#352 - YEAR ONE REFLECTION

On September 14, 2014, theMOVEMENT church celebrated it’s 1-Year Anniversary. Which means, one year has gone by since the day a group of 20 committed individuals (Our Core Team) and a group of 50 sacrificial volunteers (Our Launch Team) planted a church in the city of Oakland with the mission to Overwhelm Oakland with Love.

A few of my favorite memories of our very first year include:

1. Serving a carne asada taco lunch after our launch service to our over 200 attendees. (Experiencing the excitement, energy and enthusiasm following our first service was a huge encouragement!)

2. Raising over $12,000 during our very first “Be Generous” giving campaign to provide for individuals and families with financial needs in our church community! (Delivering the checks with my wife to the various families was an experience I will never forget.)

3. Holding our service in a venue with no heat during a couple of very frigid weeks in December. (Preaching to a group of people bundled up in scarves and big coats is pretty funny!)

4. Baptizing 13 people! (Waching Un-Churched, De-Churched and Over-Churched individuals tell their story and go public with their faith in Jesus Christ is one of my greatest joys.)

5. Seeing the 2-Pac version of myself during one of Josh’s messages! (Being able to laugh at myself and enjoy a message that I wasn’t preaching is always a treat!)

There are so many more memories that I could share, but for the sake of brevity, I want to take a moment to reflect upon a few things that I hope to never forget.

My Major Mistake — Hiring too fast. Firing too slow.

The lesson is pretty self-explanatory. I brought someone onto our team with not enough thought, prayer and consideration and allowed that person to stay on our team with too much thought, prayer and consideration. Moving forward I must take the totally opposite approach. Hire slow. Fire fast.

My Major Surprise — The Gospel is Powerful.

Not that I didn’t think that the gospel was powerful, but through this last year I was pleasantly surprised to witness how powerful it actually is. If I’m being honest, seeing people surrender their lives to Christ in response to the message that “Christ saves sinners” without having to use tactics or force…surprising. Seeing long-time “Christians,” by the power of the gospel, mature their motivations for their good deeds…surprising. Seeing “atheists” confess Jesus is Lord, without all of their questions being answered…surprising. Seeing myself love people where they are, in light of the fact that the gospel says that “While I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me”…surprising.

I must remember, our marketing has no power, our musicians have no power, our methods have no power, and I definitely have no power. The gospel is the power unto salvation! The only question is, “Will I trust it?”

My Lasting Lesson — Jesus builds His Church.

I may be shepherding. The congregation may be serving. Guests may be attending. But Jesus is the one who is actually building the church. I may be preaching, but Jesus is saving. The congregation may be participating, but Jesus is transforming. Our guests may be checking us out, but Jesus is softening their hearts. We do the work that is natural. Jesus does the work that is supernatural. We do the work that is physical. Jesus does the work that is spiritual. We do the work that is temporary. Jesus does the work that is eternal.

Does this devalue the work that we do? Absolutely not! By God’s grace, Jesus is doing his supernatural work, through our natural efforts! Jesus is doing his spiritual work through our physical contribution. Jesus is doing his eternal work through our temporary gifts.

At the end of the day, what I must remember is this: Jesus is the one doing all the heavy lifting, we’re just the ones handing him the boxes.

#351 - OBSTACLE TO AWE #4 - BUSYNESS

8–10 hours a day. 6–7 days a week. 52 weeks a year.

We’ve all been there before.

We have to-do lists at work that overwhelm. Unprepared presentations. Unreturned phone calls. Unresponded to emails. Unfinished projects.

We have to-do lists at home that never end. The kids always need something. The house always needs to be cleaned. Dinner always need to be made. Laundry always needs to be done.

We have to-do lists for life that rarely seem to be fully under control. Bills to pay. Relationships to manage. Health to take care of. Education to complete.

There’s just no time for awe.

No time for awe of opportunities presented. No time for awe of progress made. No time for awe of accomplishments completed. And the problem is, if we don’t make time to be in awe of the things we see, it’s very unlikely that we will make the time to be in awe of the things we don’t see.

God’s love.
God’s grace.
God’s faithfulness.

At least this was my experience.

I was too busy with everything to be amazed by anything.

