THE UPRISING

 

Q: Sin, how do we get it out of our lives? 

A: Firstly... We worship our way into sin. We must worship our way out of it.

THE UPRISING

“The Bible demonstrates our need for a double conversion,

first, out of the world and into Christ,

then, back into the world with Christ.”

~ John Stott. Quote lifted from Here

via theuprising.typepad.com

 

"We lie here weeping 

between porch & altar.

Pour out your Spirit 

on Your sons

& Your daughters"

 

Keeping sight of the extrordinary things God wants to do in this world, 

I get up, bow dow, surrender all, & hit the ground running.

Day 5 into the 40. Would've been day 10 but I had to push the restart button. So... day 5 into it I just passed the withdrawal issues from the 1st big thing I chucked into the fire 5 days ago in the name of transformation. Here @day 5 is where it hits me how incredibly broken I am. How weak & broken & bent. The big swaths of down-time not being filled with noise has afforded space enough for God to sit down with me & hit the replay button on many of my past plays from this season's games. I look a lot like Forerst Gump on the football field with the ball gripped tight & a great big heart & a few real strengths, & even a lot of scores, but not a lot of understanding of the how the plays & rules fit together in the scope of the larger context. I'm broken. And this realization is of course only a glimpse into Truth - not the full Monty.  Feels kinda like those late night parties when sometime around 2am they cut on the lights & you see everyone not in the beautiful glow of the dim lanterns but in the stark contrast of realism that only bright overhead lights can reveal. It's like that. If I can stand to look at myself in the stark white light of God's truth, then seeing God Himself much more clearly should be easy by comparison. At least, this is what I'm hoping.

Theme video for Day 5: Here

When the steel-gray sky

turns deep-sea blue,

then spark-speckled black,

all my significant joys & sorrows

slowly give way to my sleeping soul.

There, in deep slumber, the shadows have substance

and that substance carries metaphor & meaning.

THE UPRISING

In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. -Apostle Paul

via theuprising.typepad.com

Ours is a feast of words

A banquet of thoughts

The bread of rhythm & metered rhyme

The wine of theology aged & matured

Sweet morsels of wit proclaimed

Honey dipped communion

Sacred & sublime

Trying to build community in the absence of trust is impossible. People become guarded & cautious in everything they say & do. Communication becomes a way to protect oneself, avoiding risk rather than expressing themselves. To  build community as God defines it is to create a safe place where people can share in the atmosphere of love, honor, & freedom. Transformation & destinies are realized in such a place. 

- R. Ricciardelli

In this life God has not promised to wipe away all your tears,

but He certainly has promised to wipe away all your fears...

if ya let Him.

There is a pastor of a fairly new & fast growing church who said that when he started out many months ago, after work he'd go home & cry believing himself to be way out of his league or having bitten off way more than he could handle & wishing he'd never launched into what seemed to him likely to fail. He now has the fastest growing church in the city - But before that, when it was all hopes & planning & early launching, he had doubts. And yet he still kept moving forward. Kept working. Kept launching. I think every good ministry has a leader at the helm who has had to pass through that fiery crucible where doubt & faith duke it out. Where the triumphant departure toward a new thing meets the harsh reality of the new thing's portions of desert-like landscape.  It would scare any leader. But keep moving forward. Let the scary parts drive you to trust God as you take big leaps with sweaty palms & the reality check that there are indeed huge walls of water on either side. These mental/emotional obstacles may now be feeding your fears. But this pulling time will one day become an important part of your story feeding & fueling the faith of others.

         

Passion for God is no substitute for obedience to God.

LESSONS ON LEADERSHIP 

Most leaders are used to keeping people at a 'safe' distance & so don't have people regularly privy to their *uncensored thoughts & lives behind closed doors & out of public eye. Despite all the rational behind such a lifestyle & course of action, this kind of isolation is a breeding ground for all sorts of trouble.  We need people. 

 We should surround ourselves with a circle of trustworthy, loving people who will tell us the truth, no matter what. More than just one or two people - and more than immediate family members. Our circle should Include those from both inside & outside of our ministry's community. Those with whom our contact has real & intentional consistency. Mentors, peers, & friends who are vested in our spiritual health & quality of life. Not just our ministry. We need more than a person, we need people. 

Some leaders are more adept at letting people into their thought process & issues, but the conversation content rarely goes beyond the neat parameters of ministry related issues. While it is important to have an outlet to unpack ministry & even "spiritual" issues, if this is the only kind of unpacking we're regulalry involved in, it is not well rounded enough to effect the kind of change & growth & provide the kind of soul support we need as a human beings & as a followers of Christ.

Watch out for the temptation to avoid those God puts in our lives who have a very different personality & perspective than our own. These kind of people can seem intimidating, for sure.  Not permitting them access to speak into our life means we may avoid some uncomfortable interactions & perhaps even conflict. But not giving the access will also put us out of reach of the kind of perspectives that can help us look at things in a not so narrow or familiar way. We need a variety of people.

If I were offer a homework assignment, it would be for the leaders in my sphere of influence to

 ask God for, 

wisely & intentionally assemble, 

& consitently connect with

 that circle of loving & trustworthy friends. 

We all need them.

We need people. 

temptation   "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."   I Corinthians 10:13

Flashback101: One of the Pastors that I help Pastor stopped in to spend some time with me this evening. He gave me the backstory of his conversion & how that got him from back there to right here. With one earphone in his ear & the other in mine, we listened to a prophetic word  given him many months ago, which he keeps on his iPhone. For the duration of our time together, I listened with one ear toward him & the other toward God  who was also speaking. It was a really good 1st one-on-one meeting. It gave me more insight into this church's future than had any other meeting with any other person from that church up to that point. For me, it was a kind of connecting of the dots from some long held longings & a conversation with God the day before; & it helped me know where to set the bar for this crew of misfits called to greatness. Well, I'm off to meet with a Pastor's group from Lifepointe to talk about what  prayer & justice looks like when its theology gets its street cred back.

 

-L

I know you don't like being wrong - But sometimes it's necessary 

-God

             

Everywhere & up from every place

I am gripped

When I think hard on You

I slip into a lingering daze

As a man giving way

To an invading illness

I fall sick with love

And when thus under love’s sway

I forget my soil

And myself

Casting off fears

I move up to the rim of my rule.

There

At the border between

Absolute surrender & losing control

There

Between risk & reward

I worship

The Letter

To

listen,

click

Here

.

.

.

When I talk about needing to slow down & ditch my current level of busyness, my old friends sigh & say they understand & need to do the same. My new friends give me the Martha/Mary speech. For me it's not about carving out more time for God. I cordan off a pretty serious section each day for down time with God. For me the slow down isn't about God-time, it's about life-pace. It's about more time for family & friends & art & road trips & long walks & good books & kite-flying & time spent just gazing into the heavens. It's about space & pace. With regards to work, it's not about big huge shifts in how & where I role, but in more measured steps that more faithfully match Christ's chosen pace for me in this season.