Day 34: "Thinking Like A Servant"

On to day 34 of the The Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For? by Pastor Rick Warren. Man! This chapter makes my head hurt I'm thinkin' so hard. I mean...the more you develop your relationship with GOD, the more you'll realize how many....layers...there are to EVERYTHING. What you have to remember, to keep your sanity, is that we are ALL different & there is not ONE right way to be a servant. There are SO many ways people serve. I can tell you...my wheels are turnin,' but I KNOW God has this. He knows where I'm at. He knows what I don't know & he knows my HEART...and he's got me.

This chapter hits points that have all been in my thoughts, are things I struggle with, are questions I'm trying to answer, etc...so it OVERWHELMED me a little. I'm just going to go through and share some of those points.

"God is always more interested in why we do something than in what we do. Attitudes count more than achievements."

"Unfortunately, a lot of our service is often self-serving. We serve to get others to like us, to be admired, or to achieve our own goals. That is manipulation, not ministry."

"I am, by nature, selfish. I think most about me. That's why humility is a daily struggle, a lesson I must relearn over and over."

"The Bible says, 'If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life.'"

"Servants remember that God owns it all."

"Living for ministry and living for money are mutually exclusive goals."

"God uses money to test your faithfulness as a servant."

"Wealth Builders continue to amass wealth for themselves no matter how much they make, but Kingdom Builders change the rules of the game. They still try to make as much money as they can, but they do it in order to give it away. They use the wealth to fund God's church and its mission in the world."

"It is also not our job to defend ourselves against criticism. Let your Master handle it."

"If you serve like Jesus, you can expect to be criticized. The world, and even much of the church, does not understand what God values."

"Because they remember they are loved and accepted by grace, servants don't have to prove their worth."

"Insecure people are always worrying about how they appear to others. They fear exposure of their weaknesses and hide beneath layers of protective pride and pretensions."

"When you base your worth and identity on your relationship to Christ, you are freed from the expectations of others, and that allows you to really serve them best."

"Henri Nouwen said, 'In order to be of service to others we have to die to them; that is, we have to give up measuring our meaning and value with the yardstick of others...thus we become free to be compassionate.'"

"Point to Ponder: To be a servant I must think like a servant."

Daily Verse: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5 (NIV)

Daily Question: "Am I usually more concerned about being served or finding ways to serve others?"

From My Journal: Finding ways to serve others...undoubtedly. This can range from my husband and children, to friends and family to complete strangers...and God. I get lost, confused, twisted up about things, etc, but I am a servant.

I have a confession :) I typed this blog 4 or 5 days ago, but felt like I was JUST listing the pieces of it that struck home to me, but I didn't know how to convey what I was feeling/thinking/wanting to convey.

I just finished watching an Oprah interview with The Invisible Child Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Jason Russell. To learn more about his movement read HERE: http://invisiblechildren.com/

There were LOTS of things talked about, but THAT interview will HELP me to EXPLAIN my struggle with this whole..."Thinking Like A Servant."

Here's the cliff notes: Jason Russell had a nervous breakdown/psycotic break/meltdown...whatever you wanna call it. Jason & 2 friends decided to film a documentary in East Africa & ultimately... (straight from The Invisible Children website): "They discovered a war in Uganda that had been going on for 20 years where a brutal warlord named Joseph Kony and his rebel army, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), were abducting children and forcing them to become soldiers." Go check out the website, because what this group of individuals did was TOTALLY coming from the RIGHT place...a place of PASSION for people...for humanity...for wanting to make RIGHT what we know from the CORE of our being is wrong.

