They Smell Like Sheep

I read a great book this week - They Smell Like Sheep, by Lynn Anderson.

It's about leadership.
Leading like a shepherd.
Leading like The Shepherd.

The shepherd metaphor is referenced more than 500 times in scripture. Throughout the Bible, the cause of Christ to rescue a fallen humanity is illustrated in terms of a shepherd rescuing his lost sheep. Isaiah used this metaphor by saying that, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way (Is 53:6)," clearly eluding to the coming Christ, the Good Shepherd, Who would love us so much as to lay down His life for us.

In Jesus' day, the concept of shepherding was widely understood. It was a familiar way of life for many of the people to whom Jesus spoke. It's easy to understand why the concept of shepherding is viewed, by many, as equally as totalitarian and dictatorial as the leadership encountered most in today's culture, as in, a shepherd mightily ruling over his sheep, however, that view of shepherding is improper and inaccurate. 

To the contrary, a shepherd is one who deeply loves and cares for his sheep. Anderson says that, "for the family of a shepherd, the food on their tables and the clothes on their backs, not to mention the family honor, was inexorably linked to the way they cared for their flocks." To that end, a shepherd is not one who lords his power over the flock; rather, he is one who intimately shares his life with his flock.

A shepherd knows each sheep by name; he nurtures the young, bandages the wounded, cares for the weak, and protects them all.

A shepherd smells like sheep. 

What's intriguing is that Jesus led in stark contrast to what's normally defined as leadership. His definition of leadership is one who is last and servant of all (Mark 9:35). Jesus' definition of leadership is servanthood. Try typing in servanthood once and you'll see that it isn't even a recognized word in our dictionary.

Jesus definition of leadership, and His revolutionary display of power through servant leadership, is apparently why many of the Jewish people did not recognize Him as Messiah. While they waited for a messiah who would physically restore Israel and lead them into a messianic age of global peace, Jesus, The Messiah, presented Himself as a suffering servant and not as the conquering king they were expecting.

It begs the question, have we embraced the wrong kind of leadership?

As the church of Jesus, rather than embracing shepherd-like leadership, have we somehow been drawn to, eerily attracted to an authoritarian, totalitarian form of leadership rather than the shepherding-style servant form of leadership modeled by Jesus?

Israel longed for a leader who would cast down their enemies and redeem their place in the world. They were looking for, in their leader, a physical display of strength, of power and of might. I have to ask, do we look for the same in our leaders? In our pastors? 

Have we embraced the wrong kind of leadership in the church? 

People long for pure leadership, an honest and caring shepherd. Servant leadership shines in stark contrast to the leadership of modern American culture, and quite frankly, the leadership of most modern day churches. 

Gene Edwards, in the preface of A Tale of Three Kings, speaks of what I believe we have come to not only embrace, but expect of our leaders, inside and outside of the church:

"I noted some years ago a growing number of letters from Christians devastated by the authoritarian movement that had become so popular with many evangelical groups. A reaction to this totalitarian concept eventually set in. A mass exodus was soon under way. The stories being told by these spiritual fugitives are often terrifying and sometimes unbelievable...I have never seen anything that has damaged so many believers so deeply. The wreckage appears to be universal, and recovery from it is almost nil."

So it was in Jesus' day, as it was in 1980 when Edwards wrote those powerful words, and it continues to be true even still today. Jesus modeled for us the purest and most powerful and effective form of leadership the world has ever known. It is the responsibility of the church to not only study Jesus' methods and model of leadership, but to adopt it and institute it.

The church should be known for its strength, but not the kind of strength that has created this mass exodus.

Jesus said they will know you are my disciples by your love.

Jesus smelled like sheep. His hands and feet were always dirty because of His lifestyle of engaging people, particularly those who were considered the least. He modeled leadership in the form of a humble servant and loving shepherd. He did not lord His power over people, rather, engaged them with a caring, gentle and loving spirit. Jesus met the needs of those to whom He ministered. Out of His deep love and compassion for people, He equipped others to do the work that He was physically unable to do Himself.

