Thursday, January 03, 2008
Where to Start
Milt Stanley links to a pretty decent post on the importance of basics.
The bar for teacher, in the church, is just too low anymore. We hide behind the fact that "we are all sinners," and therefore throw up our hands in despair at ever getting better, so basic standards languish.
Did you ever have a substitute teacher that tried really hard, but simply had not mastered the subject at hand? Oh sure, they could get the information out there, but they had not truly MASTERED the subject. Any exploration of the material beyond the lesson plan was impossible. It takes a chemist to teach chemistry. A pretty simple concept, and yet....
I just can't let go of the fact that "ministry" is perhaps the easiest way there is to attract an audience, and that we in America operate under the very mistaken notion that having an audience means significance and importance. Thus ministry gets warped into all sorts of things, not for the sake of those ministered to, or WHOM we minister for, but for our own sake. We take an easy path to audience for audience sake.
There is a reason Jesus largely avoided the big crowds. IF you want significance, start with yourself.
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If you can’t explain the core don’t try and explain more. “I know the core, Jesus died for your sins”, well then is that just the jump off point into more stuff or is it the very life? Can you explain how the Gospel applies to every part of your life? Are you devoted to and desiring to learn that as a disciple? No, well then that is why it isn’t enough for you. The message of the cross isn’t the doorway to more stuff it is the stuff itself.I am tempted to quibble with the word choice here. It is not about KNOWING how the gospel applies to every aspect of your life, it is about being TRANSFORMED by the gospel in every aspect of your life, but the overriding idea here is excellent.
The bar for teacher, in the church, is just too low anymore. We hide behind the fact that "we are all sinners," and therefore throw up our hands in despair at ever getting better, so basic standards languish.
Did you ever have a substitute teacher that tried really hard, but simply had not mastered the subject at hand? Oh sure, they could get the information out there, but they had not truly MASTERED the subject. Any exploration of the material beyond the lesson plan was impossible. It takes a chemist to teach chemistry. A pretty simple concept, and yet....
I just can't let go of the fact that "ministry" is perhaps the easiest way there is to attract an audience, and that we in America operate under the very mistaken notion that having an audience means significance and importance. Thus ministry gets warped into all sorts of things, not for the sake of those ministered to, or WHOM we minister for, but for our own sake. We take an easy path to audience for audience sake.
There is a reason Jesus largely avoided the big crowds. IF you want significance, start with yourself.
Technorati Tags:gospel, basics, significance, transformation, teaching, ministry
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