Too busy trying to get my “ducks in a row.” Too busy trying to get my “house in order.” Too busy trying not to “put all my eggs in one basket.” All the cliche’s applied. And, unfortunately, so did this one…

“If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.”

Though I was committed to doing “God’s work.” Though I was involved in pursuing “God’s purposes.” Though I was seemingly accomplishing “God’s will.” The tragedy is that, in it all, I wasn’t aware of God’s goodness. I wasn’t amazed at God’s grace. I wasn’t in awe of God’s glory.

Like Martha and unlike Mary, I was too busy using my hands when I should’ve been sitting at Christ’s feet. I was too busy serving God’s purposes when I should’ve been savoring God’s presence. I was too busy working when I should’ve been making more time for worship.

In future blog posts, I will talk about how to avoid this obstacle of busyness, but in the mean time I encourage you to consider and reflect upon the following questions:

Are you too busy with everything to be amazed by anything? Is your busyness for God an obstacle to your awe of God?

#350 - OBSTACLE TO AWE #3 - IGNORANCE

Chicken and Waffles.

For the longest time, it was just a decent dish to me. An interesting combination of tastes, but nothing I would ever go out of my way to eat. Whether it was the spot in Jack London Square, Merritt Bakery, or the famous Roscoe’s, each restaurant pretty much made them the same, and as time went on, I found myself desiring them less and less. I was disinterested.

And then my wife and I visited the Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, California.

Their Chicken and Waffles were unlike anything I’d ever tasted. Their unique, corn-meal based waffles were incredible, their apple-cider inspired syrup was delicious and their flavorfully seasoned chicken is, probably, the best chicken I have ever eaten in my life. And I am not exaggerating.

I had no idea that Chicken and Waffles could taste so good! I was ignorant to the potential of the dish, and that ignorance impacted my interest.

In short,

Ignorance impedes interest.

And our ignorance does this to us all the time. In every area of our lives…

We think we know how good a particular food is going to taste. We think we know how interesting a particular person is going to be. We think we know how fulfilling a particular experience is going to feel.

And if we make the judgement call that a food, person or experience isn’t going to be so great, we’re uninterested.

The problem is, sometimes we make the wrong call.

And I definitely made the wrong call when it came to Jesus Christ.

To me, for the most part, placing my faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of my sins meant that, when I died, I would avoid eternal punishment in Hell and, instead, go to Heaven. In other words, the primary benefit to my faith in Jesus Christ and identification as a Christian was, basically, “fire insurance.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I also understood the additional benefits of being a Christian included being in a relationship with a God who was “there for you” and “heard your prayers” and those benefits were something I appreciated. Growing up with the idea that, in Christ, I had a Savior, Comforter, and Friend was very reassuring, but, if the truth be told, these truths very rarely had me in awe of God.

Growing up in church, I can’t ever recall being brought to a more full understanding of the deeper implications that my faith should have on my life. If anything, the more I attended church and listened to sermons, the more indebted I felt to God. The more guilty I felt for my inability to overcome sin. The more overwhelmed I felt at the pressure of having to be a “good Christian.”

And so I made a judgement call — Christianity was burdensome and unfulfilling.

But in hindsight, I can now see that my understanding was so limited. My view was so short-sighted. My comprehension was so elementary.

I allowed my negative experience with church to cause me to have a narrow view of God.

I assumed that what I had seen and experienced provided enough information for me to make a decision on who God was and what His purposes were.

In future blog posts, I will write about many of the beauties of the Christian message that have me more excited about my faith than I am about Brown Sugar Kitchen’s Chicken and Waffles! But in the mean time, I encourage you to think about the following questions:

Is it possible that your disinterest in God could be attributed to a bad experience or to a limited understanding of who God is? Is it possible that God and His love for humanity is much more amazing than you think? Is it possible that the judgement call you have made about God is wrong?

#349 - OBSTACLE TO AWE #2 - DISAPPOINTMENT

Like the child who throws a fit in the toy store because his parents do not get him what he wants. Like the employee who resents the boss who does not give him the promotion. Like the wife who gives her spouse the cold shoulder because she does not receive the birthday present she was expecting…

Disappointment disturbs delight.