The message of Christ continues to this day. His healing and hope continues to bring light and life to a dark and broken world. Jesus modeled strength through servanthood, power through sacrifice. His selfless love, His willingness to be intimate and serve the least, and His enthusiasm for suffering loss for the sake of rescuing even one lost sheep, makes Jesus the perfect model of leadership, standing above all who have come before and whoever will follow.

You're Not Fit to Lead!

You're not fit to lead. There. I said it.

Did you think you ever were fit to lead? Really?

What is it with us who think we have something to offer? What is it with leaders who think that they are where they are because of something that they've done?

You'll have to admit that Paul was a model leader. If anyone could think something of himself, it'd have to be Paul. But listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians:

"God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, 'Let the ones who boast, boast in the Lord'" (1 Cor 1:27-31).

I got a message from someone today who was a part of a ministry I led a few years back. Here's what he wrote: 

"It's amazing to see how faithful I was and willing to give then, and where I have fallen now. I'm so sorry I disappointed all of you who put an investment in my faith with your time, energy and prayer."

Disappointed? Is that the message I've been sending? Is that what people think my response will be if they fail to measure up? Judgment? Who am I to judge? I'm not the measuring stick. Far from it, thank God!

What is the message we're sending as leaders? As Christians? Is the message that we've arrived? Is the message that we have it all together, all figured out? Is the message that we are where we are based on something we've done? Is the message one of a snub attitude toward people who don't measure up? And measure up to what? Us?

Look at what Paul says as to why God chose him to lead: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost sinner, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1).

God sent His Son Jesus into the world to extend His mercy, grace and love on failed people. On top of that, the people God chooses to lead in His work, apparently, are the most failed and weak of all. Look back to 1 Corinthians as to what words God uses to describe those He chooses: foolish, weak, low, despised, things that are not... Why? So that none can boast of what we have done, but only of what God has done for us.

So, to the one who is feeling shame and guilt, who has fallen short and feels like you just can't measure up - perhaps you are a lot more like Paul than you think. Perhaps you are a lot more like every other great [insignificant] leader God has chosen to carry out His work! Get up, brush yourself off and breathe in the mercy, grace and love that is specifically for you...

And, to the leaders of the faith, you great [foolish] and mighty [weak] men and women so valiantly [only through the power of the Holy Spirit] carrying out the work of Christ, remember why you've been chosen. Remember Who it is you're working for. Remember Who it is that deserves all of the glory, honor and praise and every ounce of the credit...

Any Sheepwalkers Out There?

Imagine this.

You've been hired to do a job. Your boss gives you ideas on how to do your job better. You follow through with 2 out of 3 of those ideas, but after a few months, your boss reminds you of the 1 idea you didn't follow through with. You follow through with that idea too.

In the meantime, you start trying out a few ideas of your own. It seems like some of your ideas haven't quite worked out like you had hoped, but the fact that you tried them at all gives you a bit of a thrill, and you are more resolved than ever to be great at the job you were hired to do. Beyond that, you have a vision beyond just doing your job. You see opportunity to expand and create new processes and find it exhilarating to think about creating change and stepping outside what is now considered normal.

The next time your boss gives you an idea, you wonder if it's really just an idea or more of an expectation. You've tried many of your own original ideas but haven't seen a whole lot of success, so you start to think of more creative ideas. You're getting excited about some of your new and more creative ideas and several people have come along side of you that share in your optimism. You put the latest idea from your boss on the back burner. You want to see if he notices.

He does.

He calls you in for a meeting. Your boss explains to you that he's been around the block a few times. He's happy to know your idea-mill is spinning, but he quickly reminds you that there's a greater system of order to consider. After all, one big idea could wreak havoc on the whole system. And besides, the system has been around for quite a few years. He tells you that he's seen people come and go in your field. He's also experienced the ups and downs and has learned what works and what doesn't work from his experience in managing people in your field. He then reiterates the importance of recognizing that there's a greater system to consider, and anything too much outside of that system could be detrimental to the system that he's managed for so many years. And, of course, it's understood that there are consequences to disrupting the system.

