Imagine if...

What if Twitter had been around during the time of Jesus' ministry, death, and resurrection?  Could it possibly have looked something like this?

Internally or Externally Motivated?

One of the things that often intrigues me is the question of motivation.  Part of this comes from my faith as a Christian, in which my love and care for my God and my neighbor inspire me in many of the things that I do.  I have also seen that frequently Christians can seek to impart their particular values and morals upon others, expecting them to follow suit without question.  And that's where I see a big difference between being internally motivated or externally motivated.

When you are internally motivated, you tend to make changes based upon your ow thinking, or the need that you recognize.  It is incumbent upon you to be the agent which directs and guides the change.  When you need motivation for achieving the change, it comes from within, and that makes it a little more powerful.  You see the need, and you recognize the need, and therefore, you are the agent which guides and influences the change.

It's a completely different thing when you are externally motivated.  When this happens, the change is being enforced upon you by another.  In our human nature, that's something that we are naturally opposed to.  We don't like it when others tell us how we are supposed to be, what we are supposed to do, and how we are supposed to act.  We may go along with it for a while, but when the external pressure is removed, it shouldn't be a surprise that we go back to that which we find comfortable and natural.

When God works upon us by His Spirit, He works to create a new heart within us.  God knows that, if He were to outwardly enforce His will, law, and design upon us, we would naturally rebel against Him.  Shoot, we already do that, even when it's just knowing what He says in His will, law, and design.  Imagine if God were to actively stop us from any kind of breaking of His law.  We would end up going along with it simply because it would be less painful to do that, rather than out of any kind of internal motivation.

But God is really about changing our hearts to where we become internally motivated to follow what He says and to do what He has commanded.  As God removes our heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh, He changes us to become a people who are inwardly motivated by our love for God and our care for our neighbor.  We do it, not because someone else is forcing it on us, but because we see how it benefits others, and we do it from that internal motivation.  That is, by far, a more powerful motivation.  Inward motivation will often go much farther than any form of external motivation.

At its heart, the Gospel is about us become internally motivated to do that which God desires, wills, and commands.  Doing it, because we are loved by God, and therefore, we love others. 

Living in a #Hashtag World

Okay, full confession here.  I have a twitter account.  I'm also highly considering a Pinterest and an Instagram account.  I realize that some of you who read this blog may be wondering what those are, and perhaps in the future I'll explain or link to them.  But I have a twitter account.  I aim to put a thought or two out there each day on it, as well as a link to my (daily) blog entries. 

Lots of people, though, frequent twitter a lot more than I do.  Just in the last 3 minutes, I've had over 20 new twitter statements come through on my "feed".  I follow quite a few different people or interests on there.  Some are sports, some are running, some are food, and some are church, ministry, or theology related.  Regardless, I get a new alert every time a few more pop up.  (Just got 5 more while I typed that sentence.)

One of the remarkable things on twitter is that you can add a hashtag (#) in front of something, and it will sometimes get picked up by others.  You do that for a one word summary of something that expresses your thoughts at the moment.  It could be a person of interest, an item of interest, or something along those lines.  When enough people add it to their feed, twitter updates you to let you know what people are hashtagging, so you know what is trending out there in the world.

We live in a hashtag world, regardless of your awareness of how twitter uses them or not.  Every time you see a banner on TV that says "Breaking News", you have a form of the hashtag.  Every time something like that crosses your internet provider, you have a form of the hashtag.  It's a reminder of what's happening now, of what's popular now, of what people are looking into now.

We live in a hashtag world because we want things right now.  And in some respects, that also speaks to our Christian lives.  We want to know God is with us right now.  We want to know that God forgives us, not at some point in the future, but right now.  We want to know that God has an interest in our lives right now.  And the amazing thing is, God actually is and does all those things, and right now!

You have forgiveness right now, because of what Jesus has done for you.  You have forgiveness right now when you have the washing waters of baptism as part of your history.  You have the gift of a relationship with God right now, through that baptism, and through your ongoing faith in what God has done for you in Jesus.  You have the gift of eternal life right now, by virtue of your connection to God in Christ Jesus, who lives an eternal life that will never die.

