Years ago, before I was familiar with the voice of God speaking directly into my life, I was given the passage Isaiah 61 as a mission statement for my life. Since then, the Lord has used the journeys of my life to slowly realize its meaning; one verse at a time.
Tonight I was reading 'Multiply' by Francis Chan and I had the meaning of 'minister' redefined for me. Chan shared that there is a disconnect between the church's belief that the great commission is still relevant and our actual living out of discipleship. We leave ministering to ministers and excuse ourselves from investing in people, because we "are not called to be a minister", "are busy" and "have our own issues."
But each of us has been called to make disciples and have been crafted and equipped to do so. "The pastor is the equiper, and every member of the church is a minister." The calling is simple but the implications and cost are heavy.
A minister:
3. An authorized diplomatic representative of a government, usually ranking next below an ambassador.
4. A person serving as an agent for another by carrying out specific orders or functions.
To minister:
1. To attend to the wants and needs of others.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Did Jesus have a six pack?
Last year Holly befriended a couple of Mormon missionaries, while we were living in Texas. One time we were chatting with them and I made a joke about how white the Jesus on their pamphlet was.
But we are just as guilty. Easter week they showed a reenactment of the crucifixion at my church, and Jesus had a six pack. Now maybe you know some historical evidence that suggests it would be typical for people to have amazing abs in that culture, but I had to laugh at the thought of Jesus doing sit ups.
And it is comical, but it is also quite scary. The other day, somebody showed me an image of what Jesus is actually likely to have looked like.
Its scary because I have become comfortable with my images, I know the Jesus whose arms I would run into, I know what Jesus looked like when he let the little children come to him. I know MY Jesus.
But what if the man above came and sat in my living room? Would I be awkward around Jesus? That scares me. Perhaps I need to let go of MY Jesus and open my mind to the 33 year old Jewish man who death couldn't hold.
But we are just as guilty. Easter week they showed a reenactment of the crucifixion at my church, and Jesus had a six pack. Now maybe you know some historical evidence that suggests it would be typical for people to have amazing abs in that culture, but I had to laugh at the thought of Jesus doing sit ups.
And it is comical, but it is also quite scary. The other day, somebody showed me an image of what Jesus is actually likely to have looked like.
Its scary because I have become comfortable with my images, I know the Jesus whose arms I would run into, I know what Jesus looked like when he let the little children come to him. I know MY Jesus.
But what if the man above came and sat in my living room? Would I be awkward around Jesus? That scares me. Perhaps I need to let go of MY Jesus and open my mind to the 33 year old Jewish man who death couldn't hold.
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