After the meeting, you're sure of one thing: You don't want to rock the boat, or disrupt the system. You've thought about the people your boss referred to, the one's who have come and gone. You haven't been here long, so you decide you'd much rather keep your job than risk it.

You no longer view your boss's ideas as suggestions. It only took a few times being called to his office that you realize his ideas and suggestions are more like expectations. You give him what he asks for, even when you're sure there's a better way. Sometimes, right before you suggest a more creative approach, you pull back and decide not to make your suggestion after all. "It's easier this way", you tell yourself. No rocking the boat! Stay in line. Keep your job.

Have you been there?

I have. More than once.

Are you there now?

Seth Godin, in his book Tribes, says that "Many organizations go out of their way to hire people who color inside the lines, who demonstrate consistency and compliance. And then these organizations give these people jobs where they are managed via fear. Which leads to Sheepwalking."

What is Sheepwalking? Godin defines Sheepwalking as the outcome of hiring people who have been raised to be obedient and giving them just enough responsibility mixed with enough fear to keep them in line.

He continues by asking the question, "What happens when you build an organization that's flat and open and treats employees with respect? What happens when you expect a lot and trust the people you work with? At first, it seems crazy. There's too much overhead, too little predictability, and way too much noise. This isn't the top-down model of the factory, or the king and his court. It's chaos. It's easy to reject."

Can we blame them? It's much more difficult to embrace non-sheep behavior. So, rather than reward it and cherish it when it's seen, leaders will punish it, particularly when non-sheepish behavior happens outside of a leaders' control. When this happens, the Sheepwalkers (leaders) will insist that whatever is happening outside of normal is an exception to the rule and feverishly pull the reins on freedom and trust for the sake of predictability and safety, as well as for the protection and preservation of their own position and power.

But what happens, over and over, when fear is replaced by trust, when the king-on-top and factory-style leadership models are replaced with empowerment and freedom, people do amazing things.

When people are set free and given creative reign and control over their work, great things can happen. Terrible things can happen as well. Trust is a risky business. Holding on to control and maintaining the status quo is a lot safer.

So what gives? Usually, not much.

But what about the people who are sheepwalking? What about the people who feel stuck? What about the people who feel like the more they challenge the status quo and lead for change the greater resistance and overwhelming fear they face?

It's a choice.

What separates leaders from Sheepwalkers is how they respond to fear. Sheepwalkers allow fear to intimidate and seize their momentum. Leaders on the other hand use fear as a catalyst for momentum. It ignites an unquenchable passion of unbridled resolve that pushes them out of what is normal and propels them toward innovation and greatness.

If you're stuck, know this: It's your choice to remain stuck.

There is a whole world waiting for you to lead, to break outside of the status quo. Don't let fear and intimidation hold you back. Don't stay stuck.

Make a difference.
Create change.
Take risks.

Lead.

Anatomy of a Movement

Seth Godin, in his book Tribes, outlines three common elements that define a Movement.

    1. A narrative that tells a story about who we are and the future
        we're trying to build.

    2. A connection between and among the leader and the tribe.

    3. Something to do - the fewer limits, the better.

What I see when I look at those three elements is ministry done right. 

First, Christianity is built on the foundation of the greatest narrator who ever lived (Jesus) inviting us to be a apart of the greatest story the world has ever known. How we take it to the next level and reach people where they are is by connecting that story to the changed lives that make up our tribe. It's not just a story. It's life. The future is made up of imperfect people being spiritually transformed by Jesus.

Second, as Christian leaders, it's time we take off ours masks. Enough pretending already. How many pastors or Christian leaders do you know who could never admit a fault, a struggle, a sin? That's bogus. The way we connect people to the Savior is by authentically living the greatest story ever told from the inside out. Take off the mask. Live by example; not by insinuated perfection. I think Jesus would call it hypocrisy (again). A leader who leads with an authentic vulnerability isn't a sign of weakness but of confident strength. 