And though I was unaware of it at the time, this principle was at work within my relationship with God as well.

You see, I had expectations.

I was supposed to serve God and, in gladly doing so, I had a guarantee that He would serve me. I was supposed to give to God and, in consistently doing so, I could be sure that He would give to me. I was supposed to pray to God and, in humbly doing so, He would answer.

I was under the impression that if I served God, I would secure my happiness. I believed if I loved God, I would always feel His love for me. I thought that if I was committed to God, I could somehow control His hand.

Have you ever had similar feelings or expectations?

But, after over 15 years of living my life in this way, it didn’t seem to be working out like I thought it would. I wasn’t experiencing the benefits I thought I would experience by committing my life to Christ.

I was disappointed.

Areas of letdown and disappointment with God could be found in the following areas of my life:

1. Finances — It was very hard to be in awe of a God who I perceived wasn’t bringing into my life the type of financial security and success that I believed He had promised me.
2. Career — I found it very difficult to worship a God who I perceived wasn’t furthering along and blessing the career that I believed He had called me to pursue!
3. Relationships — It was tough to praise a God who I perceived was removing relationships from my life that I believed He had placed into my life in the first place.

And there is no doubt in my mind that these disappointments became a major obstacle to my awe of God.

It became very hard for me to joyfully lift God up because I felt He had consistently let me down.

It’s difficult to be in wonder of someone who you conclude isn’t being very wonderful. It’s difficult to praise someone who you conclude isn’t acting very praiseworthy. It’s difficult to be in awe of someone who you conclude is being awful.

In future posts, I will discuss how we can avoid and overcome the “obstacle of awe” known as disappointment, but in the mean time I encourage you to consider the following questions:

How have you been disappointed by God? How have those disappointments impacted the awe and wonder you have of God?

#348 - OBSTACLE TO AWE #1 - FAMILIARITY

Like the married couple who’s celebrating their 25th Anniversary, but find themselves sitting across from each other at a fine restaurant with nothing to say. Like the factory worker who can do his job without even thinking because he’s done it so long, but yearns to find another career. Like the young woman who has a closet full of clothes, but, every morning, finds herself saying, “I have nothing to wear.” Familiarity breeds contempt.

Or in other words…

Time with, threatens appreciation for.

And I found this to be true with my relationship with God.

After participating in a countless number of services, Sunday School classes, Bible Studies, Summer Camps, Winter Retreats, and every other church activity you could think of, everything became so familiar.

The songs — Amazing Grace, Nothing But the Blood, How Great Thou Art, Refiner’s Fire, I Could Sing of Your Love Forever, Mighty to Save, Hosanna…the list goes on and on. I was familiar with them all.

The stories — Adam and Eve, The Exodus, Joseph, David and Goliath, Jonah and “The Whale,” Samson and Delilah, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, The Walls of Jericho, The Birth of Jesus, The Prodigal Son, The Crucifixion, The Resurrection…so many stories. So much familiarity.

The verses — “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…,” “For God so loved the world…,” “For the wages of sin is death…,” “The Lord is my shepherd…,” “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…,” “Trust in the Lord with all your heart…” I had to memorize so many! And with memorization came even more familiarity.

And then I started organizing services, teaching Sunday School classes, facilitating Bible Studies, speaking at Summer Camps, and planning Winter Retreats, and leading every other church activity you could think of. This brought the familiarity with the songs, stories, verses, and all of the other things connected with church culture to a whole new level!

But if the truth be told, in the midst of it all there was very little awe.

Don’t get me wrong, there were moments of awe, but because of my familiarity with the content there was very little amazement, wonder and appreciation for the content.

My familiarity with the lyrics to the songs, many times, resulted in me singing without experiencing the life in the songs.

My familiarity with the practical applications of a Bible story, caused me to miss out on many of the powerful implications the story should have on my life.

My familiarity with all the things that Jesus said, led me to very rarely think about all the things that Jesus actually meant.

My familiarity with how to put on a service, very often, prevented me from participating in a service.

In hindsight, I realized…

As the things of God became more familiar, one’s awe of God can become unfamiliar.

Does your awe of God need to be rescued from familiarity?