Tag / God’s Kingdom

by Greg

They Killed God

Kirstie joined us for the morning Bible read today. She’s three, and says some really cute things. Perhaps the following is both cute, and insightful? 🙂

After reading the story of the first part of the night Jesus was arrested and taken before the Jewish leaders, then Pilate, and then Herod, we were talking about how crazy it was that they just blatantly lied about such well-known things. Jesus was a very public figure, but his accusers were at best twisting the truth, or just flat out lying about what he said and did. And it eventually got him killed.

And I guess Kirstie knows that, because without reading that today, she said, “They killed God.”

I smiled at her simplicity and replied, “Yep. Well, he let them kill him.” I continued, “Because somehow, when they did, he was able to beat the things that kills us, that destroy us.” (I meant sin and death, but didn’t figure a three year old would grasp such a thing.)

She responded without hesitation, “Yeah, then they don’t destroy us!” She even said it with a finality and even joy at the resolution of it. Then they don’t destroy us. What some people take 1000 pages to say in some theological treatise, my three year old understood, and summed up in two simple phrases.

They killed God. Then they don’t destroy us.

Perfect. 🙂

by Greg

Not Like Us

I was thinking about life this morning, in the shower… as I usually do. Sometimes it’s the mundane “what do I have to do today” kind of stuff, other times it’s “meaning of life” kinda stuff. I suppose it was the latter today.

We’re still in a pretty good pinch financially. We have some temporary relief for the moment thanks to some incredible (and unsolicited) generosity of our friends and family. And for some reason, even when there seems to be a lead (a new client, interest in our trailer for sale, or any other possible income) they seem to fall through. It can be pretty frustrating…

What would cross my mind in years past would be that “God disciplines those he loves.” I would begin to search inside myself to find something about me, or something I was doing or not doing, that might be displeasing to God. That usually did not take very long. So, I would tell God I am sorry for that, and ask him to help me fix it, and I would assume that my repentant heart would curry God’s favor once again. (Meaning, whatever bad thing I was calling God’s discipline would be lifted from me.)

Sometimes that would happen, other times it would not. Certainly could not detect any sort of pattern. The only pattern I could discern was my repeated attempts to work my negative circumstances in life into some form of disciplinary action from my Father with a capital F.

But over the past many years, I have been learning of his grace – unconditional grace – and his way of dealing with us. It’s not do right, get good… do wrong, get bad. At least not always. Not that predictable. The one thing that I can count on is that he loves me. A lot. So many scriptures tell me that. A lot.

Still, we persist in this idea that if something is wrong, God is punishing us. (And sometimes we think the reverse, where good stuff means we must be doing “something right”, but usually we just take the credit ourselves for that.)

Is our sudden lack of income the result of some known or unknown sin in my life? Maybe Jen’s? If I repent of my current failures (of which there are many) will the money start flowing again? I obviously can’t know the answers to those questions, but I think I can see evidence that suggests the results will not be (necessarily) directly tied to my choices or actions in the immediate future. There may be consequences to my poor decisions, mistakes, failures, or general lack of wisdom and discrepancy. But, God does not seem to operate on a “if a = b then c” system.

God almost does the opposite. When the disobedient, unruly, lazy son asked for his share of his father’s inheritance… his dad gave it to him. He knew what his son would do with it, but he still gave it to him. And, he let his son go off and actually do what he knew he was going to do. How many of us could actually knowingly fund our children’s debauchery? And – even more – allow them to really go through with it? I’m not sure I could…

But God is way more patient that we are. God also sees way more of the big picture. He is not doting over every little thing we do wrong or don’t do right. He walks with us, and encourages us toward the good, and away from the bad. If we fail, he is there to pick us up. He’s not there to immediately punish us. He wants us to succeed. (Not in a “success deity” kind of way… in the Kingdom success kinda way. A very backwards way.)