Third, we've not only been invited to be a part of the greatest story ever told, but we've been given a critical role. Christianity isn't about attending church and listening to a pastor tell stories from scripture and then waiting a whole week before the process repeats. No. Christianity is about following Christ. Living the story. Being the story. Christianity is about action. Movement. And movements get messy. I've seen this. I've lived it. Rules and limits kill movement. Throw aside boundaries and limitations and engage and enable the tribe to run and move and be and you'll have a movement uncontainable.

Exponential Part 2 of 3 - Missional Church

When Jesus was asked by his disciples which is the greatest commandment, He replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it; 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. Everything hangs on these two commandments."

Jesus modeled for us the perfect church, the perfect leadership style. He loved God with all of His heart. He loved people so much that he suffered on their behalf. And to prove it, to show God and people the endless bounds of His great love, He did what few are willing to do - He made himself second.

As the church, we should be gratefully thankful that we've been invited into God's family and given an opportunity to work in His Kingdom. We should respect and honor what has been given to us, this abundant life and Kingdom work. And we should be responsible with how we handle it and with what we do with it.

We've geared our weekends and outreach ministries as "in-house", "all-you-can-eat buffet", "one-stop-shop service centers".

Interesting Jesus never chose a mountain or hand-picked a temple to make His job easier by sending mass emails and posting giant billboards along the donkey trails to get the people to come to Him. If anyone could have been successful at one-stop-shop ministry, Jesus could have certainly done it.

Fish & bread? Jesus will hook you up!

Prosthetic leg? Forget prosthetic, He'll get you the real thing!

Trouble with Demon Possession? One word and out they go!

Jesus didn't make the people come to Him. Not to say our churches can't be attractional. Jesus certainly knew how to both attract and wow a crowd. But He was always on the move. And He expected his followers to do the same.

So what does missional look like? That's simple. It looks like loving God and loving people - all people.

Ed Stetzer summed up the Missional Church as movement - A missional church should 1. Serve Locally, 2. Send Nationally, and 3. Adopt or Serve a People Group Globally.

Movement. Action.

If Satan had a strategy to derail the church, what could that strategy possibly be? Perhaps it could be to get the church more internally focused than externally purposed - buildings over people.

If we really walked our city streets, I think it would be nearly impossible not to become missional. Problem is, we don't. We walk the halls of our churches instead. If we truly became outward focused and asked God to break our hearts for what breaks His, I think He'd do it. Problem is, it'd mess up our schedules and suddenly Sunday School classes and softball tournaments would seem a bit irrelevant.

People need Jesus. They also need some practical needs met. And they need to see Jesus in action, through us, His church.

If we really loved our neighbor as much as we love ourselves, what would life suddenly look like for us? What would we keep for ourselves? What would we demand be given away? How would our time be spent? Where would our money go?

Francis Chan said it best when he addressed the financial commitment he and his church had made - If we truly loved others as much as we love ourselves, we'd give as much to others as we keep for ourselves. The church Francis Chan pastored now gives 55% of it's entire budget away. That wouldn't even cover facility expense in most churches! That surely wouldn't cover staff and salary expense in most churches either. Yet, they're doing quite well.

Jesus met both the physical and spiritual needs of the people he met while traveling. He didn't make people come to him. He went to them. And whether it was food for the hungry, healing for the sick or counsel for the emotionally troubled, Jesus did it all.

I guess the point is this.

Remember how Jesus first officially introduced himself to the people of Jerusalem- He rode into town on a donkey.

Then what did He do?

He got off his donkey and got to work.

I think it's time we did the same.

Exponential Part 1 of 3 - Move & Multiply

Katie and I spent the last week in Orlando at the Exponential Conference. It was amazing. There were more than 3,000 church planters present. What a joy to stand along side these men and women who are stepping out into cities across the nation to plant churches. It's a surreal feeling to be apart of such a family.

