Category Archives: Articles & Tutorials

Floating $20: How to creep into communalism

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There’s a quaint, little passage at the end of Acts 2 that tells how the early church operated and interacted with one another. Feel free to read it yourself – the whole chapter is awesome – but here’s the part about finances:

“Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.” -Acts 2:44-45

(Photo: Sh4rp_i)

That sounds all neighborly and Christian and right… until we recognize the implications. If we take the early church as a model for Christian living, this means you and I are supposed to share everything.

  • “All things in common”: All means all. Sharing all they had meant relying on each other for what they didn’t have, like money to pay bills and so on. It’s hard enough to give things away, harder still to have others do the same to provide for you.
  • “Sold their possessions and goods”: They didn’t keep their old stuff and just shuffle it around. You take my TV – I’ll take your laptop. No, they turned it into cash so they could change their priorities entirely. They became liquid.
  • “As anyone had need”: This wasn’t equality. They didn’t necessarily give everyone the same amount. I’m sure some got more, others less. They distributed as needed, not fairly.

What if we tried to do that today, not as a society or form of government but as Christians, voluntarily? How would it work? If at all?

At the very least, things would be really different, right? Most likely, crazy difficult.

Let’s not forget the overall implications, but for now, here’s a fairly painless way to ease into it, a way to get starting thinking and acting in these terms. (plus, a great way to initiate a Grandfather Effect too).

The floating $20-bill

The process is simple:

  • First, identify someone who needs an extra $20
  • Second,  find $20
  • Third, put the money in an envelope and mark the envelop “Floating 20″
  • Third, give the person the envelope
  • Fourth, tell this person, “It’s not a loan. It’s a floating $20. When you can, pass it on to someone else who needs it.”

That’s the whole thing, and it’s amazingly effective. Until someone does this for you, you don’t really know what it’s like to be on the receiving end. Not only does it help you out, it’s also encouraging to think about passing it on later when you’re able to.

Floating other things

You can modify this a bit too. It doesn’t have to always be a floating $20. For instance…

  • Floating food box: Put together a small assortment of foods, even just a loaf of bread or bag of veggies. Mark the box “Floating food.”
  • Floating childcare/babysitting: Offer to watch a stressed parent’s kids for the evening. Extra bonus for printing out the offer on a slip of paper to look like a coupon.
  • Floating bed: Let people stay the night at your place, free of charge, even if you don’t know them too well. Go the extra mile and tell everyone about your open house policy.

You get the idea. Come up with your own.

Oh, and not to imply anything in Scripture that isn’t there, but I haven’t even mentioned my favorite part about the passage in Acts 2, the result:

“And the Lord adding to the church daily those who were being saved.” -Acts 2:47

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Float $20.

(2) What other ideas do you have? I’d love to hear them in the comments.

Stop waiting on the Lord

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(Photo: xJasonRogersx)

Do you wait until you hear God telling you to go, or do you go until you hear God telling you to wait?

For a while, I answered this question the way I assume most people do, that it’s better to wait on the Lord first. I mean, by God’s standards, we’re a pretty messed up group. We fail on our own. We need God’s help.

So it makes sense to wait to hear God’s voice before rushing into anything. Right? Doesn’t that make sense?

Let’s see…

Direction is more important than decision

As Christians, the Spirit of God is with us. That’s a given. As Christians seeking to follow God’s will, we’re facing in the right direction. Our decisions then aren’t so much between good and bad but between good and good.

For instance, as Christians, are we really having that much trouble deciding between helping a friend move or stealing bread from a bakery? No, the tough decisions are the ones like deciding between helping that friend or going to the midweek Bible study. Those decisions are tough because both options seem good (or in opposite cases, neither option seems good). We honestly don’t know which God wants for us.

Sure, you and I can still make bad decisions. I can and certainly do all the time, even without knowing it. But I think most of the bad decisions you and I make – at least the ones we make without going against God on purpose – are decisions to stop, to hesitate, to not step out in faith.

