Salad Bar Christians

Jesus used the analogy of the Shepherd and the sheep to speak of His followers more than any other. And sheep, well, they are not the smartest of the animal kingdom. When compared to horses that run with beauty, muscles rippling, nostrils flared, the sheep seem less than noble. They are defenseless. They don't run well. They amble. They have a tendency to wander...and get lost.

Sheep don't set out to get lost. They simply munch their way to "lostness" which gives us a clue on why Jesus would use them as an example. The lessons for us in the analogy are many--especially in a culture of individualism and the politically-correct statement that "everything is relative." But sheep, lose their way as they are munching a bit of this and a tuft of that.

For followers of Christ, it's good to remind ourselves then, that the Bible is not a salad bar and Christianity is not a food court. Not that I have anything against either one. I like salad bars and I like food courts. (Even if they are on the church campus!) But I can't pick and choose what I like when it comes to the Bible. And I can't pick and choose what kind of people I allow around the table. Culturally different church? Yes. Stylistically different? Yes. Different truth? No. Different gospel? No. Some things are not optional.

Healthy Community?

Sunday night we celebrated our C3 partners. Great night. Everything felt fresh. The youth did a fun dance-off with excerpts of songs through the decades.

I talked about our reaffirming our C3 values of connection, commitment and contribution and how we can do better at helping people with the first one--connection. A healthy community is a place where people connect to Christ and deeply in relationships with others. But what does that look like?

Someone said that community must include accountability, belonging and caring (ABC). What is an organization with some but not all? Name a community that has a sense of belonging but no accountability? A club. How about an org with accountablity and no sense of care? The IRS. The church needs all three. We need to communicate care but with accountability. We need accountability but with a healthy sense of belonging.

What about your circle of friends? Which is lacking?

Humility: the way to see clearly

We looked at 1 Peter 5:5-7 on Wednesday and Peter's main subject there seems to be humility. As I was prepping, I realized there isn't a lot written on the subject. Doesn't seem to be a subject for best-sellers! Yet God says it is a valuable attitude and something we should pursue. Two verses are all you need to be reminded of its value: 

"...this is the one to whom I will look:he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Is 66:2)

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time" (1 Peter 5:5)

What if it's true? What if God really looks on those who are humble and lifts them up? I believe it is true. Do you? If it is, why don't we make it more of a priority? Perhaps it's because we don't know how to get there. Pursuing humility is like trying to catch jello. When you think you have it, it slips through your fingers. 

One good find was "Humility" by C.J. Mahaney. He said this, "Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in the light of God's holiness and our sinfulness".

We can't find humility apart from a revelation of God's holiness and the clarity it brings to our own self-image. It is the light of God's holiness that brings awareness. If we avoid Him, we won't find humility. We will be like the guy with the comb-over; everybody knows he's not covering anything--except him. 

I share Mahaney's observation: I'm not a humble man. But I'm in pursuit of humility.