Your impact will be experienced through aligning your strengths with your purpose and focusing on loving and caring for others. When you begin to live beyond yourself, you begin to leave a legacy that lives on long after you have gone.

Your legacy begins with your focus.

Read Matthew 6:22-23

The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not healthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Reflect on Matthew 6:22-23

This verse comes in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is teaching about righteousness. In these verses, the implication is righteousness is shown in how your attention, desires, and values are in alignment with God.

In Hebrew thought, the eye was understood to be the window or the lamp that lets light into the body. What you focus on, what you “let in,” determines whether your inner life is full of light or darkness.

The Greek word for “healthy” literally means single, clear, or undivided. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light but if your eye is not healthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.  Healthy carries the sense of being wholehearted, generous, or focused. So, a “healthy eye” focuses upon God and is free from distractions or conflicting loyalties.

Said another way, when your inner vision is clearly focused, your entire life is illuminated with truth, clarity, and goodness. But when your eye is unsound, confusion and greed direct your life. A “healthy eye” means God is the priority who gives meaning and purpose to all other desires and loyalties.

Taking those two verses by themselves might be enough, but Matthew put them in the middle of a conversation on “where your treasure is” (6:19-21) and “no one can serve two masters” (6:24).

When taken within its context, this scripture calls for a radical reorientation of your life. The meaning of “heart” is the Hebrew understanding of the center of your life. The identification and location of your “treasure” turns out to be a matter of your total self. So how you handle property turns out to be a matter of trust, either your heart/life is in God or is in your material possessions.

In this context, undivided service can be given to only one master. If there is more than one, there are conflicting and dividing loyalties. That means that every choice is favoring one and rejecting the other. The choice is not whether you will serve, but whom or what will you serve.

For Jesus, when your eye is healthy, your orientation is healthy, and your treasure is, where your heart is, with God.

Respond

Having a clear focus makes the difference in how you live your life. When I begin to think of a clear focus, I think of Jesus. He set his face toward Jerusalem because he was focused on being who God had created him to be.  His purpose was to be the Christ, the anointed one.

To live into his purpose, he was obedient to God by caring for the people he encountered each day. When you read of Jesus feeding, healing, caring, loving, serving, and dying, you are reading of him being focused upon a purpose greater than himself.

When your eye is healthy, you are focused on a purpose greater than your own. You begin to live beyond yourself, loving God and loving your neighbor in all you do.

Terry Fox was eighteen years old when he was diagnosed with a fast-metastasizing cancer.  It first settled in his legs and arms and later spread to his lungs, brain, and liver. After the shock of his new reality, Terry basically had two choices: give up hope and wait for death or discover something meaningful for which to live. He chose the latter. 

Cancer meant he would lose his leg.  But as he lay in his hospital bed, he began to dream of running across Canada. Because he loved to run, he committed to making his dream a reality.

By committing his life to making a difference in the fight against cancer, he created a true purpose.  The goal of his run, named the Marathon of Hope, was to raise one million dollars for cancer research.

A New Purpose: Hope

Terry discovered a purpose so great it uplifted him physically and mentally. The power of purpose drove him to remarkable heights of performance.  Even though he had only one healthy leg, a prosthesis attached to the stump of his other leg enabled him to run.

While running, he often wore running shorts. This, of course, exposed his false leg and made some people uncomfortable. But, instead of trying to please the people who were offended, he kept his focus on his goal.

Starting on April 12, 1980, he ran the equivalent of a marathon (twenty-six miles) almost every day, covering a total of 3,339 miles in only 143 days. His amazing feat provided hope for thousands of people all over the world.

In the midst of cancer, Terry Fox successfully forged a new purpose.  His purpose was to help eliminate cancer.  His goal was to raise one million dollars for cancer research.  He met his goal by keeping his focus on his purpose. When he aligned his everyday living, his goals, with his purpose, he enjoyed the peace of mind and a wonderful sense of being alive.

Becoming Who God Created You to Be

What does that story have to do with you?  I am convinced you can do the same.  You can become who God created you to be by focusing upon your purpose.  You can make a life-changing difference in the lives of the people around you and the world.

First – Discover Your Purpose

Here are a few questions to consider:

·   What are your strengths and talents?

