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May 30, 2010
 

Sermon & Life Reflections: You'd Think I'd Have It Down By Now

I've been preaching and teaching for so long that you'd think I'd have it down by now. 'Fraid not. Even tonight, after the message, I went home thinking, "Man, you made a powerful, simple truth way too complicated. You preached far too long. Just make it simple next time, okay?" Okay, I'll try. But no promises. Because preaching is like sanctification. A couple steps forward, then one or two (and sometimes many more) backward. But we learn from those backward steps, don't we? They profit us in some providentially kind, though ironic, way. The fact is that, just like my preaching effectiveness and skill seem to go backwards at times, I will never "have it down" with regard to following Jesus. I will never be the master. Always the disciple. Always learning. And I pray that I will learn from every backstep is just how dependent upon God's grace I was, am and forever will be. Now that is a lesson worth learning... even if it is learned the hard way.

Still want to listen? The message is here.  

Filed under  //   failure   grace   learning   preaching  

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October 21, 2009
 

This Is Impossible

Here is a quote from my friend Dave McCarty that gives hope to the Failure in me.

“If it's not humbling to follow Jesus, if you don't constantly feel like a failure at it, something is wrong in your understanding of the Bible, or yourself.   The Pharisees and Sadducees didn't feel like failures, and Jesus had the harshest things to say to them, of all people.  I remember some years ago, a new Christian in our home group, said one Wednesday night, after reading her Bible all week, 'This is impossible.'  I replied, 'Good, now you are beginning to understand.'"

Filed under  //   failure   gospel   grace   humility   legalism  

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September 9, 2009
 

The Freedom to Fail

Each month I attend the North Georgia New Church Network, a group of church planters and church planting coaches who meet to consult with, pray for and equip each other as missionaries to our small part of the world. During our prayer time at our last meeting, we were challenged to confess a particular fear that robs us of joy, peace and hope. My confession was the fear of failure—the fear that the church plant I am about to lead will crash and burn. But my fear really is much deeper than failure, which actually is just a fruit of a deeper root issue. I really fear what will happen to my name. My reputation. However, the gospel teaches me that in light of the cross, my name is already mud. The cross says that I have failed far worse than I think! In fact, I'm such a mess that Jesus had to live and die for my failure.

But you know, I'm okay with being a failure in the past. But I don't like having to be helpless, weak and needy now. I want to move past my own present and complete need for a Savior-Sanctifier-Empowerer. But that is what the gospel gives me. Through the sheer grace of God in Jesus, I have been given a new reputation and identity that cannot be smeared: I am an extravagantly loved, forgiven, propitiated, justified, redeemed, adopted son of the King. Knowing that gives me a radical freedom. Freedom from the judgement and penalty of sin, and freedom to pursue wild adventures that can only succeed if God allows. And so, whether the church grows to maturity, or withers and dies, either way, by sheer grace, I am an extravagantly loved, forgiven, propitiated, justified, redeemed, adopted son of the King. That's what Paul says so clearly when he writes in Romans 8, "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons..."

In the gospel, there is freedom to fail. So in these next weeks, months and years, I am pursuing the risky adventure of church planting, taking God up on his promise.

Filed under  //   adoption   failure   freedom   identity   sonship  

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