Discipleship

A couple thoughts that have been on my mind and I have been meaning to write down.

• The first is our faith in Christ and our walk with God should cost us something.  This has many ramifications in the life we choose to live and the daily choices we make.  Too often our "American Christianity" is too cheap.  Especially in the south where everyone is a "Christian".  An individual spoke to this in a conversation I overheard the other day about visiting the Pacific Northwest.  He was talking about how it means something up there when you say you are a "Christian", because of the majority of the people are not.  This is unlike the south where everyone "goes to church".  He labeled this being a "legitimate Christian".  I would say we need to legitimize our faith.
• The second is related discipleship and making disciples.  This has been on the forefront of my mind and something I have been looking for as we search for a new church home here in Alabama.  Something I just read in Bandon Hatmaker's book "Barefoot Church" spoke to this.  Actually it speaks to both points.

Following Christ should change our lives.  We should not be the same.  Discipleship is transforming. Yet when we think about our spiritual development, it's easier to see a change in our practices than in our passions.  We continue to add rings to replace things, yet our hearts remain the same.  We seem to think discipleship is an agreement to knowledge instead of a commitment to a gospel that makes all things new.

A Prayer for Humility

A Private Litany of Humility

From the desire of being praised, deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being honored, deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred, deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being approved, deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of comfort and ease, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being criticized, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being passed over, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being lonely, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being hurt, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of suffering, deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, strengthen me with your Spirit.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, teach me your ways.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, help me put my self-importance aside to learn the kind of cooperation with others that makes possible the presence of your Abba’s household.

Amen.

Adapted from a prayer by Rafael,
Cardinal Merry Del Val, 1865–1930

A Key To Happiness

Have heard this before, but good to remember and actually practice.  Maybe I will start this today.

Be Happier at Work and In Life

Teach A Man To Fish...

Thought this was an insightful post by Bruce Kasanoff.

Do Not Teach a Starving Man to Fish

Humility, Grace, and Wrath

"It is much easier for me to imagine a praying murderer, a praying prostitute, than a vain person praying.  Nothing is at odds with prayer as vanity"

"Every day I am getting to know people, at any rate their circumstances, and sometimes one is able to see through their stories into themselves - and at the same time one thing continues to impress me:  here I meet people as they are, far from the masquerade of "the Christian world";  people with passions, criminal types, small people with small aims, small wages and small sins - all in all they are people who feel homeless in both senses, and who begin to thaw when one speaks to them with kindness - real people;  I can only say that I have gained the impression that it is just these people who are much more under grace than under wrath, and that it is the Christian world which is more under wrath than grace."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Being a Disciple

From "And" by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay

"Disciples expect tension!  They wake up each day expecting the Father will lead and guide their day; they have given ownership of all they have back to God, for him to direct.  They trust God for supernatural provision; they let faith in God win out over safety, common sense, or worldly wisdom; moreover, their relationship with God is deeply integrated with a community of other believers, and they have many relationships with people in the non-Christian culture.  They view Scripture as God's message to a missional people instead of a series of self-help slogans; they pray out of desperation for the circumstances they find themselves in as they walk in the world instead of simply doing things in isolation; and they view the church as a community of fellow passionaries joyfully gathering to see each other, as opposed to strangers they sing songs with once a week."

True Leadership

Read this while looking at a passage of Mark this morning.  Made me think about how I choose to lead as an elder, a member of the missions team, and in other areas of the church.

So Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.  But among you it will be different.  Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."  Mark 10:42-45