All of this may not make too much sense, but I could see God working this through in my head and heart the other day (when I started this article) and wanted to write it down, and perhaps share it with you. You may think that bad circumstances in your life are God’s direct intervention to “teach you a lesson”! I can not know what he is doing (or not doing) in and for you. But I do know that he is teaching me to trust him. Trust his love, trust his goodness, trust his provision, trust his lead. I have been learning again through a tough financial time – a tough time to trust my Father – just what matters in life. It’s not my stuff. None of it. It’s the relationships he has placed me in. My family, my friends, my neighbors. All I need to do is trust and follow God’s lead (based on what I have learned of him, and seen him do in the past), and love the people whom he has placed around me. Every day there is another chance to learn.

And isn’t that true “discipline”?

by Greg

Have a Listen

There's The Steeple... Here's The Church Audiobook PodcastI believe I have mentioned this here before, but with today’s (latest) chapter/episode, I felt it was worth repeating. I am working on creating an audio version of my book, “There’s The Steeple… Here’s The Church“, and have been publishing a chapter at a time via a podcast available at gregshead.net/church as well as iTunes.

Today’s chapter is called “Quantifiable“. It was fun to re-think the stuff I put in that chapter. God’s ways are so not ours… we tend to focus on visible, tangible – quantifiable – results, but that is not how his Kingdom works. He can take 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and feed over 5000 people and end up with 12 baskets of leftovers. Numbers are pretty much irrelevant in his Kingdom.

So, each chapter/episode is about nine or ten minutes long (including the intro/outro) and it’s a cool, different way to re-think some of the stuff you’ve read here (long ago), and just stuff that – at least to me – seems relevant to everyday life with Jesus.

Just thought I’d remind you. Have a listen if you’d like. 🙂

by Greg

Spirit-led Praying

I have trouble with prayer a lot of times. Especially when I call it prayer. I very much enjoy a steady dialogue with God throughout my day, but when it comes to “praying for someone” or even just asking for myself… I’m still not certain how best to do that.

See, it seems to me that many of my asks are from my perspective. I see something a certain way, and have a certain desired outcome, and so, I ask God for that. I don’t think that’s wrong in general, but often I feel under qualified to make such decisions. I mean, why am I asking God for something specific when clearly he knows the best thing for me and/or those around me for whom I am asking, right?

Right.

But does that mean we can’t pray? Certainly not. God asks us to ask him. (I still don’t get that, but he does.) So I continue to ask, and I continue to struggle with the asking.

As I was chatting with a good friend tonight, (who leaves in the morning for a 10-day trip to the Dominican Republic with his entire family, including a one-year-old!) I wanted to let him know we’d be praying for them. But then all of these thoughts came up. I mean, once I start asking for something, I usually find a way out of asking. It’s very strange. But I know there is value in asking God for stuff… so I just began trying to say what I wanted to say in other words.

I told him we’d be thinking of them often. That is very true. We’ll miss them, and I’m sure they’ll come to mind quite often. We do a lot of life together. So, then I said, “…asking God whatever he might put on our hearts as we [think of you].” As I hit return in iChat, I thought, “That’s it. That’s how I want to ask. I want God, Holy Spirit, Jesus… any of them… to tell me what to ask!”

And that was it. That was my answer. That relieves the burden from me. I can not know what they need. I was going to say I would pray for protection, but perhaps that is not the best thing. I was going to pray for a “fruitful” trip, but that word is so subjective there are not two people who would completely agree on how that word is defined. What I really want to do is, as I think of them… I want Spirit to lead me in my askings.

Isn’t that how we should pray? Doesn’t he know all of us best? He is right with all of us who are his Church. He is in our midst, and right with each of us. And, he is building his church, so he knows best what we need to do, and ask for.

Perhaps that was a little piece toward opening up my conversations with God. Not really opening up more words, just opening up the freedom of “praying” for people, as the Spirit leads me to. That’s a crazy phrase, and perhaps some of you reading this just cringed a bit. But, if we really believe that Jesus is building his church, then maybe we need to let him prompt our askings, rather than coming to him with an agenda already planned out.

What if he doesn’t “prompt” me? What if I don’t feel “led” in any specific direction??? Chill out. If I think of something… good. If not, then just relax. Trust that if God wanted me to ask something specific, he would have led me… since he is the one who’s leading. That has been a recurring theme in my life of late. Really trust God to lead. Lead me, lead you, and lead his church.

