Posts Tagged ‘encouragement’

I’ve mentioned it before, but my staff team here is reading Tim Chester’s You Can Change and it has been very challenging and good for me at the same time. God has used it to convict me and at the same time encourage me! I highly recommend it, you should get it like yesterday! Anyway, this morning as I was reading I was once again challenged and sat at my desk contemplating much. See I just finished the chapter on living in community and helping one another take steps of changing as we live out the Gospel in community. There is just so much to share with you, this is why you have to go buy the book and read it, but I did want to share a quote/thought with you, that is actually in the book and on Chester’s blog too!

It’s about churches and churches being safe places for messy people - like you and me. Yes I said it, like you and me! You’re a mess! So am I! But that is beautiful because God’s grace, love and work is in the midst of our messiness is more than enough! (One of the first places I was challenged by the mess I am was from the book Messy Spirituality by the late Mike Yaconelli. It’s another good read!) Anyway, I could go on and on, but here is the quote from Chester’s blog:

One alternative is to be a church in which there is a lot of pretending; in which people have problems, but in which the culture does not allow people to be open about them. Churches like this are very neat and respectable. But I know I would rather be in a messy church! Mess reflects, I think, a culture of grace. We pretend because either we do not trust God’s grace for ourselves or we do not trust other people to show us grace. (from post entitled, A messy church or a pretending church)

So what type of church are going to? What type of church do you gravitate too? Do you gravitate to churches that “are neat and respectable?” Why do you gravitate to a church like this? For anonymity, so that people don’t see your messiness? Fight it! Be real. Do community in truth and love. Know that God’s grace is indeed sufficient! May we be transformed by the Word of God, but also by the beautiful mess of community that He has provided for us…

Our AIA team here is reading, You Can Change, by Tim Chester and it has been smacking me around over the last few weeks of reading it. Here is what smacking me around today:

Sin is fundamentally an orientation towards self. Many of us suffer from self-absorption. We’re preoccupied with your problems and successes. We bring every conversation round to our favorite subject: me. Or we develop habits of self-centeredness in which we live for our own comfort and security.” {pg. 158}

Ouch, that hurts. Um, yeah guilty. What is one way to combat this? Service. Go out and serve someone. Make deliberate decisions to fight against the self-absorption, against the self-centeredness, against turning yourself into a little god, which you bow to. Dang, I’m guilty of this, but I’m thankful that I’ve been set free to live a new life, a new way…. The way of Jesus… How will you serve someone other than yourself today? Join me in this fight and SERVE!

Hello out there. I’m sorry I have falling off the map with blogging as of late, it’s my desire to get back in the blog saddle again real soon. I’ve been in the midst of trying to raise support, then get back to Prague, then settle in and now I’m prepping hardcore for football starting next week. Your prayers would be coveted in the midst of all that is going on right now and getting ready to start the season.

With that said, I have to get to work, but I wanted to share this video with you and ask you the simple question, “What will you do or have you done to reach the unreached today?” This video encouraged me, challenged me and much more.

This world is indeed a lost, hurt and dying place. Jesus calls you and I, as Christ-followers, to reach and make an impact on the world. So what will you do today to reach the lost, dying in your world where you are today, BUT what will you do to reach those who are across the ocean? After all we are called to be both local and global. I hope this challenges you as it challenged me today! Grace to you and I, and as we rest in that grace GO be a REVOLUTION!
(HT-JD Greear)

I’ve said it before, I like former Czech president, Vaclav Havel. I’m not going to lie, I think the man is intriguing. Do I agree with everything he says, or has said, or does, or has done? Absolutely not! He is indeed a broken and imperfect man, like myself, but the man still intrigues me. Some time ago I shared some quotes and thoughts from Havel on Life Post-Communism and recently, courtesy of Bloomberg.com, we have some more thoughts from him. Last week I read an article over at Bloomberg.com, entitled, Havel Laments Czech Future as ‘Consumer Palaces’ Occupy Nation and I was once again intrigued and even encouraged by Havel.

palaces and the new cathedrals

Czechs are building “palaces of consumerism” that will occupy a third of the country in the next two decades, politicians can’t see farther than the next opinion poll and mobsters and money-changers have become the new economic elite, Havel said in an interview yesterday.

