Church Planting Series, Part thirty-one
Isn’t it strange that out of all the people who could rebuild Jerusalem and restore God’s people, God picked Cyrus, king of the Persian Empire?
God decided that he would use a pagan ruler to show the world who the true God really was.
In Ezra 1:2-3 we hear Cyrus decree: “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you--may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.”
Cyrus was acquainted with Yahweh. Cyrus heard Yahweh speak. Cyrus obeyed. Cyrus validated the reality of Yahweh.
God used an icon of the culture, a man outside the Israelite in-group, someone who probably didn’t understand all the details about Yahweh, to initiate an exciting and sacred renewal of faith and life in Jerusalem. Go figure.
I heard church commentator Reggie McNeal say recently, “There is a God conversation going on in the culture, but we’re too busy talking about church.”
While we “Israelites” live in the captivity of our worship schedules, programs, and hopes that people will come to our churches, God is doing something bigger.
Consider another Cyrus for 2010: Miley Cyrus. You know, Hannah Montana and lots of pre-teen girls screaming at her concerts. You may have read her article in the recent “Parade” national magazine. She said, “My faith is very important to me. But I don’t necessarily define my faith by going to church every Sunday…I am very spiritual in my own way. Let me make it clear, though—I am a Christian. Jesus is who saved me. He’s what keeps me full and whole.”
Teen Queen Cyrus, as the article describes her, is just one of many interesting indicators of the “God conversation” going on in our culture. While Miley is overtly Christian, other voices of the culture utter God talk in less defined and more imprecise expressions. But like King Cyrus, popular and even pagan voices are out there with God on their lips—even the true God at times. In some very interesting ways, they are initiating an exciting and sacred renewal of faith and life. The true God doesn’t just live in church buildings, so why shouldn’t we expect His Spirit’s work in the nooks and crannies, on the stages and in the studios, on the streets and in the neighborhoods of our world?
What is our response? Should Ezra have rebuked Cyrus as a Pagan no-goodnick who had no right to pretend he had any shred of the truth? Should we condemn all the “outsiders” who stumble around with clumsy God-talk?
Or should we praise God and get into the conversation? Ezra 1:1 says that “the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing.” Yahweh was working in the culture. Two hundred years before Cyrus or Persia were even known, Yahweh formed His plan for the restoration of Israel. In Isaiah 45:13 Yahweh declared: “I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness.”
God uses Cyruses. They’re all over the place. They’re saturating the culture. God is leading the discussion. It’s time for us to get on board. As we worship on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, the goal is not to pack our churches. The goal is to send as many people as possible into the world to enter into the conversation that God has started. We are to join the God-conversation, helping to bring the Way and the Truth and the Life to a world that is hungry for food that lasts and thirsty for water that quenches.
Watch for the latest Cyrus. Let the conversation encourage you and inspire you to get out there and to send people out there! If we claim Jesus is alive, let’s not be surprised that He’s doing a lot of talking.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Oscar and Making Heroes
Church Planting Series, Part thirty
It’s Oscar time of year! Yes, you may be a connoisseur of the red carpet, a viewer of the very famous, a watcher of designer outerwear, a groupie of the acting-gifted. Or maybe not.
I’ll be honest, whenever I see Hollywood awards shows, I feel like they’re very self-indulgent. An award extravaganza amounts to actors throwing a big party and patting each other on the back publicly in order to self promote, create more revenue, and position themselves for bigger and better contracts.
But in the midst of the glamorous gowns, the insipid speeches, and the drawn-out demagoguery, could there be a bright spot? Is there a lesson to learn?
Recently, I heard Reggie McNeal speak about apostolic leaders. Addressing what was created to be a living organism, the Church, McNeal commented that the Church needs to celebrate the right things. The living, breathing, changing, on-the-move Church needs to rejoice in the risks it takes. It needs to share success stories of outstretched arms of salvation being brought to the hurting and lost.
McNeal said that apostolic leaders and a truly apostolic Church “make heroes of the right people.”
Could it be that the Oscars are closer to apostolic leadership than the Church?
Think about what the Church does with its risk-takers, change-agents, and new idea people. Too often, it buries them beneath criticism. It shuns them. Even when these on-the-edge entrepreneurs are solidly proclaiming Biblical truth, the Church has responded with complacency or cruelty.
A local pastor may suppress the gifts of a layperson. A denomination may hiss over the newest local church that is growing. Why? It may be that no one wants to risk compromising the glory of God. But I think there’s another reason. I believe that the Church, in part, is imprisoned in unhealthy fear and ungodly egocentricity. Instead of lifting up others for the sake of the Kingdom, the church has fallen into the trap of pushing others down for the sake of itself. It is madness. It is contrary to our calling.
So, as we create enemies, Hollywood makes heroes. As we decline, Hollywood identifies and lifts up its best to increase its market share.
What if we decided to follow Hollywood’s lead? Not in Hollywood style, of course, but in God’s style. What if we made heroes of good and faithful servants? What if we celebrated and learned from missional risk takers? What if we listened to people who had new ideas—-and tried them out! What if we lifted up exceptional Kingdom advancers to increase Jesus’ market share?
How will you lose yourself and make a hero of one of Jesus’ servants this week?
It’s Oscar time of year! Yes, you may be a connoisseur of the red carpet, a viewer of the very famous, a watcher of designer outerwear, a groupie of the acting-gifted. Or maybe not.
I’ll be honest, whenever I see Hollywood awards shows, I feel like they’re very self-indulgent. An award extravaganza amounts to actors throwing a big party and patting each other on the back publicly in order to self promote, create more revenue, and position themselves for bigger and better contracts.
But in the midst of the glamorous gowns, the insipid speeches, and the drawn-out demagoguery, could there be a bright spot? Is there a lesson to learn?
Recently, I heard Reggie McNeal speak about apostolic leaders. Addressing what was created to be a living organism, the Church, McNeal commented that the Church needs to celebrate the right things. The living, breathing, changing, on-the-move Church needs to rejoice in the risks it takes. It needs to share success stories of outstretched arms of salvation being brought to the hurting and lost.
McNeal said that apostolic leaders and a truly apostolic Church “make heroes of the right people.”
Could it be that the Oscars are closer to apostolic leadership than the Church?
Think about what the Church does with its risk-takers, change-agents, and new idea people. Too often, it buries them beneath criticism. It shuns them. Even when these on-the-edge entrepreneurs are solidly proclaiming Biblical truth, the Church has responded with complacency or cruelty.
A local pastor may suppress the gifts of a layperson. A denomination may hiss over the newest local church that is growing. Why? It may be that no one wants to risk compromising the glory of God. But I think there’s another reason. I believe that the Church, in part, is imprisoned in unhealthy fear and ungodly egocentricity. Instead of lifting up others for the sake of the Kingdom, the church has fallen into the trap of pushing others down for the sake of itself. It is madness. It is contrary to our calling.
So, as we create enemies, Hollywood makes heroes. As we decline, Hollywood identifies and lifts up its best to increase its market share.
What if we decided to follow Hollywood’s lead? Not in Hollywood style, of course, but in God’s style. What if we made heroes of good and faithful servants? What if we celebrated and learned from missional risk takers? What if we listened to people who had new ideas—-and tried them out! What if we lifted up exceptional Kingdom advancers to increase Jesus’ market share?
How will you lose yourself and make a hero of one of Jesus’ servants this week?
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