Why? Because the Holy Spirit is with us, so His momentum moves us forward. Most options that move us forward will move us down the right path. The bad options are the options that keep us from moving forward.

All this to say, I think we need to change our assumptions when it comes to following the will of God.

Action is more important than knowledge

Usually, and I’ll just speak for myself here, I default to hesitation. Like I hear about moving to Saudi Arabia as a missionary, and my first response is, “God, if this is what you want for me, if this is what you’re calling me to do, then let me know so I can move forward with it.”

And then I forget about it.

What’s up with that? Can’t I be pretty sure that moving to Saudi Arabia as a missionary is something God will, you know, most likely appreciate? Don’t I know Him at least that well?

My first response should be more like, “God, I think this is your will so I’m moving forward with it. If it’s not your calling, if it’s not what you want for me, please let me know so I can stop.”

When God doesn’t want you to move forward

Obviously, if there’s a decision you know isn’t part of God’s will because it clearly contradicts Scripture, then don’t go for it. But for everything else, why not move forward until God tells you to stop?

In fact, even if you’re a new Christian, and you don’t know much about Scripture, I’d still suggest moving forward.

God’s really cool about telling you no.

Like if you’re legitimately wondering whether or not it’s God’s will for you to take a job at a strip club, I’d say try going for it. I trust that God will tell you in a hurry that’s not part of His plan for your life.

For example, I’ll tell you right now that working at a strip club is a bad idea. There, end of story. If you don’t trust me on this one, ask some other Christians at a local church. They can help you out and point you to some passages in Scripture. Count that as your confirmation. Then move on to the next option, assume it’s a good one, and move forward.

You can’t underestimate the importance of momentum for obedience.

Moving forward as a default

What if every time you and I heard something that seemed to align with God’s will, we moved forward with it? What if instead of asking for God’s confirmation to move forward, we asked for His confirmation to stop?

Here are a few examples of the changes I mean. What if we thought, and acted, like this?

  • God is calling me to start a church in Alabama—unless I hear Him telling me no.
  • God is calling me to be a missionary to Africa—unless I hear Him telling me no.
  • God is calling me to sell everything I have and give it to the poor in my city—unless I hear Him telling me no.

That’s a crazy lifestyle. Seriously, in practical terms, this will mean you’re constantly reinventing how you live, maybe where you live, and definitely who you live with everyday. It will mean dedicating your entire life, literally, to God’s plan and letting that plan sway you and move you and change you and throw you around.

But isn’t this the lifestyle God calls us to? I mean, check the Bible for yourself. Doesn’t it seem like Jesus is pretty serious about selling everything we own, pretty serious about only taking the stuff we can carry on our backs, pretty serious about leaving everything to follow Him?

You know God’s will

Let me take a step back to clarify something.

I’m not saying to go without hearing from God. I’m saying, you’ve already heard Him. It seems to me that God’s will, His general will at least, is clearly laid out in the Bible.

The problem comes when we start asking for our individual calling instead of trusting God’s general commandments. Unlike the general advice we give, God’s actually does apply to every, single one of us, you know? Have you ever considered that before, that maybe the things He tells all of us to do are actually the same things He’s telling you personally to do right now?

I know. It’s scary for me too. But sometimes scary is an indication of faith in action. If it’s not scary, maybe you’re not really using much faith. That’s not always the case, but I’d say it correlates pretty often.

What do you say?

Do you wait until you hear God telling you to go, or do you go, trusting the obvious stuff He’s already said, until you hear Him telling you to wait?

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Open your Bible to the place where you usually do a daily devotion (or if that’s not in your routine, open to where you might start if you were to begin that routine).

(2) Read until you find the first place where it gives a general command to followers of Christ.

(3) Close your Bible and try following that command immediately. If you had to live that command in some practical way right now, how would you do it? Make this a habit. Stop waiting on the Lord and move forward with what He’s already said.

15 ministry ideas to get your brain going

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Have you been a Christian for at least three years?

Yes?