“Not many of us thought the door would be opened so quickly to all the mafiosi and back-street money-changers” who have now become “millionaires and billionaires,” he said. “We are living in the first truly atheistic society, and there’s no feeling that there is any kind of moral anchor.”

First off, it must be said, that in much of my reading and study of Czech history, that the cathedrals that you see all over the city of Prague or the country, for the most part were never full, but they served more as political statements of the ruling party, the Habsburgs (whom were Catholics), against Bohemian protestants. With that said, I won’t say that the malls have become the ‘new’ cathedrals replacing the actual cathedrals of this country, but I will say in many ways, Havel’s statement of “palaces of consumerism” is very true. I would even argue that, for the most part, these are the new cathedrals of Czech. They are places, where Czechs now find their identity, their meaning and more, and as the article says they are spreading and consuming the country at a frantic rate. This makes me wonder how the Gospel must be contextualized into this new trend.

It brings me back to something I’ve heard Keller say and I shared with our project this summer. A better way to communicate the need for the Gospel (sin), is in terms of idolatry. (Click here for a pdf from the Gospel Coalition from Keller on Idolatry in a Postmodern Age.) The essence of sin is idolatry when we elevate a good thing (a created) thing to an ultimate thing and thus we worship it. These new ‘palaces of consumerism’ that are taking over this country have been elevated to an ultimate thing, and at the end of the day they will leave the Czech people, and myself, left wanting.

How could I not find it intriguing when Havel said, “We are living in the first truly atheistic society” that lacks any moral foundation. Some might be critical of what ‘religion’ has done to the world, and I would agree. In the name of ‘religion’ or ‘God’ horrible things have been done and I lament over those many things, but something must be said of a culture that lacks “any kind of moral anchor.” When this happens, you see the things that Havel laments over - corruption, greed, lying and more. So my question to my Czech friends, or critics of ‘religion,’ is, “How is it working?” (NOTE: I say ‘religion’ because personally, I’m not fan of religion. Religion is man’s efforts to get to God to appease something above through doing so I will get out of this or that. I’m not down with that. I’m in a relationship with a God who has done what is needed, and in response to his doing, I give him myself.) I don’t ask this smugly, but brokenly, with a longing to see people here turn to something greater than the gods of consumerism, or even a presumed freedom of sorts (yes, even freedom, which is a ‘good thing’ can be elevated to an ultimate thing!). Is it working? And if it isn’t working, what must be done? Is there anything? I would not have relocated my whole life here if I did not believe in the depths of my soul that there is an alternative to all this!

it takes time

“When you have a beautiful table, or a piece of furniture, it can be kicked to bits in half a minute, but it takes weeks, months, to put it all together again,” Havel said.

It’s from this quote that I received much encouragement! Yes, Havel is referring to political change, and to a degree cultural change, but I can take heart in this quote. “Why?” Because it would seem as of late that I’ve been struggling with how hard it is to do “my job” or “work” here. In the midst of life - seeing people leave, being discouraged by not seeing results like I (we) would like to see, the difficulty of learning the language and more - I have felt discouragement creep in because ‘things’ don’t happen here on my ‘American timetable.’ I forget that it “takes weeks, months, to put it all together” and want to do it in a weekend. I was encouraged by this analogy, for this reason. It would be easy to tear the table apart or just throw it away because it would take too much time, or I could roll up my sleeves, get out my sander and other tools and go to work, realizing that it won’t happen in a day or a weekend but weeks or months - i.e. seeing lasting change here in this place isn’t going to happen in a short-term trip, or in a year of STINT, but years invested deeply, where I continue to trust God and roll up my sleeves, grab the lunch box and go to work.

Thank you Vaclav for your thoughts and encouragements! Even if you didn’t attend it (which I know you didn’t), or even if you think I’m a crackpot for what I believe and/or why I am here, my God used your words to give me some more insight on you and your countrymen, more ways to pray for you and your countrymen and also a heavy dose of encouragement. Thanks Vaclav!

