Your peace level is directly connected to your need for control.
I remember telling someone that in an apt about 5 years ago. Of course, because I’m a pastor, I worked it into a sermon a few months later.
Don’t worry. Two words that roll off the tongue easily, but for most of us can be quite a challenge. The last couple of days, this idea of controlling other people or sensing a need to control has come up in a few conversations in my pastoral counseling and ministry. People who feel frustrated or angry or even overlooked and ignored.
You can’t control other people and nor should you try.
The parable of the talents has always meant something to me. I can recall all the way back to my teen years and reading that passage in Luke 19 and being arrested by the concept. Jesus is the Master (some translations use the word “King”) He entrusts these people with different levels of gifts/talents. He comes back expecting a return on His investment. He’s so thrilled to see those who took risks, worked hard, and gained for Him a multiplied return on His initial investment. He’s so frustrated with the one who did nothing. Furthermore, He’s sad that the “wicked steward” accuses Him of theft, immorality, and harsh character.
I wonder how many Christians have misunderstood the Master, King Jesus. I wonder how many believers have yes, accepted Jesus as the only Son of God who took their place on the cross, yet somehow, deep down, they still see God as cruel, harsh, dogmatic… unkind even. Nothing could be further from the truth.
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Culture is created in many ways. Here are the top ways I believe culture is created and what I’ve learned in leading Rock of Grace Family Ministries as well as being CEO of Kings Home Properties when it comes to creating the right culture where the RIGHT THINGS GROW.
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Church Leaders, when your team approaches you with an idea, do you listen and listen closely?When your staff asks to meet with you, are you available? Sadly, I’ve heard a reoccurring frustration among young leaders and it’s this …
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When the inspiration hits, it’s fun. Exciting. We’re ecstatic about what we imagine will be! But what happens 4 weeks in, 2 months in? We get tired. We get distracted or discouraged. Someone says something kinda negative about what we’re building. Suddenly, we set our work of art on the shelf…
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I love to read! If you had asked me at 10 years old, “Jordan, do you enjoy reading?” WHAT!?!? “Absolutely not!” I would’ve said! “Just give me a basketball!” But when I went through Seminary, I developed a love for reading. I really enjoy theology, philosophy, behavioral science, self-help, and business books. But there are 5 that I feel are indispensable! Every Pastor Should Read These Five Books! I’ll list them and briefly explain why.
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What is missing in today’s American church?
We’ve got the good music. We’ve got the comfortable chairs. We’ve got the programs, the lighting, the teachings even! We even have good coffee now! But what is missing? Not what, but who?
The Holy Spirit fire that was present in the Israelites wilderness journey is what inspired them and fueled them to keep going. Today, we have the beautiful buildings (tabernacle and its furnishings) We have the ministry teams and systems and curriculum. (priestly ordinances and sacraments) We have the awesome worship music (Levites were dedicated to incredible musicianship) Yet, we find one thing above the tabernacle. One curious, notable, obvious thing… the fire. The pillar of fire and cloud by day was unable to be ignored. It roared with holy thunder and separated God’s people from every other people. It demanded a respect for holiness - something we could use in today’s church culture! It spoke of God’s desire to be near, present, available.
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We are called to work with God to bring about beauty in this world. Sometimes that’s through praying for someone who is sick. Sometimes it’s building something beautiful people can enjoy. Sometimes it’s writing a song. Sometimes it’s sending a text to encourage someone. Sometimes it’s just welcoming someone at our church. We are called to bear the image of Jesus and the Holy Spirit makes that possible!…
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Paul, in a way, tells us that the Holy Spirit of God will do things on the inside of you that signals to you that you are indeed a child of God. We know you’re a child of God if by faith you believe in Jesus, God’s Son as the one who came from Heaven to die in your place, pay the penalty for your sins and the sins of the world, and rise to new life, promising us new life. That belief and acceptance of who Jesus is and His claims makes you a child of God. In that moment of belief, you are born-again and become adopted into the family of God. This is the greatest miracle for anyone to experience! This adoption …
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If you don’t define jobs and job expectations, inspire and equip people to do those jobs, and consistently celebrate their efforts and performance, you will never move from addition to multiplication.