The great thing is, we don't need hashtags to make those things our reality.  They are our reality because of what God has done for us, and because those gifts have been given to us.  And yet, we need that hashtag frequency of reminder because not a day goes by that we need to be reminded of it.  We need that reminder because every day, other hashtags attempt to distract us from God's gifts in Christ Jesus.

Maybe you didn't know it, but you live in a hashtag world, in that you live in a world of right now.  God works right now for you, and won't stop.  Even if you don't know what a hashtag is, you have the assurance of God's gifts in your life right now!  Thanks be to God for that in Jesus!

Setting Professional Goals

Most of us have the joy, privilege, and challenge of having to work for the achievement of our livelihood.  As part of the so-called "work force", we face a rapidly changing environment around us.  While our careers and jobs may vary in great degrees, there are usually enough commonalities that a discussion on setting professional goals is worthwhile.

Yesterday I talked about how personal goals impact others beyond ourselves.  I believe the same thing applies with professional goals, especially when you serve or work in an area in which others look up to you, report to you, or in which you have a great deal of influence.  But even if you aren't in that position of influence, setting goals still carries great benefits with it.

What do you need to do in order to bring the most meaning into your chosen career, profession, or job?  So many of us look at our job as something that doesn't bring us much joy.  But what is there that you can bring to the job that can change your outlook on that?  That could be a good starting point when you think about professional goals.  How you approach your work definitely has an impact on the joy you discover in your work.  If you look to your work to bring meaning and joy, you're starting in the wrong place.  It all begins with you.

That's why setting professional goals can be so beneficial.  When you know that you are working toward certain things in your profession or job, you start to open your eyes to the opportunities that are around you.  I would also dare say that those who are in positions above you will also notice that kind of thing, and will want to find ways to bring it out even more.  I won't guarantee anything along those lines, but it really is interesting how often those who bring positive change to the workplace start to find themselves rising up to positions of influence.

I would even dare say that these things are biblical.  God calls His Christians to do such things as be honest in their work, earn the wages that you are paid, and to demonstrate your godly care and compassion toward those in your workplace.  In that way, you also serve as a light in the place you work, regardless of national or state laws about the practice of your faith.

What should these goals consist of?  Maybe they involve learning more about the field in which you work.  Perhaps they involve how you relate to the people you work with.  Maybe you even expand your knowledge to areas related to your job.  It could even be something as simple as making a goal about your attitude toward your work.  The possibilities are tremendous.

I also set goals in my professional career.  Some of them involve growing in knowledge.  Others involve relational aspects of my career.  Still others involve things like how I organize myself, my desk, my files, and other beneficial things like that.  Overall, I find them all tremendously helpful in my career in serving God and His people.

Book Review: I Am A Church Member

As part of my professional life, I read a lot.  True, I love to read personally, so the love of books isn't too challenging to bring over into my professional life.  But I truly do take something out of practically every book that I read.

One of the things I'm aiming for this year is to post brief reviews about books I read on this blog.  If that leads some of you to purchasing and reading those same books, great.  I'd also love to hear what you think of the various books.  I'll also try to keep things brief, yet as encompassing as possible.

Today I just finished Thom Rainer's "I Am A Church Member."  It's a brief book of 79 pages, and yet, presents some challenging thoughts to us as Christians.  He basically takes a look at this thing called church membership, focusing on what membership is biblically verses what we tend to think of as membership.

Rainer's primary contrast is the membership of a church versus the membership of a country club.  His research has led him to believe that too many churches in America have members who conduct themselves as country club members, who focus on services directed toward them, rather than seeking to serve.  He especially focuses on the area of functioning (being an active participant in the congregation), unifying, prayer (especially for those in leadership positions), health (especially in regard to family members), and in the role of preferences and desires.  Rainer asserts that our focus way too often tends to be on what we get from our participation in the church rather than seeking to be an asset to the Body of Christ in our local congregation.

To a healthy degree, I agree with much of what Rainer writes, though there are some caveats.  Many of us focus on what we get out of our local church rather than on how we can be an asset to Christ's body and ministry.  But I also believe that Rainer focuses too much on the serving aspect.  From the outset, we understand that we are members of Christ's Church because of what He has done for us.  It's completely Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and the subsequent gift of faith, which make us members, and that is true whether we are productive or not, serving or consuming.