They created a video called: KONY 2012. PLEASE watch it when you have some time. It generated an intense, BOLD movement, that my words can't even begin to describe...Questions started being asked that questioned the INTEGRITY of the cause. Jason...feeling SO passionately about it...saw it as questioning HIS integrity right along with it. I can't speak for him, but watching the interview...it seemed as if (from what seemed like a GLOBAL standpoint for him) it was all crumbling. The cause that he believed in was losing it's....value right before his eyes & he felt responsible. He wanted to FIX it & he couldn't sleep. He couldn't do anything, BUT think about the negative reactions...the judgements against the cause (& those he related to himself). It didn't matter that over a million people believed in THE CAUSE, that HE was so passionate about. The judgement of a few (in comparison) &...in my opinion... was the devil's CHANCE to get in and twist things up.

It can happen SO fast. Why is it SO easy to forget all the positive feedback & listen to the negative? Why is that what our natural response has become?

So...I digress a little. In this situation (how I see it) the devil capitalized on Jason's need for positive perception from EVERYONE. He preyed on it...he used it to TRY & defile it all......

Then God stepped in...& Jason's paraphrased words when Oprah asked him about the BIGGER picture of his VERY public breakdown: "It was God's way of plucking my EGO right out of the situation." (He didn't say it quite like that, but that's how I heard it.) All along the way...Jason could have LISTENED to OTHERS when they told him to rest, take a break, reassuring him that his role is coming from the
RIGHT place...he chose not to...(with the devil's help) & God USED that mess that was spiraling out of control to STRIP Jason of his EGO. To make him realize that God's WAY is way easier than the convaluted mess that he's trying to make work....on his own. I mean...GOD uses ALL of us to make his plan work...we are kind of foolish to think that we can go it on our own.

So as we talk about thinking like a servant...How does someone...a leader...that gets bombarded with a plethora of questions daily & who is looked to, to have the answers...How, when questions start bubbling up & that leader doesn't have all the answers, do they NOT hold the responsibility in KNOWING it? I mean...I can see how fast & somewhat easy it could be to get twisted up like Jason did. It happened to me just a few weeks ago on a MUCH smaller level than this & It took me several days to work through it & REALIZE (through prayer & journaling) that I don't have all the answers & how foolish I was to think that I was the ONLY person that had gone through something like this.

The quotes from the book, I made bold, all can be applied to this situation, but I think the one that we ALL need to rest in...especially those that are subject to more criticism is this: "It is also not our job to defend ourselves against criticism. Let your Master handle it." God KNOWS we don't have all the answers. In actuality...we have very little. God will not call us to go it alone...EVER. God wants us to rely on each other...& HIM. I can almost bet money that Jason will be able to hear that inner voice now, enabling him to stop the whirlwind. We may not always like the way God gets his victory, but we're sure glad he got it.

The movement Jason helped start & continues to DEVOTE himself to is so IMPORTANT. It's God's work...no doubt. I admire his tenacity, his strength, his mission, his faith. I admire that he GOT UP after his breakdown & is back at it, full force. I also admire him & his friends ability to: "create with abandon." When I was milling around with the same emotions Jason was dealing with...just muted down, I pulled out a journal that I bought that I hadn't written in yet & along with a lot of other encouraging words...the words "Create with abandon." LEAPED off the page at me. That is what I did. That is what Jason and his friends did. In that moment I TRULY realized it was all okay. It was not as big a deal as what my head was telling me it was. I wasn't going it alone & I not only had friends to support me, but I had friends that new stuff...new stuff to make it BETTER...to REACH more people. If either of us wouldn't have "created with abandon" the people we are helping, wouldn't get the help. I THANK GOD he found a way to speak to me that stopped my whirlwind...& I'm even thankful for Jason's experience. That it could be shared, so people that struggle with the same feelings can learn from it. God knew he could handle it & bounce back WAY stronger.

The leadership role can be a tough one sometimes. You start your work to serve God & serve people, but (because of the role you have) you can start serving your ego & not even know it. Put people in your camp that can "check you."

Buck Up Baby & Ride With Jesus! CREATE WITH ABANDON! That's how we WILL change our world & LEARN to TRULY trust God!

Day 17: "A Place To Belong"

Welcome readers! For new readers, we are taking a chapter by chapter journey through the book: The Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For? by Pastor Rick Warren.