Of course, since he is so good at leading his church.. I could just be hearing what he wants for me, and not at all what he wants for you. 🙂 So, listen to him… let him lead you where he wants to.

Follow the Leader.

by Greg

No Needy People Among Them…

All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had … and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

Acts 4:32-35 (NLT)

Last night I had a dream. It was crazy. One of those very vivid dreams, and almost seemed relevant to some issues pressing on my mind and heart of late. I awoke this morning still contemplating all that I could remember from it. Some, or perhaps all of it, was related to the Scripture I later remembered and you just read above.

We were at some sort of convention of Christians. It was not a “church” thing, nor was it a “Christian convention”. It was a convention of (mostly) Christians. One of the speakers – at least for the event that I witnessed in the dream – was a friend of mine from college, whom I admire in real life for his skills and business savvy. He does business well. He was doing it well in this dream.

After one of the main session times, we were chatting (he, and I, and Jen) and he said, “Man, that was so great! I heard that one person just donated $25,000 on the spot to [this thing we were raising money for]!” (Note: I can’t remember what it was we were raising money for… but it was some facility or program or something that was to help people… it wasn’t a church building, or a church program even… but it was Christians working together, raising money for this thing.)

My reaction was, “Wow. That is amazing.” But, along with being impressed by the generosity, I was also amazed that we were spending money on this facility or program. First, I was impressed with my friend, who somehow had managed to convince people to donate such large amounts of money… 🙂 But then I was both impressed (as stated above) and then incredulous at what we throw money at.

In the dream, I turned to Jen and shared those thoughts with her, and then began to think aloud.

“What we really should do together,” I theorized, “is give large sums of money like that to some organization that gets Christians out of debt. Clean slate, everything-is-forgiven out of debt. No questions asked.” I felt like I was on a roll, so I continued, “We create this organization that is a non-profit, 501c3 organization and convince Christians who have plenty to donate sums like that $25,000 – receiving their tax deduction, of course – and the organization would distribute the money to Christians who are swimming in debt.

“Of course, we couldn’t do that for ourselves,” I explained, “since it might look a little fishy. But we could take a salary as the folks who run the whole thing.” Jen’s eyes lit up at that (in the dream still), as (at least in my conscious mind) she is always wishing we had just a little bit more money to pay our bills and buy groceries. I continued, “There would be no stipulations… just an enormous, overpowering debt that could be wiped clean by the Church… Christians helping Christians. ‘And there were no needy people among them…'”

I actually don’t remember where the dream ended, but it was somewhere around there. As my conscious thoughts took over, I began to think of the ramifications of my plan. At first, it seemed quite a fine idea. It seems to me to be a much better use of money – actually helping people instead of building buildings, or creating more stuff to do. And I thought of a couple refinements that might make the idea actually fly.

First, the receiving family would commit to destroying all of their credit cards, except one. But that one would be reduced to no more than a $5000 credit limit, for emergencies. What good would it be to pay off someone’s debt if materialism – in whatever form – is the real problem? The debt will just return again.

Second, there will be ABSOLUTELY NO APPLICATIONS. The church (as you have noticed from everything I write and/or say) can not function as an institution. In so doing, you remove the life, the heart, the humanity from it. The funds would be distributed via relationships. Slower, yes. But a more vital and real solution to a difficult issue? I think so. People whose debt could be relieved would meet with someone from the organization, face to face, and after a meeting or two, funds could be apportioned.

So, theoretically, it all made good sense… and if it worked, a nice salary would help us pay our bills, and (eventually) eliminate our own debt.

But as I thought of all the logistics, and how much I seriously loathe dealing with money, and just how crazy money makes people – and how easily I would be taken advantage of… it became QUITE clear that even if this was a cool idea that came to me in a dream… I am definitely not the person to make it happen!.

Are you? Is this a good idea? Is there something already like this? What I have seen is that places help reduce debt… and teach folks how to better manage their money… but nothing as full of grace and so very church-in-Acts-like as my crazy dream-born idea.