Fifteen years later, when I felt God telling us to multiply churches, the same principles held true. We had to start defining what each role did, inspire new leaders to take on those roles through mentoring and even online training. This …
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Selah, Elli, Eva, and Eden, my four little girls could hardly contain their excitement! I
had taken a wooden microphone box and placed all kinds of treasures in it! Chocolate. Suckers.
Stickers. It was filled with treasures! I had taken a compass and drawn a course on a map that led
through the woods behind our house, over the creek and straight to a buried treasure.
When I told them about this buried treasure and handed them the map along with the
compass, they lit up in anticipation! “Where is it?…”
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Before David was appointed King, his character tests included the opportunity to kill Saul, his King and father-in-law, the man who was trying to kill him! He passed the test and chose not to harm him, letting God sort out the details of revenge. Once David was appointed King, the character tests had just begun. A renowned mathematician and theologian, once wrote, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - Blaise Pascal
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I was at Camp Daniel teaching songwriters about songwriting and the music industry and it was so cool to hear this story from Tony, Daniel’s father. Tony did not want his son to have a rare disease causing him to suffer, struggle to breathe or be bound to a wheelchair. But Daniel and Daniels’ parents didn’t turn anger towards God. They didn’t just wait until God delivered them from their situation. They asked… {read more}
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God has truly made us. He made us. We are His art, the product of His craftsmanship. This simple truth should dispel all lies of shame and disparaging victim mentality. When Genesis 1:27 really starts to settle in, that God breathed the God-breath into us and made us in His likeness in order to replicate HIS LIKENESS on the earth, we find ourselves in a posture of incredible gratitude. The sense of wonder overtakes as we discover our divine purpose to extend Eden and cultivate the ways of God in the world around us!
If Eugene Peterson is right…{read more}
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Constantine, who was a Roman soldier, won victory in battle and became the Roman Emperor and contributed his success to the Christian God and immediately institutionalized Christianity. It became the religion on the Roman Empire.
Which you’d think that’d be good right? Institutionalize Christianity. Mandate faith.
No. It forced people to elevate man and the Arch Bishops and the Priests and “The Church” became a place where you went to get married, a place where you dedicate your child, a place and not a movement, an institution comprised of buildings and hierarchy instead of a family of God, children of God caring for one another. All across America today, we still have buildings where you…
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What God was saying to me was “Why don’t you let Me into that space of your heart that still craves fulfillment in that area?” I pulled the car over to respond. No really I did. I pulled over and said “Ok God why does this matter to me? Is my desire for…
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I recall giving a prophetic word to a young man about his prayer to impact men in his house in a men’s group. He was afraid he wasn’t good enough (but his wife “was good enough”) and simply hadn’t said yes. The Lord gave me a word of knowledge about it and I shared it with him. I told him “You ARE good enough because Jesus is good enough. You will lead men and you will…
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I used to go to church but just don’t want to go back. I was hurt when the pastor asked me to …
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Patterns of thought can be incredibly helpful or detrimental. A myriad of research has come out in recent years on neural pathways. What science is showing is that the Bible was right. We can be renewed in our mind and in our way of thinking. We all have a “way” of thinking, in fact, many ways. Some of those patterns formed when we observed our parents, and without knowing it, we emulated them. Some of those patterns developed through trauma. When we…
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I imagine you’re like me and you want to be as effective as possible. We all want God to say to us “Well done good and faithful servant...” We want Him pleased with us. So often though, we get caught up in the whirlwind of daily and weekly tasks, that we don’t do something essential. The Bible gives us an interesting piece of advice when it comes to life and to the idea of effectivness and/or leadership.
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