 This chapter goes into a deep discussion about the importance of CHURCH. I had a little moment with this chapter. I AGREE...being a member of a church & regularly attending ADDS to your spiritual life. It has added to mine TREMENDOUSLY. I have said that the Catholic Church I attend REALLY helped me to KNOW Jesus Christ. BUT...I go back to when I wasn't regularly attending church in my youth & I KNOW that God was DEVELOPING my faith then too. I didn't feel "disconnected" like the book talks about. I felt CONNECTED in a divine way. I can also say that I liked the Lutheran Church that we were members of that I attended (regularly in young youth & not very often in my pre-teen/teenage years). There were things I learned about myself. I remember sitting in confirmation class & we were talking about God's creation & Cain & Able finding wives & I asked "If Adam & Eve were the only humans on earth & their only sons were Cain & Able...well....How did they find wives?" The Bible doesn't talk about him going on to create others, which he did OBVIOUSLY, but I was introduced & MOVED by the mystery of the Bible.

I don't know. I guess what I'm saying is I did a lot of PRIVATE spiritual development in those years that I think were SO important to me. So much so, that when I did start regularly attending another church & eventually becoming a member, it meant so much more for me. I wasn't just blindly going because my parents told me to go. I WANTED to go.

I agree that it is IMPORTANT, but I NEVER felt like what the book says the Bible talks about: "Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we?" Never felt...dead or useless... Anyways...I digress a bit, but just wanted to say that. I'm going to go into the different sections of the book.

"Your Local Fellowship"

This section again says: "The Bible says a Christian without a church home is like an organ without a body, a sheep without a flock, or a child without a family. It is an unnatural state." I yet struggle with this...BECAUSE...everyone's experience is different & I AGREE we would ALL hugely benefit from the RIGHT church for us & I NEED the church that I regularly attend & appreciate it, BUT...you can be going every Sunday...because that is what we are supposed to do & you can be listening & applying some of the things you learn to your life....You can be an ACTIVE member...an usher, church council member, Eucharistic minister...BUT if you pass judgement or FAIL to help a current member, new member or a non-believer or an on-the-fence church member....how does that make you any better than a church member that is attending, but not actively participating in day-to-day church activities and events, BUT in private helps another member that is struggling. I don't know...It's gonna take me a minute to wrap my head around it. If everyone gives God the glory for whatever their doing than it all would be coming from the right place, but if people are doing things to bring themselves the glory...I just don't know. People are just so complex & we all have a plethora of sin & emotion whirling around us & a plethora of talents & needs that are not cookie cutter, and a lot of churches leave an impression that you have to fit that mold, if you want to fit in & I just can't get with that.

I think that we are all blessed with unique talents & we can all bring something unique to ANY church...even the most traditional. I was a Lutheran & the Catholic church really led me to Jesus. You may be a non-believer that feels left out & judged in a Catholic church, but feels TOTALLY accepted & RIGHT at the United Methodist church. I guess what I'm sayin' is WHATEVER GETS YOU TO JESUS can't be wrong. That is one of our main goals: To get to know Jesus Christ. Another thing....some of us are outgoing & love to be around people. Some of us are more structured and EXCEL at leading a meeting. Some of us are afraid to get up in front of large groups of people & read a reading OR collect the offering. All I'm sayin' is we ALL have a UNiquE way we can add to our church. AGAIN...I AGREE that it is important to be a member of a congregation for MORE than what makes you seem like an "active member." There isn't a right or a wrong gift you can add. A lot of times people don't join a church because they feel intimidated, or don't feel comfortable doing/acting/saying certain things. You have to feel accepted & a church will HELP you develop whatever relationship with The Holy Trinity you are working on.