I would be curious what you (especially if you are a follower of Jesus) think about such an idea… is it even possible in America where all must fend for themselves… you have to earn your keep… work for what you get… etc, etc, etc.

Any thoughts?

by Greg

Our Only Rule Book

Our Only Rule Book?Inspired by recent readings, hearings and various thinkings floating through GregsHead, I have thought again about our push for being right. For knowing the truth and letting others “have it”. I read a column this morning by a local radio talk show guy who was certainly convinced that he had the “right” answer for what the church should be and do. (Now, I know… that’s his job… but still, furthers my point that we all love to be right.)

Maybe Christians are the worst at this. From early on, most of us are taught that there is a right, and definitely a wrong. Actually, many wrongs. We recently heard the Bible referred to as “our only Rule Book”. Ouch. Is that what it is? What about all the people who interpret it differently than you do? They have rules, too… just different from yours. In most cases (in the view of both parties) the other guy is wrong. And you’re right.

This obsession with being right actually removes us from relationship with other people. We focus so much on having and knowing the “truth” that we must first verify that those with whom we associate are “with us”, and “doctrinally correct”, and if not, we must instruct them accordingly. There is always a bit of an angst as errors in thinking must not be tolerated. At least when it comes to Christianity.

And there’s the rub. We have something (Christianity) that we need to protect, not Someone we want to introduce. An institution is defined. It has a Rule Book. It’s easy (at least, sort of) to protect and preserve. A Person is not. Someone who is alive and dynamic (yet the same “yesterday, today and forever”) is not easy to define, protect or preserve. Many have said, “You can’t keep God in a box.” Of course, they were probably referring to “the other guy’s box”… but, I believe that statement is true.

For some reason I was reminded of a strange rule we have made up today. Perhaps it’s due to hearing of marriages and other similar relationships dissolving for one reason or another. I remembered a “proof text” that many use for when it’s “OK” to divorce. Remember when Jesus said that divorce was bad… unlesssss… the WIFE has been unfaithful. Don’t you know that people (your intrepid author’s former self included) use that to say that if there has been infidelity (perhaps especially from the woman???) that divorce is OK. And hold mightily to the words Jesus said previously that divorce is always bad. Which, I believe is correct, since Jesus seemed to say it as truth… but we leave out the “context” part where something that’s bad might be better than something that’s worse.

On many such occasions, we take the Rule Book and we bash it over each other’s heads… saying my way is right. I got it from the Book! You must be wrong! (Even though our “adversary”) is many times doing exactly the same thing. They just view it differently.

I am coming to understand that it’s not my job to interpret the “Rules” for someone… for anyone else. My job is to be faithful to my understanding of what God wants from me, and then to love other people as I have been loved. Yes, sometimes love is “tough” and requires an uncomfortable confrontation – BETWEEN FRIENDS. It seems a confrontation is only effective (and then only sometimes) if relationship already exists. If not, why should the confronted change their “aberrant” behavior based on the “Rules” of a stranger?

The Bible is not a Rule Book. God doesn’t even want us to live by Rules. The Rules were fulfilled by Jesus. It is finished. That doesn’t mean it’s not good to live as God intended us to… certainly God’s law will last forever. BUT, we were never meant to keep the law… never able to do that. I’ve been reading Romans again, and Paul emphatically states that:

For no one is put right in God’s sight by doing what the Law requires; what the Law does is to make us know that we have sinned. But now God’s way of putting people right with himself has been revealed. It has nothing to do with law, even though the Law of Moses and the prophets gave their witness to it. God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all: everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free. … In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus. What, then, can we boast about? Nothing! And what is the reason for this? Is it that we obey the Law? No, but that we believe.

Taken from Rom 3:20-27, Good News Translation.

If you try to keep the Rules, and make others do the same, you’ll only be butting your head up against a wall that won’t ever be knocked down. We’re meant (I think) to live in the fullness of a restored relationship with our Creator, and then to love the other Createds he puts around us. Rules work perhaps in a computer program… where everything is always (supposed to be) the same. But when people are involved, Rules almost never work. We’re too unique. Principles, that can adjust to the context of a situation are more applicable, to be sure. But… maybe we could just make our only “rule” the rule to love everyone we meet, as we have been loved.