Then it’s time to branch out, start bearing some fruit.

The other day, I heard this guy [video] say, “Yo, in my Bible, the trees that bore no fruit and bad fruit were both cut down.” That really hit me. There’s no lukewarm. There’s hot or cold, fruit or no fruit.

(Photo: The Wolf)

So how can you and I begin to own up to God’s calling? ‘Cause it’s definitely not about listening to Sunday sermons forever. There’s more.

For instance, here are some ideas from my life and from some of my friends:

  • Volunteering within your church: Can you be a greeter? How about a children’s ministry helper or teacher? Seriously, churches have no problem giving you stuff to do (assuming you’re faithful to actually do it).
  • Starting a new ministry within your church: Like a group that gets together before services and prays. Or a cleaning ministry or a moving ministry. Look for needs and then find ways to meet those needs, instead of passing them on as suggestions for other leaders.
  • Logging what you’re learning and sharing it: Start a blog or put together an email list or collect physical addresses for regular mail. And then share what you’re learning in your devotions each week.
  • Door to door evangelism: Get groups of two together, spread out around a neighborhood, and start knocking on doors. Sometimes the best that comes of it is your connection with the people who go with you. That’s not a bad thing.
  • Opening your home: Let everyone know you’re willing to host people at your place for an evening or even for a night. Post it on CouchSurfing.org too.
  • Giving away your trade secrets: If you’re a musician, could you play some weddings for free? What if you’re a photographer? Or maybe you could teach a one-off class on business management or home birthing or home schooling, share some of the skills you’ve acquired over the past 20 years.
  • Setting up a missions trip: And it doesn’t have to be to Kenya. You can set up a missions project to a city two cities away from where you live… or even stay in the same city.
  • Supporting missionaries financially: Our money can go a long way in other countries. Let it.
  • Moving to bless others: This might mean moving to another country to help missionaries, or it might mean moving to another city to be a missionary there. Most people don’t even factor this in as an option, but it seems pretty biblical to me. The early disciples were all over the place.
  • Offering to share your testimony: Ask your church or other churches or youth camps or conferences and so on. If you start locally through people you know, it’s not that difficult to find a place.
  • Keeping believers accountable: Set a weekly time to get together. Exchange phone numbers. You can even connect on Skype. Make a list of things you want to stay accountable for and run through them as often as you can. Give each other permission to let things get uncomfortable. <<This will take time.
  • Mentoring someone: Like your kids, first off. Secondly, ask your friends and relatives to see if anyone wants to follow you around. Or you could set it up more like an accountability meeting except with more advice and living examples thrown in.
  • Writing a book: It doesn’t have to be as overwhelming as it seems. Consider an ebook (read: PDF) or a small pamphlet you can staple together yourself. Some of my favorite books are only about 150 pages. You can even self-publish a longer work if you can’t get it published the traditional way.
  • Leading a Bible study: You can do this in your home, in someone else’s home, at a park, at a university, in a prison, in a box, or with a fox. “Wherever two or three are gathered…”
  • Starting a church: I guess I have a less traditional view on starting a church (or maybe it’s more traditional if you take it all the way back to Acts). I’m like get some people together for a Bible study. When that gets too big for a house, look into renting a building or community center. Pray like crazy. Read and meditate on the Bible daily. Pray some more. Worry about “formal education” later, or maybe at the same time.

You have tons of options, and these are only a few. I’m just trying to give you some ideas, get your sap flowing.

How can you stretch yourself? How can you go beyond what you’re comfortable with right now? Often, doing the things we don’t want to do is exactly what we’re supposed to do.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Make a plan. Within one month have one of these (or one of your own ideas) in motion. How will that happen?

(2) Take the first step right after making a rough plan. I mean like within half an hour of finishing this article. Maybe it means emailing that friend about starting an accountability group or calling your pastor to see about helping in the youth ministry. Whatever it is, take that action to get others in on the plan.

Becoming child-like: How to forget worrying and live now

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(Photo: Ana_Cotta)

Children have an amazing ability to anticipate.