If I had to narrow it down to three things we heard more than any other during Exponential, here they are: (I'll post the first today and two and three later this week)...

1. Move and Multiply. You're running late. You finally found a parking spot. You're running with luggage in hand and stand in the long line to get your boarding pass. Finally, pass in hand, you step almost immediately into the next line, only this line is moving even slower. You're looking at your watch, hoping you'll catch a break and actually be able to board your flight on time. It's not looking good. The person in front of you sets off the alarm. Security is called. Everything is delayed. Clock ticking, you finally make it passed the security and continue running to the terminal. You've got less than 5 minutes before the plane is supposed to depart. You arrive at the terminal with just a minute to spare. You fear it's too late. You pause for a moment and notice that the room is quite full, actually packed, and no one seems to be rushing. You glance out the window and notice your plane is still sitting and no one seems to have boarded. Actually, the tarmac is full of planes. No planes are taking off. The terminal is getting more crowded by the minute. People are beginning to get angry. It's getting stuffy. Frustration swells. Every seat is taken. People are standing against the walls and in the isles. It's chaotic. You now wish you hadn't rushed. You're angry too.

An airport is not the destination. In this case though, it appears that they think they are. An airport is a means of getting people to where they want to go. When an airport becomes the destination, planes grounded and terminals full, people get angry.

What a picture of the church. The church is not the destination, yet it appears that many churches believe they are. All of the effort goes into attracting people to our churches, rather than sending them out. And even though the airport scenario plays out much more directly, people in churches that have become the destination will in time become just as frustrated, even if they are unable to pinpoint the exact reason. Why? Because we were made to multiply. It's deep inside the heart of every Christian, this thing that says, "It's not about us; it's about them." The disciples were called to take the gospel into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and into all the earth. When they didn't, when they seemed to be content just sticking around Jerusalem - welcome persecution. That created movement. And guess what, no one looked back either. It's what we're called to do. Move & Multiply.

Things get ugly when we stop moving and multiplying. When our focus becomes centrally geared around attracting people to our church, more than making and sending out disciples, be ready for a holy shake up. Persecution is right around the corner. If we don't send out, God will stir things up and get the job done himself. Church split? What!

It's impossible to remain comfortable. We must be about the Father's business. It can't be about us. It has to be about them. Them, who are out there. Them, who must be reached by sending, not building bigger buildings and hoarding resources and gifts placed within our churches. Most likely, they were given us in the first place to give us the opportunity to join God in His movement and be apart of sending those gifts and resources into the world for His Kingdom's sake, not ours.

Hello Criticism

Nehemiah had a vision - to rebuild the city walls. Nothing was going to distract Nehemiah from accomplishing that which God had called him to do. Nehemiah had a vision of broken walls restored; a city re-energized, re-focused and re-committed; the weak and vulnerable becoming strong and prosperous; a lost city becoming a city of light and hope.

Nehemiah was in the fight of his life. The critics hurled insults and threats. The distractions mounted. One such distraction came from a king hell bent on destroying Nehemiah and stopping him dead in his tracks. The king's name was Sanballat.

Listen to what Nehemiah 6:5-7 says - [emphasis added for personal interpretation]

"Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand. In it was written, 'It is reported [rumored] among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel [threaten my position and power]; therefore you are rebuilding the wall [trying to set yourself apart]. And you are to be their king [you are merely seeking power], according to reports [rumors].'"

Rumors were flying. Sanballat was ready to stop any progress Nehemiah and the Jews were making because it threatened his own power. Actually, Sanballat wanted Nehemiah dead. Yet, instead of wasting his time on rumors and critics, Nehemiah threw his focus back on the One who called him to this great work to begin with. And he kept on building.

Nothing brings out criticism like a vision.