At least then the Rule Book would be a lot smaller. 🙂

by Greg

Duplication

Last night as I cleaned up after a little family birthday party for my mother-in-law, I was listening to a podcast. The regular hosts were having a chat with a guy from Australia who has been through a few crazy cycles with the institution of the church. I believe once he was “let go” from his job as a pastor… which served as a wake-up call that “the church” (meaning, the system… the programmed institution) as it was had some pretty major flaws. So, he and his family avoided such a setting for something like nine years?

After all that time, a little Baptist church asked him to be their pastor. The church was very traditional, very Baptist, and he of course said, “No thanks!” But God said, take it. So they did. And slowly over the next few years they, along with that whole group of believers, worked themselves out of that system until nothing was left of that group. They are all still in contact, but all felt that God was leading them to something different… perhaps more free that what they had before.

As I listened, I started to think, “Man! Maybe that’s what we should do! Could we do that??? Would I have the patience to go through helping a group of people de-structurize? But it sounds so cool! What a great story! I should try to do something like that….”

Within 5 seconds after I thought all of that, I realized how silly I was. 🙂

What is this unquenchable drive to duplicate? Why is it that when we hear a story of some good thing that God did through another believer, it makes us think, “Ooo! I should do that too!” I realized that I was really just trying to do what the church has done with every current manifestation of itself (at least in this culture)… I was trying to DUPLICATE.

They spoke about this a bit later in the podcast I think. Or maybe that was just me, my thoughts, and God having a little chat in my head? For some reason we can’t help but try to capture again a moment, or a season, or whatever where we saw God do something incredible. It must somehow be able to be duplicated, right??

Not necessarily.

Yes, God seemed to have led them to take that pastorate… and yes, in my eyes, it turned out pretty great. But so far, God is not leading me to do that… so if I were to do that, it would most likely be (in some way) a big flop. I would be trying to copy – in my own effort – something that God had done somewhere else, but was not asking me to do. THERE’S the point. God leads, we follow. It’s not the other way around.

So, I’m not sure I can say that God is behind “Mega churches”, but I am saying that we probably shouldn’t be trying to copy every little thing they do. God wants to lead each of us, and even groups of us as the church wherever we are. He is our Shepherd, and we get to follow him … daily. So, if today he asks me to do something, and it works fantastically, is very “fruitful”, or whatever… tomorrow it’s not my job to go out and do it again. It’s my job to get up, listen to what he is asking me to do, and do that. It might be the same thing for another day, week…. maybe a year or two. OR, it might be something totally different. And that might be even harder! Who wants to leave something that’s going so well? (Just ask Brett Favre!)

I really don’t think formulas, systems, programs, methods, etc are helpful in the kingdom of God. From what I see in the Bible, and in the life of Jesus… he was not about that. He responded to each individual, and each situation, and each leading of God. Perhaps that’s what we could do too. Listen to where he wants ME to go, and just follow.

I don’t need to be making copies anymore.

by Greg

Trust In Action

I’m having a difficult time right now. I know something to be true, even able to put it into very clear words in a conversation with some friends. But I’m having trouble knowing what to do next.

I know God will take care of my family. I know that I am not the provider for our family, my job does not provide for our family… God does. I know that. I trust him to, because I have seen him do it many times over.

Right now, that is very difficult.

Money coming in is lower than usual… probably feels much lower than it actually is. And there have been many expenses this month, and coming up next month. Not a good combination.

So, I’m asking God to let me know what he wants. Does he want to prove himself to me… where I really let go and trust him? Or is there a time where we need to “take some action”? The points from each “side” are volleying back and forth in my head. I’m sure I will hear the same responses. It’s funny though.. the line reverberating in my head from one “side” is “God helps those who help themselves” (which is not a scripture…) 🙂 while one the other “side” I can think of several scriptures 🙂

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

“God is able to do immeasureably more than we could ask or imagine”

“We walk by faith, and not by sight”

Hmm… perhaps I am answering my own question? But that’s just it. I know the truth. I trust the Truth. But… what do I DO right now? I still have the bills to pay. I still have a family to feed and clothe?