I love when God shows up! He surely did, while I was in Salzburg! As I headed out of Prague to Cesky Krumlov then Salzburg, on my short holiday I had a prayer that God would bring refreshment, encouragement and some peace in the midst of sight seeing, reading, train rides, caffeine, walks and life as of late. Surely, I wish I could have had some more time to work, process, pray, journal and more through the things that have taken, and that are going on right now, in life, but the moments I had were great.

The Saturday I was in Salzburg, I sat at the cafe capp&ccino (which was also the only place I could find WIFI) and over a cappuccino, my moleskine, and my esv bible app on my iPhone I had a sacred moment. It was almost like I should have taken my shoes off, for the place I was sitting felt holy to me. I love that my God isn’t a distant God that is aloof, but that is present and meets me! There at Capp&ccino the God of the universe met me. I sat there, reading through Colossians and writing page after page in my moleskine, God seemingly flooded me with the encouragement I needed.

The theme - love. Simply put, it was like God was whispering to my soul, “I love you. Relax. Take a deep breath. Through everything that has happened I love you. Did you hear that? I love you. I loved you, as you received criticism, as you made mistakes, as you wallowed in your pool of self-pity. In the midst of all of this - I loved you. Zach, hear this - I love you. I hung on a Roman cross for you, and punched death squarely in the jaw knocking him out, because I love you. Hear that Zach…” So, so good…. It was a couple hours of the Gospel being preached to me via the Holy Spirit, and also preaching the Gospel to myself. I once again, was reminded how badly I need the Gospel and why Paul said this to the Roman church (yes, the church, made up of believers, not simply nonbelievers), “So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. (Romans 1:15)” Oh, if I was eager to constantly preach the Gospel to nonbelievers, believers and myself, what would life look like around me? I’m not sure, but I’m grateful for another wake up call to the Gospel!

“He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” 1 Peter 1:3c

As Easter season was upon us, I returned to these words from 1 Peter once again for a fresh perspective in the midst of life and all that is going on for a large dose of hope. Especially in relationship to life here and also the prayer request of a dear friend of mine; it was simple – that God would give him HOPE in the midst of doing life and ministry here. Like my dear friend, I also find myself looking to God for hope in the midst of what appears to be a hopeless ordeal, situation, country, city and etc. After all, this country does claim to be the most atheistic country in all of Europe, and I would argue that per capita it might be the most in the world! In the midst of doing life and ministry, finding hope, and not just a plastic-wrapped, trite, pat super-spiritual hope, but a hope that is deeper than I could imagine. So here I am again, longing and looking for hope, in the midst of feeling somewhat hopeless.

I felt this sense of hopelessness once again a Easter weekend on our most recent road game (we are now 3-0) to the Eastern portion of Czech, Moravia. While on our way, we passed through the city square where there was a reading of the newest Bible translation in Czech. Actually, this is a very big deal. Let me explain this quick, as an aside of sorts. Quite, some time ago, I wrote about Sasa Flek and the new translation he was working on. Sasa’s work has been huge! This new Bible, Preklad 21. Století or 21st Century Translation, is in contemporary Czech, and it is very readable. Sasa’s heart is to get over a 1 million Bibles in the hands of his countrymen over the next 7 years! Please pray for this, please pray for him. Pray that God would use this to reach many Czechs, who might have never read the Bible before. From my understanding this is only the third translation of the Bible into Czech, in hundreds of years! Because of this, a Bible reading(s) commenced throughout the country and in many cities. While I’m excited that this took place, I also have a heavy heart about it, for the reason I’m about to tell you. While, it was admirable to set up Bible readings of the new translation in many town squares, I can imagine the challenge many Christians had with it. Christians and Christianity are very laughable to the average Czech, and from my understanding many of the churches, whom were asked to be part of this public reading were reluctant for several reasons, but the over riding two appeared to be – 1) this isn’t relevant to the Czech heart and/or 2) fear of being jeered at. It didn’t surprise me when a friend told me about the reactions of churches throughout the country; especially, when we drove past the square in Havirov and I witnessed this firsthand. As I said earlier, Havirov, is in Moravia, which is thought to be much, much more religious than Western Czech – Bohemia. This can be a debate for another time, but the scene in Havirov was very telling of the situation on a country-wide level. There were maybe four people on the big town square around the tent set up for the Bible reading – 4! All four, appeared to be there to help with the Bible reading. The square was so hopelessly empty, my heart sank for those four people and for other Czech Christians attempting to be faithful throughout the country, but my heart sank more from the reaction from within the bus.

