Losing the Gospel

"A servant of God has but one Master. It ill becomes the servant to seek to be rich, and great, and honored in that world where his Lord was poor, and mean, and despised." --George Muller




This Sunday begins The Adventure of Greatness at Open Door.  Together, we will take our next step in Christlikeness through Spirit-led service.  Jim did a great job setting up the series by asking one of the greatest questions a leader can ask: "Do I seek to serve or be served?"  I've been thinking about this question today, and I've realized something as a result.  


There are two distinct mentalities among Christians: 

1. Those who follow Christ for blessings (friends, money, connections, eternal life),
2. Those who follow Christ for God's glory as they live in relationship with Him.  

I used to think that self-centered Christianity was limited only to what I saw on TBN, "the health and wealth gospel", as it is called.  It was easy for me to cast judgement on the makeup, big hair and expensive jewelry as I boldly proclaimed that the gospel was all about me getting into heaven.  For me, not sinning was a good way to not offend God, but there wasn't much else to Christianity.  


God renovated my view of the gospel with Romans 1:16-17 when it says that in the gospel, "the righteousness of God is revealed."  I was surprised that it didn't focus on the fact that in the gospel the blessing of eternal life is revealed (though that is also true).  My paradigm realigned when I realized that while the gospel has many benefits for me, it is ultimately about God's glory.  


When I lose site of God's glory, I lose site of the gospel.  


Consider this.  The gospel is the story of God humbling himself, becoming a servant and dying the most humiliating death possible in order to pay our sin debt (Philippians 2:5-11).  This is how God chose to bring himself glory.  This is how He reveals himself.  


I don't want to lose site of God's glory.  I want the thought of His greatness to consume every breath, every thought, every step.  I want Him to get the glory when I step out of bed, when I kiss my wife, when I talk to my son and when I go to work.  I don't want to forget that every moment is for His glory, and as such every moment should be used to glorify Him by serving others.  It's all about God's glory.  


If you haven't signed up for the Adventure of Greatness, its not too late.  Click here to join a Life Group and the Adventure of Greatness.    

Safety Last

Tuesday night at Frequency we had a discussion about the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. If you aren’t familiar with the parable, it is the one where the master gives three of his servants talents to invest while he is gone. Two of them engage in risky endeavors that yield a 100% return on their investment. The third fears losing his talent, so he buries it in a safe place.

When I used to read this parable, I always thought he third servant was the good guy. After all, he values his master’s talent so much that he goes to great ends to protect it. What we re the other guys thinking risking losing the talent by investing?! As a child, I remember being surprised when the master punishes the “play-it-safe servant.” He actually calls him a “wicked, lazy slave.” It was as if he was being judged for his fear of risk. Turns out, he was.

It is a lie that Jesus wants you to be safe. Somewhere along the line, we started thinking that being unspotted from the world meant being uninvolved with it. The truth is Jesus doesn’t want you to be safe. He wants you to multiply (Matthew 28:19-20), and multiplication means risk. It means stepping out and saying, “I’ll do that” when you are scared that you might make a mistake or get hurt. The good news is that Jesus never leaves us hanging. He provides for us when we step out in faith.

Opportunity is here. I am privileged to pastor at church that is growing. People are coming to Christ. New people are showing up every Sunday. It is thrilling! There is no shortage of people in need of ministry, but there is a shortage of people to minister. I know now what Jesus meant when He said that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few (Luke 10:2). I’m watching it happen. We need help in the simplest areas:
Tech Team members (We will train you!)
Children’s Ministry workers
Life Group Leaders
Administrative help (printing bulletins, stuffing envelopes, etc.)
Host Team members (All you have to do is smile and greet people)

You have no excuse. No matter who you are or where you live, there is something you can do. Here are the e-mail addresses associated with some of the ministries that need help:
Tech Team (timg@churchoftheopendoor.org)
Children’s Ministry (michellem@churchoftheopendoor.org)
Life Group (teresah@churchoftheopendoor.org)
Administrative (cindyb@churchoftheopendoor.org)
Host (amindling@oh.rr.com)

As Jim Morrison once said, “The time to hesitate is through.”

Will you step up for the sake of the gospel?