However, Rainer hits the nail on the head that our membership in Christ's Church doesn't stop there.  The call to faith isn't about being static or complacent, but about taking up our cross and following Jesus as we exhibit our love for our neighbor.  That love is far too frequently missing in our churches.  Rainer provides a helpful reminder that, being Christ's Church, we are to focus on our love for God as we love our neighbor, both within the Church and outside the Church.

That drives us to have a servant heart and attitude rather than a consumer attitude.  This is the strength of Rainer's approach to this topic.  He challenges us to think about being part of Christ's Church and serving rather than being served.  He pulls that into our relationships with fellow members, with leaders, and even to those outside the Church.  Service, not preferences or personal desires, should be the driving force behind what we do, out of love for Christ, who redeemed us by serving us, and now sends us out to do the same in His name.

I would recommend this book, though it may come across as somewhat harsh and judgmental, especially to those who bring a consumer mindset to the Church.  Nevertheless, much can be gained from reading it, especially if you are willing to be challenged in your participation in your local congregation.

Setting Personal Goals

I don't plan on dwelling too long on this whole goal setting thought, but it might fill the rest of this week.  That's because goal setting is something that has both great benefits, but some definable dangers to them.  The benefits are that they give you something to aim for, to reach for.  They are supposed to stretch you and challenge you to become better in whatever field you set them.  The danger is that many of us begin to define ourselves by how we do in regard to our goals, and therefore, if we fail to live up to them, we begin to define ourselves as failures.  Therefore, our response becomes that of not setting goals, since we (seemingly obviously) can't live up to them.

With that aside, I do tend to set goals, but I look at them not merely as achievements to be mastered, but as guidelines to get to certain stages that I desire to attain in life.  For example, some of my goals this year involve running.  Running is great exercise, and it's the kind of exercise I've focused on for the last several years.  I set goals on how many miles to cover each week, how many times to go out and run, and how many races I like to enter.  These goals keep me motivated on days like today, when the temp is below freezing, but I know that I'll feel much better if I get out there and slog my way through it.

But here's the thing with personal goals, at least in my eyes.  While they are of direct benefit to you, they should also have some bearing in your interactions toward others.  Think of it from this perspective.  Running helps me to feel better, to have more energy, and to consider the food I eat a lot more.  That has an impact on my family.  When I feel better and have more energy, I'm much more able to focus on them and to do the things that need to be done which benefit my family.  My eating habits help us all to eat better, as I focus on not merely my own food, but how to prepare healthy meals for us all.  Plus, there are those occasions where I sign up for a race in another town, and we end up turning it into a family vacation time together!  So many benefits that go beyond myself.

You can probably also see how these spill over into my working life.  I'm a better pastor when I'm feeling good about myself, and when I have energy to focus on the tasks at hand.  In addition, since running often involves endurance and working through difficult situations, it helps to prepare me when I find those situations arising at work.  Knowing that I can push through a run in freezing temps helps me realize I can also endure that difficult conversation that needs to be had, or to make that phone call that I'd rather avoid.

So, they are personal, but they reach far more people than just myself.  I don't focus so much on the letter of achievement (though I tend to do them exactly as I set them up), but on where they are taking me.  Maybe that's a healthy way of looking at personal goals.  I don't know.  What do you think?

A happy new year

Well, we are now 7 days into the new year.  I realize that it's been a lot longer than that since I last posted something on here.  But that's about to change once again.

I hope that each and every one of you has been having a blessed new year thus far.  God's grace promises to carry through to us every year, and we rejoice in that grace as we live under it in His eternal kingdom.

Being the kind of person I am, I typically set goals for myself for the upcoming year.  Not so much resolutions, but things I want to see accomplished in the coming year.  Some of these are of a personal nature, such as my family time and how I interact with my family, as well as my running and exercise routine.  Some are professional, involving things such as reading, writing, and professional growth in areas in which I work.  Others, since I am a part of a local congregation with some amount of influence and guidance, have to do with the life of that congregation.

Over the next few days, I'll share a few of these with you, as well as ask you about any that you may set.  But above all, what I strive for in all of these is that the LORD our God is better served, even as He has served us fully in Christ our Lord.  May this year be one lived out in His holy name!