"Why You Need a Church Family"

I love this book, but I'm not buyin' in to this first line: "I can't claim to be following Christ if I'm not committed to any specific group of disciples." I don't know man... I mean I WAS following Jesus Christ when I was not regularly going. I was committed to him. I prayed to him daily (or almost daily). I reflected back on things I was taught. I mean...I guess if you are just walkin' around sinnin' all the time & not thinkin' about it AT ALL that's one thing... If you didn't take some time to pray & talk to God/Jesus maybe not. BUT I was following Jesus Christ.  Again...not saying a church family is unnecessary, just sayin' that we all go about things a little differently & our aim should always be to get to know God, Jesus, & The Holy Spirit. This section of the book also says: "A church family moves you out of self-centered isolation." I can get with that. You start becoming a part of other peoples lives & you learn lessons from the Bible that encourage you to do just that. You are held more responsible.

Aaaand...as the chapter rolls on...it all starts comin' together for me....

"The Body of Christ needs you." Agreed! I believe that we are supposed to work in numbers. I believe what this chapter says when it says: "God has a unique role for you to play in his family. This is called your 'ministry,' and God has gifted you for this assignment: 'A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.'" Yes Sir -E Bob! Now we're talkin'! Now I KNOW I need to develop & initiate MY ROLE within our church. Here is another important line from this chapter: "Your local fellowship is the place God designed for you to discover, develop, and use your gifts. you may also have a wider ministry, but that is in addition to your service in a local body. Jesus has not promised to build your ministry; he has promised to build his church." His church...which is now HIS body here on earth. Also...what I take away from this is that when we use our spiritual gifts, that God gives us, we are strengthening the church & enabling the body as a WHOLE  to pull people in by the numbers. We all identify with each other differently & the more people using their gifts, the more it will resonate with people. Last thing I took away from the last line I quoted: When we we start developing our ministry...we start DEVELOPING our relationship with GOD. There is a BIG difference in having a relationship & developing one. We all have one, because we are his creation.

"A church family will help keep you from backsliding."

 Folks...I can tell you Jesus is workin' with me right now. Over the last several months I have talked to people about things I KNOW I wouldn't have talked to them about a few months ago. I have talked to them when I didn't want to. I have talked to them when I know they didn't want me to. I have talked about things that I would have maybe been ashamed of or feared judgement. I have encouraged, and believed, and hurt for others. I have BLESSED things (conversations/travels/souls of the deceased/friendships) by prayer in a way I NEVER did before. These are the two lines that helped serve as a catalyst (I think): "'Mind your own business' is not a Christian phrase. We are called and commanded to be involved in each other's lives." Do you wanna know how many times I have "Minded my own business," just so I didn't ruffle any feathers? Too damn many....and I know it. I also know that for every time I "minded my own business" I have left a situation that is NO BETTER today than it was days, or months, or years ago. I'm not sayin' you go out lookin' for things, BUT when something DEEPLY affects you or someone you love & has the potential to HURT, RUIN, or DIVIDE you better get nosy!! Who do you think wants to HURT, RUIN, or DIVIDE??? God or the devil?

"Point to Ponder: I am called to belong, not just believe."

Daily Bible Verse: "In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." Romans 12:5 (NIV)

Daily Question: "Does any involvement in my local church demonstrate that I love and am committed to God's family."

From my journal: No. I need to speak with Father about a good role for me. My thought is a different blog where there can be several different contributors & can be shared with anyone that leaves an email address with the church office. Let's say the contributors could be: a younger person that has converted to Catholicism (myself), an older person that converted, someone that grew up in the Catholic church (younger & older) & maybe a Priest or Bishop. That way we can include several different viewpoints from members of the church. We could talk about a plethora of different topics: what certain things in the Catholic church mean, the importance of Saints & Mother Mary, the different ways we each value confession, and a description of the importance of our Holy Days.

Buck Up Baby & Ride With Jesus! Go find you a church that feels like home! God Bless!  

P.S. I just watched an Oprah interview last night with Mike Fisher & Carrie Underwood. Soon after they started dating they started reading this book together....& he's re-reading it (per the interview). Kinda cool.