·   What do you do best?

·   What do you really enjoy?

·   Where do you feel you are making a difference?

·   What do you care so deeply about that you are ready to give your life to make it

happen?

Terry Fox was profoundly touched by younger cancer victims.  Those people spurred him on every day, despite the hardships.

Remember, your purpose is bigger than you and will live on after you. So, the question might be “What legacy will you leave for those who follow you?”

Second – Align Your Purpose with Your Natural Strengths and Talents.

Terry Fox aligned his purpose with something he really enjoyed.  He excelled at running, so running across the country became a natural vehicle for him to achieve his goal.

You have unique strengths and talents.  Discovering your strengths is part of living your life.

Once you have discovered your natural strengths and talents, then use them to live out your purpose.  Remember, the greatest joy and peace of your life comes when you align your everyday living, your goals, with your purpose.

Third – Stay Focused on Your Purpose

Every day Terry Fox stayed true to his purpose. Despite snow, rain, and sleet, he set his heart, soul, mind, and strength on something bigger than himself. In the early stages of his run, there was almost no media coverage.  He sometimes felt alone and misunderstood.  He overcame that by keeping focused on his purpose.

Too often, you lose your direction in life because you are easily distracted or influenced by other people. Keeping your focus requires single-mindedness, a resolve to do whatever it takes. Staying focused will create a passion and a sense of significance deep within which will shape your everyday living and relationships.

There will be times when keeping a focus will be received as offensive and inconvenient.  There will be times you will be accused of being “focused to a fault.” At those moments, the challenge will be to keep your focus upon the God who has created you and to live into your purpose.

Personally, I consider it a compliment to be accused of being “focused to a fault,” especially when I am assisting others to become who God created them to be.

Fourth – Stay True to Your Purpose

In the later stages of his Marathon of Hope, Terry Fox attracted thousands of people in every major city. Through it all, he kept a humble spirit. It was his humble outlook and genuine concern for others, plus his never-give-up attitude as he battled adversity, that endeared him to millions of people.  Even after cancer spread to his lungs, he was determined to carry on.

Terry never got to finish his run.  He died on June 28, 1981.  Yet, the ongoing legacy he left continues to help cancer victims.  Terry Fox stayed focused on his purpose which allowed him to live beyond himself.

So, stay focused. Keep your eyes healthy. Let the light of God’s love in Jesus shine into your heart and spirit. Don’t allow an unhealthy ego to override your good intentions.  You will have your greatest and most positive impact on your family, friends, and community because you are focused on something greater than yourself.

Align Your Strengths & Purpose

I don’t know what season of life you are living at the moment, but I do know this; discovering and developing your purpose, then living your purpose, indicates that you will make a significant difference in the lives of your family, friends, and community.

So, set your heart and mind upon the person God has created you to be. As you live into your purpose, care for the people you encounter along the way. Keep your focus upon God’s love and begin to live beyond yourself.

Return

Give God thanks for the people you met today. As you reflect upon the day: At what points or experiences did you have to keep your focus? How did you react or respond when you felt you lost your focus? What did you learn about yourself? Who helped you remember that you are a child of God and how to keep your focus upon God’s love and upon loving others? What will you do differently tomorrow? Ask God to give you the faith to be who God has created you to be. 

Prayer

Lord, clear my vision. Help me to see the world as you see it, full of possibility, hope, and the beauty of your presence. Help me to recognize you in the people I meet along the way. Guard my heart from distraction and greed and fill me with the light of your Son so I may share your love with others. I offer myself to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Leading with Integrity

Effective leadership is in high demand. People want the strongest, most qualified, most effective people to lead their churches as well as their communities, schools, and country. They are looking for leaders they can trust, as well as leaders of compassion, stability, and hope. They are looking for leaders with a solid foundation of good character and integrity.

Failure of leadership today is not the absence of competence or skills, but simply sustaining credibility and integrity with people. There is a growing need for courageous leaders who can and will face and navigate the challenges of today. 

In the Sermon on Mount, Jesus teaches and trains his followers to do greater things than he has done. He begins with developing the inner life and moves to developing healthy relationships. When it comes to effective and courageous leadership, integrity is experienced in and through relationships. 