"If you are passionate about something that is yet to be, eventually someone will criticize you and question your motives. People will not understand the intensity of your focus. In our society, we are not accustomed to leaders passing up good opportunities for the sake of something that is yet to be. There is a general distrust of those who are trying to do anything new or innovative, especially if they claim to be doing it for a reason other than personal gain." - Visioneering, Andy Stanley

Leadership is painful. Often, a person with a vision is accused of doing the very opposite of what their vision is all about. In Nehemiah's case, he had walked away from a very influential position at the right hand of the king. Then, he refused to exploit his position among the people he was working with to rebuild the city walls. He refused all of the perks and benefits associated with his position among the people and still found himself accused of being power hungry.

Criticism can kill a vision. Many visions are laid to rest because the person with the vision is unable to remain steadfast during periods of intense criticism. Yet, criticism, in fact, is often a great way to verify whether or not your vision is a "God Vision" or not. If it is a "God Vision", one thing you can be assured; there will always be more questions than there are answers. God visions will attract criticism because they threaten the status-quo. God visions will stir up critics who want to keep you in your place, who want to maintain their own power and status. God visions are hard to follow. They require total dependence on the One from whom the vision came.

There is also another dynamic at work - one that can be seen clearly in the life of Sanballat. Not only will you be accused of the very thing you are trying not to do, you will probably be accused of whatever it is your accusers are guilty of.

In the case of Sanballat, he was the power-hungry one. The reason he was so disgusted by Nehemiah's progress was because his own power was being threatened. And he did what so many critics do - He assumed of Nehemiah what was true of himself.

"People with impure motives question the motives of those around them. It's called projection. Since their actions are laced with their own selfish ambitions, they assume everyone else's are as well. These folks will examine your zeal through their self-serving lenses and assume the worst. You can't convince them otherwise. There is no use trying. Again, pour out your frustration to the Father and keep working". - Visioneering, Andy Stanley

The best way to silence your critics is by completing your task, following through with your vision. Don't let anger and bitterness pull you off course. Don't let hurtful critics side track you. To them, say what Nehemiah said to the king who wanted nothing but to criticize, distract and lure him into a death trap -

"I am doing a great work and I cannot come down."

Put your hope and trust and faith in the One who gave you your vision in the first place. You will never be without critics. You will never be without challenges and set backs, but there's a way that runs straight and leads to the fulfillment of your vision, your purpose.

Trust in the Lord your God with all of your heart, your soul and your strength; and lean not on your own understanding, but acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will make your path straight.

Divided We Stand

My wife and I had the pleasure of taking a little road trip last week with the newest addition to our family, Macy Lee, who is already almost 8 weeks old! When we got home, a full mailbox and a pile of Wall Street Journals were laying in my driveway waiting for me to catch up on a week's worth of news updates and latest economic sagas. In that pile of newspapers, a particular article caught my attention. At first glance, it seemed like news-filler, but after I began reading I realized that God was showing me something profound and beautiful. So here goes...

It has been 20 years since the Berlin Wall fell. But deep in the forest of Grafenau, Germany, a breed of red deer called Ahornia still refuses to cross the old Iron Curtain. This deer inhabits the thickly wooded mountains along what once was the fortified border between West Germany and Czechoslovakia. At the height of the Cold War, a high electric fence, barbed wire and machine-gun-carrying guards cut off Eastern Europe from the Western world. The barriers severed the herds of deer on the two sides as well.

The fence is long gone, and the no-man’s land where it once stood is now part of Europe’s biggest nature preserve. The once-deadly border area is alive with songbirds nesting in crumbling watchtowers, foxes hiding in weedy fortifications and animals not seen there for years.

But one species is boycotting the reunified animal kingdom: the Red Deer. Herds of them roam both sides of the old NATO-Warsaw Pact border but mysteriously turn around when they approach the since dissolved border, this although the deer alive today have no memory of the ominous fence.

