Our church is working with IJM in southern India. Already the stories of hope and freedom are being told in this new partnership.
Again I'll post notes from the session here, with my comments or thoughts in italics.
You may recall from yesterday's short post on this session that I needed time to process. I'm still processing, but here are some highlights of Gary's talk, followed by my confession and early process.
What leadership matters to God?
- Leadership that engages priorities and activities that matter to God.
- Gary challenged us to ask, "Are Jesus and I truly interested in the same things?"
- God's passionate for the world - the entire world.
- John 3.16 states it: he loves the entire world.
- Yet, one of the most difficult messages we present to the abused, hurting, and broken is that "God is good." Is that believable for people who doubt they've experienced any good in their life?
- What is God's plan for making it believable? We are.
- For 2000 years Christians have been trying to make this message believable: "God is good." When we build homes, feed the hungry, provide medical care, we are indeed Christ's body on the earth.
- Injustice gets personalized on our selfish notion that we live day to day suffering injustices, because God and people aren't cooperating with our notion that it's their job to make our life work - to make it happy.
- Rather, injustice is an abuse of power that takes from others what God has designed for their life: dignity, respect, ability to choose to work, relationships.
- God's passionate for the world - the entire world.
- God's passionate about justice.
If you want your leadership to matter, lead in the things that matter to God.
- Gary challenged the Summit crowd, "If we say 'well, justice isn't my thing," God may well say, 'well, then I don't matter."
- As a church, GCC is engaged in this call to care about God's agenda for justice. There are clear on-ramps for our people to participate in this. I'm grateful to know that my tithe is advancing God's kingdom in the pursuit of justice through his people.
- However, when it comes to my personal charge of leadership, how do I - how do you - pick up the cause for justice in the world? My leadership is leveraged to helping people connect with God and each other in the local church. How do I, how do we, lead people to follow Jesus into his agenda for justice in the world when our leadership isn't in missions or world relief?
- I think the answer lies in a paradigm shift in how we see the world, certainly how we see the other side of the globe, but also how we see suburbia. Do we see the injustice of evil that robs people of life and dignity?
- When the task seems hopeless, we lead by re-centering the basis of our hope.
- Jesus didn't ask the disciples for what was needed when they faced 5,000 hungry men. He asked them for what they had. That's all. He asked for it. He performed the miracle
- When the task seems scary, we lead by remembering that Jesus came to make us brave, not safe.
- Jesus invites us to follow him beyond what we can control. It's an invitation to experience him - in the serving, in the following.
- What if the adventure were so engaged that we actually needed God?
- Jesus invites us to follow him beyond what we can control. It's an invitation to experience him - in the serving, in the following.
- When the task is hard, we must...
- Choose not to be safe.
- Do I feel the need to pray? Do I need God's power to get it done? Is this work worth talking with God about... is it on his agenda?
- Choose to seek deep spiritual health.
- We must pull out of the routine religious activities that we do because we're merely motivated to get through them. There must be a reason to long for, depend on, seek the help and character of Jesus. Lead people into a journey that is not safe, that is difficult, that is demanding - beyond their own resources or strength.
- Choose to pursue excellence.
- When we play it safe, we also tend to trade out excellence for "good enough." Our execution gets sloppy. Our claim to love is lip service. The honor of God is shamed when our attempts to love and care are less than excellent - in our preparation, competence, and pursuit of best practices.
- Choose to seize the joy.
- Willard observes that one of the first things to go when we're spiritually unhealthy is laughter. Joy.
- Choose not to be safe.
I want to see the world - people - as Jesus sees them. I want to embrace the conflict, the injustice in people's lives. I don't want to be comfortable with injustice - in Granger or in India.
As a family we sponsor the education and welfare of Thalitia through Compassion International. But, we don't see her. We help - gratefully - but from a distance. Our daughter, Olivia, just returned from Mexico where she personally encountered the poverty and abandonment of young children who needed to know they matter. We're having family conversations about how the three of us engage the injustice here locally.
This session was personal. It deeply impacts my experience as a Christ-follower, a dad, a husband, a community member, and a leader.
Where are you with this all-important message that defines God's agenda to restore and re-create the world and it's inhabitants?