Use the pattern of Read, Reflect, Respond, Return as a tool to assist you in developing healthy relationships as you become more of the leader God has created you to be. 

Read Matthew 5:21-37

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment, and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council, and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So, when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift… 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart… 

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you: Do not swear at all…Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one. (Selected verses Matthew 5:21-37).

Reflect

According to Matthew, God sent Jesus to teach us how to live a holy and righteous life. For him, a holy and righteous life had more to do with relationships than it did with the avoidance of impure thoughts or actions. It is more than being a nice person who says and does the right things. The holy life or righteous life is lived in relationship with God and with others.

To be holy or righteous is to love others as God in Jesus has loved you. You love with agape, not centered upon emotion or likes and dislikes, but centered in a conscious choice to love as you have been loved. So, being an effective leader means you lead with love. Leading with love is relational. Here is where leading with integrity comes in.  

Integrity

Too often we limit integrity to outward actions or decisions, like acting with integrity. We see it as one of the keys to positive and productive work. Integrity in leaders is usually referred to as being honest, trustworthy, and reliable. Leaders with integrity not only talk the talk but walk the walk. They practice what they preach. They own up to their mistakes, as opposed to hiding them, blaming others, or making excuses.

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. There is nothing wrong or ineffective with acting with integrity. Believe me, I wish there were more of us who did live and act with integrity.  But too often we limit our understanding of integrity to outward actions.

Holiness & Righteousness

Jesus is teaching, in the Sermon on Mount, that holiness and righteousness are deeper than what you do or don’t do. He is teaching that holiness and righteousness are who you are. The holy life or righteous life is lived in relationship with God and with others at the deepest levels of your life.

So, he says (Bias translation), “just because you have not murdered someone does not make you righteous.” Holiness goes to the root of who you are, to your anger, to your name-calling. Your integrity is seen in your relationship, not in what you do or don’t do.

In fact, relationships are so important, “when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift…” And, even deeper than that, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Integrity is experienced in your relationships with others.

It is the same with adultery and divorce. You are not holy or righteous because you are sexually pure or not at fault in a broken relationship. I celebrate with you that you are not an adulterer and that you have not been divorced. But the point to Jesus’ teaching is the integrity of relationships. Being a beloved child of God, you are interacting with others as beloved daughters and sons of God. Your integrity is not seen in what you do or don’t do as much as in who you are in relation to others.

The Depth of Integrity

Integrity is so deep, who you are can be counted upon even in what you say. “Let your word be your truth.” Your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” Your righteousness is your integrity. It shows up in your verbal agreements, but it is who you are in what you say.

So, if you are a person of integrity, it is not in what you do or don’t do. It is in your love and care of the people around you. Leading with integrity means you lead with love and grace.  

Who you are is how you lead.

Respond

Continue to lead with trust, stability, compassion, and hope. The point of leading with integrity is that trust, stability, compassion, and hope are woven into the fabric of who you are more than the characteristics you try to emulate.  

So, continue to be vulnerable and genuine with the people with whom you work. Look for the potential in others and equip them to live into it. Be generous in your assessments, giving the benefit of the doubt. Be courageous in your decision-making, creating a space for trust and collaboration.

Cultivate trust and compassion. Take pride in the work of the people entrusted to you and focus on their well-being. Be grateful for the work of your colleagues and give credit to whomever credit is due.

Lead with Love

Remember, you are leading with agape. Who you are is how you lead, so lead with:  

  1. Vulnerability

Being vulnerable means you nurture a culture where people feel safe and where you, when struggling, find support and care. It takes courage to be vulnerable. Instead of hiding your failures and covering up your weaknesses, own them. Ask for feedback and learn from others. Your authenticity helps build trust and your capacity to care. Your experience of trust creates compassion for and acceptance of those around you. 

Leading with integrity is difficult at times, but it is who you are.   

2. Listening

Be quick to listen and slow to speak. Leading with integrity means you build trust by showing your capacity to care. It means you create a culture where people feel safe to speak up and where you are slow to shut people down. 

It takes courage to listen. You know where you are going. You know the path that needs to be taken. And you know what needs to be done to navigate the barriers. Leading with integrity gives people the opportunity to be heard because that is who you are.   