One reason stated by wildlife experts is that the deer have traditional trails, passed on through the generations, with a collective memory that their grounds end at the erstwhile barrier. Females, who stay with their mothers longer than males and spend more time absorbing their mothers’ movements, stick even more closely to the traditional turf. (Excerpts were taken from The Wall Street Journal’s article, “Deep in the Forest, Bambi Remains The Cold War’s Last Prisoner”, November 4, 2009)

In 2002, wildlife experts began tracking the herds of red deer using electronic collars and surveying their movement by satellite tracking and video surveillance at the old borderlines. Red deer born of herds from the West side will venture, nose literally touching the now open air where the wall once stood to divide them, and they stop. They move no further. Neither herd has ventured over the place where the wall once stood, though today, nothing stands in their way from expanding their territory into what is now free land for them to roam.

There are two points I’d like to make.

The first is that most of us have never ventured beyond the wall. For many, we’ve gained collective memory through things learned and things experienced which have become dividing walls for us, blocking us from advancing fully into the territory that Christ has already predestined for us to wholly obtain. Though nothing stands in our way, we limit ourselves by looking at the world through human eyes rather than through divine eyes. We have been called, each one of us, to expand, to grow, to accomplish, to achieve, to take risks, to be great.

We are not limited in what we can do, become or accomplish. The biggest limitation that we face is not the difficulty of what is to be grasped or obtained but our own insignificant view of ourselves. It’s our view of ourselves that blocks us in, keeps us small and limits our potential. What we need is God’s view of who we are, what we are to become, what we are to accomplish.

Genesis 1 recounts the words of God toward mankind before the first man and woman were yet living. God said, “Let us make man in our image, to rule over all the creatures and over all the earth…then God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful [great, successful, strong, influential] and increase in number [expand, grow, create]; fill the earth and subdue it [without fear and without hesitation, everything is yours; as big as you can dream there is yet more for you than that].’” –Genesis 1:26-28

Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

We’ve been called to be prophets to the nations. Jesus’ last command to His church as He ascended into heaven was to “Go and make disciples”, not “Stay put and remain in your comfort zones.”

Expand. Grow. Create. Influence.
Yet how do we do that, when we are stuck behind an invisible wall?

(Which leads me to my second point)

The church remains divided. We remain separated by doctrine and denomination. We remain segregated by culture, color and race. We have white churches and black churches. We remain segregated by generation, offering contemporary services for the young and traditional services for the old. We remain divided by the legalism that shapes our worldview and perpetuates the overwhelmingly justified judgment toward those who believe or look or act differently than we do.

The church stands with its’ nose against an invisible wall that was destroyed thousands of years ago by Jesus’ sacrifice to unite all of mankind to its’ creator and return all of creation to its’ fruitful beginnings.

Galatians 3:26-29 says to all of us, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Freedom is ours.

We are rightful heirs to the promises of God.

All we have to do is step across the line.

This is just the beginning

"The instinct to challenge the process is a fundamental quality of every leader. When God created leaders, he equipped them with an unsettling urge to unpack, undo, and unearth methods. This explains your tendency to question everything around you. It's the reason you have such strong opinions - and such a strong desire to share them. God wired you that way. Deep in your heart you may feel that if you were in charge, things would not only be different, they'd be better. This is not a problem of arrogance or pride. It's simply the way God wired you. It's a good thing."

Thanks Andy Stanley, for those words.

My own biggest critic - Me. The person with the greatest power and influence to slow the forward motion of my progress with God - ME. God created us. God put dreams in our hearts. God placed talent in our hands and vision in our soul. He can't show us all at once how awesome a plan He has for us - we wouldn't believe it if He did. We would doubt. We would most likely run in fear. We are our own greatest critic, greatest limitation. Yet we are God's handiwork. We exist to be God's fingerprint on His creation.

People will doubt your call. People will even hate you because of your call (sounds like something Jesus said). People will fear you. People will tell stories about you and try to hurt you.

Our responsibility is to wake up every morning not worrying about who is against us or who is on our side but rather whose side we are on. Are you on God's side? Are you following His lead? Are you worrying about making your mark or making His mark? Are you concerned about the rumors? The doubters? The haters? Or are you concerned with knowing that you are on the side of the Creator? Really, what does it matter who is for us? What does it matter who is against us?

I am for God. God is for me. And this is just the beginning.