This is heavy on my heart right now for sure.

by Greg

Distractions

The boys and I are reading through Luke (I believe I have already said that…) and today Jesus was addressing another crowd (SIDENOTE: I posted an entry here before about how it seemed that Jesus was not usually speaking to crowds but more to small groups and even individuals. It seems however that in Luke, almost everytime something comes out of Jesus’ mouth it’s to a CROWD, so… I stand corrected. 🙂 End sidenote…) We read a story, and some more teaching from Jesus.

The story was about a rich man who had an abundant crop. He decided he would store it all up in bigger barns, so he’d be set for the future. God said, “You dummy… you’re going to die tonight… what good does all your stuff do you now?” Then Jesus reminded us that birds don’t have to worry about what they will eat, and flowers look great, even though they’re here today, burned tomorrow. We’re more important to God than both of those, so… don’t worry.

And we finished today with Jesus saying don’t treasure things that can be taken, or eaten. (Moths destroy…) Make your treasure eternal stuff… sorta, intangible stuff. Things that can’t be taken. Because, where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is.

(Somewhere else it says that your heart is the “wellspring of life”… I think that means it’s important…)

So I asked the boys what this meant. First they shook their heads in bewilderment. But with some more directed questions, we figured out that Jesus was trying to tell us not to worry about stuff. Don’t “treasure” stuff that will break, could be taken, or will just eventually be gone.

Alex didn’t like that so much.

I said, “What if our house burned down? To the ground. Everything was gone. Then what would happen? Would that be bad?”

Ian quickly said no, but Alex had a very concerned look on his face. Finally he said, “That would be bad!”

I said, “Why would that be bad?”

“Well, it would burn down, but we’d have Sega, Nintendo, and Backyard Football?” (He really, really likes video games…)

“No, they’d all be gone. But we’re all fine. Would we be OK?” I asked.

He thought for a moment and stuck to his guns, “No…” his eyes were filled with near horror, “That would be bad!”

You gotta love Alex’s honesty. He really means it. To him, that would mean the end of his world. For whatever reason, Ian has learned the lesson that stuff does not matter. It’s fun. He can enjoy it just as much as Alex, but Alex has wrapped his heart up in stuff. He can not imagine a world without his stuff.

I told him that this was a great example of what Jesus was talking about. Stuff doesn’t matter, and Jesus knew that. It’s fun, but it doesn’t matter. If we “treasure” stuff that will eventually break, be taken, or just die… then our hearts will be crushed with our treasure. Where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also.

And later this morning I got to thinking. I know I would be OK if all my stuff was gone. I would be a bit panicked about all my clients’ files and such. Hard to recover all that stuff. I would be bummed to lose the stuff of nostalgic and emotional value. But in the end I’d be OK.

That said, I sure do have a lot to distract me from important stuff! I love video games too. That takes a good amount of my time if I let it. I sure do love my computers, and the internet. That takes time too. I love to watch Star Treks. I love watching Hockey, and Football. I enjoy a good movie now and again. I even enjoy sitting down with a nice book and a cup o’ something.

There sure is a lot to “treasure”, eh?

So, I think at some point in the not-too-distant future… I may take a serious break from all my stuff. I want to cut away the distractions and spend some good time with Jesus. Every once in a while I long for that (I guess, when I haven’t had it in a while?) and now is one of those times. I think he was reminding me of that again today.

Some stuff in life is expendable. Well, OK… probably most stuff. Some stuff is not. Time with my Father who loves me is fantastic. I mean just hanging out time. We’re always together. He’s with me in everything I do. But sometimes it’s good to just be together, not really doing anything else, eh? I think I’m wanting some of that today.

So, I hope your treasures are in the right place today. I don’t mean black/white, right/wrong. I just mean, in a place where your heart won’t be crushed if your treasure is. We’re going to coax Alex toward that better place. Hope he follows.