3. Generosity

Being generous means that you make a genuine effort to understand others. Being generous means that you assume that your colleagues have good intentions, and are doing the best they can under the circumstances.

So, listen to what is being said, ask questions for clarity, explore their perspectives. It is easy to judge and blame when things do not work the way you want them to work. So, stay open and curious in conversations. Create an environment where people feel heard, seen, and cared for. 

Leading with integrity means you are loving others as God in Christ has loved you. It is difficult to be generous when you are depending upon others to do quality work, but your practice of generosity will help you lead with integrity.

Return

Give God thanks for the people you met today. In what situation did you act with holiness? Were your actions part of who you are or part of being nice? In what situations did you feel you were leading with integrity? How did you assist others in moving forward with integrity, of becoming more who God created them to be? Give God thanks for the opportunities you had to love others as you have been loved.

Prayer

O God, I give you thanks for the assurance that you are shaping me more into the person you created me to be. Help me be more aware of my relationships and of the people you want me to love. By your grace, give the courage and grace to lead others into and through the difficult moments of loving others as you have loved me. As one of your beloved children, help me be a leader of integrity. I offer who I am to you in the name of Jesus. Amen. 

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You Will Receive Power – Part 2

Power is part of every area of our lives. In the blog “You Will Receive Power – Part 1” we looked at the possibilities of receiving and proclaiming God’s love for the people around us and for the people we encounter every day.

You can find “You Will Receive Power – Part 1” here.

In Part 2 we want to explore the purpose of power in relationships. So, let’s read Acts I:8:

Read: Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Reflect

The church’s mission is God’s mission. It functions by the presence and power of God and is carried out in trust and obedience to God.

In response to a question the disciples asked Jesus about power, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6), Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:7-8).

As a Jesus follower, your purpose is to be who God created you to be, a witness to God’s love. You live out your purpose in a relationship with the people you encounter each day. You extend the love you have received with family and friends, colleagues and neighbors, those who need special care, to strangers and, yes, even to enemies.  

You are given power to live into your purpose and to assist others in living into their purpose. Even when you think you are not equipped to love as you have been loved, you have been given power to do so.

You are given the power to communicate past the barriers of race, gender, nationality, culture, and your likes and dislikes. It is the power of God’s love that becomes your priority, and you are empowered to love when you do not think you have the power or ability to love.

Respond

Over my years of ministry, I have learned there are different types of power. Keeping in mind your purpose to witness to God’s love, there is:

The Power Over

This power can be seen in parenting or in the classroom, as well as in the workplace and in the church. There is a place for the parent or teacher to have authority. This power is used effectively when exercised in relationships grounded in love, trust, and compassion. 

But when this power is seen in the workplace or in the church, it is usually because the person of authority feels threatened or is afraid of losing power. It is difficult to develop healthy relationships of trust when you feel you must control every situation, decision, or person you encounter.

When you focus on having and keeping power, you seek to protect it. You leverage fear and intimidation to keep it. There is little trust and lots of manipulation. Vulnerability and empathy are seen as weaknesses, disagreements are seen as negative, and being nice becomes the major mode of operation. At this point, you have lost sight of your purpose of loving as you have been loved.

To use this power might help you succeed in the short term, but over the long run, you become a detriment to your purpose, and you lose any positive influence you could have with the people around you. You might feel you are courageous to face the resistance you receive, but there is little or no courageous leadership when you lead by exercising power over people.

The Power With and Power To

This power can be seen in the workplace and in the church, as well as at home and at school. In each context, those in authority know that power is not theirs to keep, so they seek to share it with the people around them. 

Whether at work, in the church, as a parent, or a teacher, you come alongside others as a mentor, and you learn and grow together. You model the characteristics of vulnerability and empathy. When fear and uncertainty are present, you lead with transparency and grace. You leverage love and connection as ways of bringing people together to accomplish your purpose.

When you focus on others, whether it be your children, colleagues, or friends, you create a climate for discovering, learning, and developing. You focus on the needs, desires, and values of the people with whom you live, work, and associate. You love them as you have been loved. You seek to serve rather than be served. You empower people to live into their strengths and talents and you benefit from their exercise of power. You love people because the development of people is your purpose. 