Laughter. Jeering. And eyes on me.

The sad reality, that was the reaction inside the bus, was obviously very similar to the reaction outside the bus. Was it hard for me, personally? Of course, but that isn’t why I was torn up. I was torn up because of the sad reality of this country - apathy and indifference. Apathetic and indifferent are two words that most of my Czech friends would use to describe this situation/problem here. It is as if this apathy, or indifference, is so thick, so prominent, that you can just feel it, it’s palpable. As we drove past the reading and I listened to the laughs and the things said of the Bible reading, it was once again palpable. One of my teammates, looked at me and said, “Muses byt trpelivy tady.” (”You must be patient here.”) I nodded in agreement, but in my heart, my response to the indifference was hopelessness.

Palpable hopelessness. So thick I could cut it with a knife. I sunk into my seat and felt as if I had the weight of this country of 10.6 million pressing on me. Due to my personality, I often find my self swimming in the deep sea of hopelessness that can be found here in response to the person of Jesus, but this day, this day I speak of was different. I opened my Bible for encouragement and found it once again in 1st Peter. First Peter has been my source of finding hope, again and again over the last year or so. One reason is because of the very, very obvious verse from chapter 1, verse 3, but also because the churches that Peter was writing to were surely in very hopeless situations. Peter talked about suffering, submitting to authorities (whom were only adding to the suffering), living in community in the midst of suffering, and, um, did I say suffering?

Needless to day, the churches of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia certainly needed someone to convey the hope of the resurrection and the hope of Christ to them. Granted, I’m not fearing physical persecution and, by no means, is the jeering I receive anything on the level that the earliest Christians experienced, oh no, but I find hope in this book. I found hope in this book two weeks ago, while in the bus to our game.

“He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” 1 Peter 1:3c

No matter, how bleak, no matter, how palpable the hopelessness may be, it will never be more than hopelessness expressed on the reverse side of the resurrection, the side that appeared to be only one of death, abandonment, ugliness, blood, scorn, and desperation. It is in this side, in this situation, that God moves. It is in the ugliness that God brought life, beauty, and redemption! As I read, 1 Peter 1:3 and reflected on things here, I felt a tidal wave of hope wash over me. Hope that the apathy and indifference, someday, at some point will find an end and God will bring beauty, life and redemption to this city and country I love so much. So now, for about two weeks, I’ve been praying ‘resurrection hope’ for my teammates, Czech friends, Prague and the whole of this country. I would encourage you to reflect on this ‘resurrection hope’ for your city, and for the ‘tribe’ (of people) that God has called you to.


May, as we plead for this hope, God bring resurrections to our cities, friends and countries, and when things are hopeless, may he fill our hearts once again with hope to love the city with all we have for His glory and the city’s good!

This morning as I was continuing to read A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (yes, I am still reading it. I haven’t been reading too much in the last 3 weeks.), by Eugene Peterson, I’ve sat and pondered Psalm 131. Only three verses, but more packed into these three verses than I can even begin to imagine. It is as Charles Spurgeon said, this Psalm “is on of the shortest Psalms to read, but one of the longest to learn.” Here is the Psalm from the paraphrase, The Message, that Eugene translated, and the ESV.

ESV

1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.

The Message

God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.
2 I’ve kept my feet on the ground,
I’ve cultivated a quiet heart.
Like a baby content in its mother’s arms,
my soul is a baby content.
3 Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope.
Hope now; hope always!