Using this power helps you become a person of positive influence. Bob Goff says it this way, “God doesn’t give us influence so we can lead people better. He gives it so we can love people more.” Who you are is rooted in your love and care for people, as you share power with them and love them. 

The Power Within

This power is about developing your own sense of agency, as well as instilling a sense of agency in the people around you. In the words of Martin Luther King, “I can achieve purpose and effect change.” 

When you live from your center, you genuinely love people. Your care and concern are not about dominating them but loving them. You depend on empathy, rather than showing your strength. You choose respect over friendship and want truth and transparency. You work for the good of the people you influence and encounter.

Your power to influence comes from within. As you learn that the power is not about you, you begin to understand that your character is important. You learn that it is not only what you say, but how you say it that makes the difference. As you live from within, you discover that being clear is kind and that people appreciate clear and direct communication. Because you are centered upon the love of God deep within, you become more credible, competent, and persuasive as a follower of Jesus.

Using this power helps you empower others to live into their potential. So, you become more the person you were created to be by “recognizing the potential in people and ideas,” and sharing your power, as you come alongside them to love them.  

So, how are you using the power given to you? How are you developing the potential of family members, colleagues, and friends? What do you need to change? In what areas do you need to grow?    

Return

As you reflect upon the day, think of two people who have influenced you and helped you in living into your potential. What did they do to assist you? Now, give God thanks for them and their love and care for you.

Think of two or three people you have the potential to influence. How will you assist them in developing their potential? What help do you need to assist them? Now, give God thanks for them. Ask God for the power to love them as God has loved you.

What step will you take to become who God has created you to be? You have been given the power to love as you have been loved. What step will you take to allow the power of God’s love to direct your life and relationships?  

Remember, you have received power…starting where you are with the people around you. Be the witness of God’s love you have been created to be.

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You Will Receive Power – Part 1

Power is part of every area of our lives. Whether it is romantic relationships, family interactions, work dynamics, or church connections, most of us spend our lives attempting to acquire and leverage power. 

We seek positions of authority to influence people, control resources, and direct information. We pursue decision-making positions to have some control over issues that affect our everyday living. There are experts who say that we all need power to live into our full potential.   

Followers of Jesus grow to know and understand that with power comes responsibility. As you navigate these disruptive and chaotic times, you soon realize you have to be intentional in your loving and caring. In fact, as a follower of Jesus, you receive power to lead with love and care.

Power and Potential

On good days you understand the weight of this responsibility. But there are days you want to use your power to put people in their place or at least help them see the error of their ways.  So, how do you use your power to assist people to live into their full potential? How do you empower them to become who God created them to be?

Some people would say that “power is your ability to control the activities of other individuals.” Although there is some truth in that statement, I believe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. got closer to a healthy understanding of power when he said, “Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose.”

Leadership and Power

In the context of leadership, some people would say that good leadership is “the ability to inspire people to follow your instructions without exercising any form of force.” Again, there is some truth in that statement, but I believe Brené Brown gets closer to defining a good leader when she says, “A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas and has the courage to develop that potential.” (Brené Brown)

However you say it, you and I, as followers of Jesus, have the responsibility to use our power, authority, and influence to assist the people around us to live into their God-given potential. It is by sharing your power and influence that helps you become more who God created you to be. So, how are you using your power to help develop the potential of family members, colleagues, and friends?

I want to look at the possibilities of receiving and proclaiming God’s love for the people around you and for the people you encounter each day. Let’s start with Acts 1:8.

Read Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Reflect on Acts 1:8

The church’s mission is God’s mission. It functions by the presence and power of God and is carried out in trust and obedience to God.

“You will receive power…” is the assurance of God’s presence and strength. The church is more than a group of good people trying hard, by their own strength, to make the world a better place. The Greek word “dynamis” implies God’s strength and ability given to the followers of Jesus.

“…when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…” is the baptism of the Church. Just as Jesus, after being baptized was praying, the Holy Spirit came upon him and anointed him. God has anointed the Church with the Holy Spirit

Witnesses

“You will be my witnesses,” is one of the major themes in Acts. The word “witness” is the Greek word “martys” which implies sacrifice or putting yourself second. It is an important word for Luke. Just like “disciple,” it designates the work of a follower of Jesus. Although there were eyewitnesses to the ministry of Jesus, “witnesses” here refers to those who tell of the mighty acts of God in history which focuses upon Jesus, the human touch of God’s love.

To be a witness of Jesus is more than a private, individualistic experience of Jesus. It is following Jesus in self-denial, adopting his priorities, serving others in love. To be a witness calls the followers of Jesus to verbally give testimony to why they live this way.

“In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth:” This is the story told in the Acts of the Apostles. It represents not only a numerical and geographical expansion of the church, but a widening of theological perspectives as it grows into its true mission. This mission is in direct relation to God’s call upon Israel (Isaiah 49:6), where Israel, the Servant of God, is charged to be God’s witness to the nations to the ends of the earth. The followers of Jesus are called to reorient their perspective. The shift is from looking for power to return to what they once had to looking out into the world and their mission in it.

Respond to Acts 1:8

As a follower of Jesus, you have received power to love as Jesus loved. You start where you are with the people you know and move out into the community to people you might not know, including people you might try to avoid. Your witness moves beyond yourself to the whole world. You might think of it this way:

Your Jerusalem might be your family or your church.

Your Judea could be your broader community like where you work, where you live, or where you go to school.  

Your Samaria may be uncomfortable. It might include people different from you or people you avoid.

And “the ends of the earth?” It might include all the people outside your sphere of influence but need God’s love and care just like the other people you encounter.

Take a few minutes to reflect upon these questions:

  • What is your “Jerusalem”? Where has God already placed you to love and care for people?
  • Are there “Samaritans” in your life, people or places you’ve avoided, who God might be calling you to love?
  • What would it look like to be open to a global impact, even through small acts of love and care?

Return 

At the end of the day, reflect upon your day.

Give God thanks for the people you encountered. In whom did you see Jesus? In what situations did you receive the power to love, to forgive, or to care? What did you learn about yourself? What will you do differently tomorrow? Give God thanks for the experiences that have helped you become who God created you to be.

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Love One Another As I Have Loved You

As Jesus followers, we talk a lot about love. We talk about loving our neighbors, as well as our enemies. We talk about including strangers, as well as listening to people with whom we disagree. We do a lot of talking about love, but it takes action to love as Jesus loved.

Jesus says that the people in our city, in our neighborhoods, as well as our family and friends will know we are his followers by the way we love one another, by the way we put love into action.  

We model the love of Jesus by loving the way he loves us. It is who we are as followers of Jesus.

Loving Like Jesus

Loving like Jesus is not easy. Some people put a lot of emphasis on the social aspects of the gospel. There are others who put a lot of emphasis on the personal aspects of the gospel. How do you model for each group the love of Jesus? To add to the difficulty, you meet people with different experiences from your own. How do you love them?

Keep this in mind. In every human heart is the need to be loved and the need to be challenged to love. Everyone is seeking to experience, understand, and express love in ways that make a difference in their lives and in the world in which they live. How will you model the love of Jesus for them? 

Let’s use the pattern of Read, Reflect, Respond, Return as a tool to learn more about loving as Jesus loves.

Read John 13:34-35 

Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

Reflect on John 13:34-35

The big challenge in our culture today is loving and accepting one another. As followers of Jesus, the challenge is to love others as Jesus has loved us. Is it possible to love as Jesus loves in the world in which we live? 

Learning to love and modeling love is the challenge of every follower of Jesus. To love like Jesus is a challenge for the church in the midst of culture wars, where our differences and disagreements seem to take center stage in our everyday living.

In the midst of our cultural wars, we have made enemies out of the people who disagree with us. We have used the words of Jesus as instruments of pain and separation instead of instruments of agape and reconciliation. Jesus says that the mark of true discipleship is seen in how we love one another. 

Am I missing something when I think that Jesus meant for us to work on bringing people together instead of separating people? Instead of using words that vilify and demean aren’t we to use words of hope and encouragement? 

Sticking with Love

Martin Luther King, Jr., in his book, A Testament of Hope, wrote, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that… I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” 

In his sermon titled “Love Your Enemies,” King gives several reasons why Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” One reason he gave was this: 

“Jesus says to love your enemies because love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilty feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love, they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So, love your enemies.”  