What are your initial responses as you read this Psalm? I’m wondering what happens in the lives of others they (you) read it!

From City on a Hill Church in Albuquerque. Stumbled upon it after watching Pastor Dave Bruskas, bring it, about the nations, at the Acts 29 Boot Camp in Seattle. I really loved their promo video. It made me want to go make some vids and also go plant some churches sooner than later! Patience…. Patience? Wait, some have said I’ve already begun planting? Hmmmm… That’s another blog entry!

A week or so ago, I posted some leadership thoughts that have been going through my mind lately. If you read that, you can see God has been teaching me a lot as of late, and I’m grateful for every bit of it, even if it is a hard place to be and sit in. See over the last year or so, I’ve received some criticism, some constructive, some not so constructive and I’ve struggled with it. Really… I didn’t want to hear it, but yet I did. I lived in this paradox for some time; it has been hard for me to sift through it at times, but there was a thought I heard Mark Driscoll hit on at one point that has helped me in the midst of this,

“Turn your critics into coaches. Most criticism has some modicum of truth. Ignore garbage; receive truth.” {grabbed from a blog post at A29, Mission & Vision of Acts 29 Network}

This simple thought from Driscoll has been encouragement in the midst of ministry, and growing as a leader. I was reminded of this again, this weekend as I watched/listened to a recent talk about the movement that is Acts 29 Church Planting Network (They envision the A29 movement reaching 300,000 people in the next 7 years! Click HERE to watch the talk, or just watch in below, it was good stuff about movements in general!). This thought of turning critics into coaches isn’t original Driscoll, but he got it from Billy Graham, whom seemingly got it from a man named Fred Smith (read more HERE), but it is gold for the leader. Driscoll added another thread to this, in this most recent talk, that as we turn critics into coaches, we need to look for the kernel of truth and see if there is anything that God could use for good what was intended for evil, for our good, sanctification and for the saving of many lives! (echoing back to Genesis 50:20) Good stuff. However, this of course, requires a large amount of humility, that I don’t know how well I do with most of the time. Nonetheless, I’m in the process and attempting to see God take these things, some of which were attended for good and some of course that weren’t, to coach me along and make me the type of man, leader, Christ-follower, missionary and more that God has in mind for me.

So let’s get practical here. How does this play out in your life? Can you get here? Where do you struggle? How do you push through? Help me (US) out! Thanks for stopping by and engaging in some things God is teaching me with me!

I, by my nature, am not a good listener. So over the last few years I’ve had to work at being a better listener. I would say I’m that. Better. Certainly not great. Not good. However I, by God’s grace, have a teachable spirit that isn’t content with mere mediocrity in any area of my life, especially in an area that will help me excel in many areas, and in the midst of that I’ve seen myself grow as a listener. This morning I headed over to theresurgence.com for my morning blog read and I loved a short post entitled Listening to the Lost. It was a good reminder for me and served as another piece of encouragement for me as I journey forward in my listening abilities. Here are two portions I wanted to share with you, but go read the WHOLE post too!

One of the most effective ways to know our “target audience” was to ask them questions…something that we really aren’t good at in the West. Instead, Christians assume a defensive posture, making conversations doctrinal battles or apologetic arguments. Ethnographic research forces us to take a more humble path, the path of learning from those we hope “to reach.”

By asking questions from concern and genuine interest, we will travel much further and faster in our relationships. But first, we have to be convinced that we have something to learn from others, especially from those who don’t believe as we do. Our biblical anthropology–all men are created in God’s image–should convince us of that, but only the Spirit of God can convict us of subtle self-righteousness in viewing non-Christians as projects to complete, not persons to love.

Francis Schaeffer once said something to the effect of: “Give me an hour with an unbeliever and I will listen for the first 55 minutes and then in the last five minutes I will have something to say.”

Practically, how can you step forward in journey of listening? What has God taught you in respects to listening? Do you have any insights you can share with the 5 readers of zACHhARROD.com land? Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Tuesday!