How Do We Learn to Love?

The question is, how do we learn to love as Jesus has loved? Where do we find the desire and the courage to love one another as we have been loved? 

The answer to that question starts with focusing on Jesus. In our culture, you are pressured to declare your allegiance with one side or another. You are either evangelical or progressive, or you are either conservative or liberal or republican or democrat, or traditional or woke. You are challenged to place your focus on one side or the other.

Again, the answer to the question starts with focusing on Jesus. Where you start makes all the difference. If you start with the values of either side, you miss the value of loving like Jesus. If you start with Jesus, you begin to love like Jesus. 

To Love Like Jesus

T. M. Anderson provides an answer. He writes, “The goal of spending time with Christ in prayer is to have His character become our character.  For our life to be hidden in His life, his nature to become our nature, and His habits our habits.  It is possible to become so intimately acquainted with a practice, a way of doing something that you can do it without thinking.  It becomes second nature, natural.  When we find the secret place of abiding in Christ, our ordinary, daily interactions with people will become much more than mundane.  They will be majestic opportunities to fulfill God’s purpose.  We will become fruitful Christians.  All fruitfulness of this kind flows out of intimacy with Him.” 

To love like Jesus is not a feeling. It is a decision. You don’t love because you feel like it or because someone agrees with you or because it benefits you.  You love because you are a follower of Jesus and that is what followers of Jesus do. 

When you are being wooed by God’s grace to follow Jesus and when you have been loved by God through Jesus, you make a conscious decision to follow Jesus. Your decision to follow seals the deal on who you love and how you love them.

Love One Another

It is by loving one another that we show the world that we are followers of Jesus. Our courage to love comes from our willingness to engage in a life-changing relationship with Jesus and with the people with whom we interact each day. It goes without saying that the love we are talking about is based upon God’s love for us.  Our love for those around us grows out of the love we experience and know through Jesus Christ.

The good news is Jesus gives us the ability to love each other. The world will know the depth of your relationship with Jesus by the way you love others, especially strangers and enemies. 

May your thoughts, words, and actions, your loving others, bear the mark of true discipleship.

Check out Transforming Mission podcast: Episode 252 – “Words that Matter – Love” or Explore blogs “Love Shaped Leadership,” “Leading with the Heart of Jesus,” “Being A Leader Who Loves,” or “Leadership and Love.

Respond

The good news in John’s gospel is “if you have seen Jesus, you have seen God.” When Jesus says, “Love one another as I have loved you” he is saying, “Love one another as God loves.” 

Jesus did not tell his followers to love because it would work. It never occurred to him whether it was practical or not. As followers of Jesus, we love because that is who we are. 

In other words, we don’t love one another because it is practical or because it works. We love because we are the sons and daughters of God. Again, we love because it is who we are.

And just know that it is not easy. People who love unconditionally usually wind up on a cross. Remember the resurrection follows the cross. There is new life and new realities with the resurrection.

Of course, you don’t have to be a follower of Jesus. But if you are, one of the conditions is that you love outsiders, people who are different, whether they be your friends or not, and that you pray for people you consider to be enemies, those who hurt you and take advantage of you. Because it is God’s nature to love, you love who God loves. 

It is by the way you love others that Charleston, your community, and the world knows you are a follower of Jesus. The single most important factor of being a follower of Jesus is love.

Prayer

O God, show the world your love through me today. Stir up within me the desire to serve you in trust and obedience; the desire to not only do good but to be good; the desire to live peaceably with family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, strangers, enemies; and the desire to surrender this day and every part of my life: family, friends; fears, failures; finances, fantasies; focus and future to your love in Jesus Christ.

Make me aware of the people around me today so that I might be a blessing to someone somewhere today. I offer myself to you in and through the love I know in Jesus. Amen 

Return

Give God thanks for the people you met today. In what situations did you find yourself loving like Jesus? Upon what criteria did you base your decision to put love into action? In what situations did you help others put love into action? What difference did loving like Jesus make in your life and the lives of the people around you? What will you do differently tomorrow? Give God thanks for the opportunities you had to love others as God in Jesus has loved you.