They’ll count down to their birthday months ahead of time. Or from the backseat of the van, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Or if you tell them you might bake some cookies, you sure better. They won’t let you forget.

With all that anticipation, though, they don’t really plan well. They get distracted by whatever’s happening at the moment. They forget where they’re going.

…because they love what’s happening now.

In fact, we often say that a person’s ability to persist through distractions is a measure of their maturity. The ability to focus on the future is what separates adults from kids.

I’d like to bring those back together, though, see if we can un-separate them. I love seeing anticipation in the eyes of little children. I’m thinking maybe you and I could copy some of that instead of planning so much.

On planning ahead

Remember when God provided for the (ahem) children of Israel in the desert by sending them manna? God sent flakes of bread from the sky each morning with instructions for everyone to collect enough for one day only. Some of the people of course disobeyed and learned the hard way that manna spoils overnight.

What’s up with that?

I mean, why did God send them bread that would spoil so quickly? Surely He could have sent something that lasted at least a few days, right? Like on Fridays, right before the Sabbath day of rest, God told them to gather enough for two days, and – what do you know! – the manna didn’t spoil then.

No, God knew what He was doing. The manna spoiled on purpose. God wanted the Israelites to learn to trust Him each day, a lesson Jesus echoed hundreds of years later:

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” -Matthew 6:34

What a liberating lesson! And Jesus did more than preach it…

  • When children wanted to climb onto Jesus’s lap, the disciples told them to scram. Why don’t we let Jesus rest so He can share more later? But Jesus wasn’t about that.
  • When Mary wanted to sit and listen to Jesus, Martha wanted to hurry about, preparing the meal. Why don’t we cook now so the food will be ready in time? Jesus wasn’t about that at all.
  • When the woman wanted to dump expensive oil all over Jesus’s feet, everyone wanted her to save it. Why don’t we sell it and give the profit to the poor? Jesus wasn’t about that either.

It’s not that Jesus hated planning. It’s that He loved being present. He wanted to interact with whatever was happening at the moment. Plans can wait. Now can’t.

Jesus enjoyed now. He wasn’t worried about later. Just like a child.

We’re not like that, not usually.

Why we worry

Worry is a result of uncertainty, bad uncertainty. Like those scary movies. The scary parts are when you don’t know what’s going to happen, the suspense, little Miss Whoever in the dark hallway. We get anxious when there’s a chance it could be bad.

That’s what the future is: uncertainty, a type of suspense. When we look into the future, or try to, we end up worrying because it’s unknown to us.

We think we’re being cautious. We think we’re being responsible. But it’s mostly a disguise for our desire to control things. Why do you plan ahead? Why do you prepare? Why do you worry? Isn’t it so you can control the outcome?

Kids know they can’t do much about what happens next. Their parents will feed them, clothe them, and probably even tuck them into bed. Children, young ones anyway, accept that.

As we get older, though, we don’t accept what happens. We want to control it. That’s how the worry creeps in. Because a) we’re not trusting God, and b) we’re not appreciating what we have.

How to stop worrying

The simple answer is to start living now. Children get that. Problem is, you and I don’t know how to live now. Try it even for a second – you’ll see what I mean.

  • Take a moment to try to think of nothing else except what you’re feeling right now. How does it feel to sit where you’re sitting? Where are your hands resting? What happens if you close your eyes? What do you hear?
  • Don’t let your thoughts wonder to any other part of the day: not the past, not the future.
  • Don’t let your thoughts wonder to any other place either. Sometimes, instead of thinking about what did or will happen, your mind will try to think about what’s currently happening somewhere else. Are those cookies burning?

Frankly, the first thing that comes to mind when I try this is some Tibetan monk on a mat in front of a window, meditating. I think, I can’t do this. This isn’t me. I’m not even a Buddhist.

In other words, just focusing hard enough doesn’t it do it for me. Instead, I dig the Philippians 4:6 Approach…

The Philippians 4:6 Approach to anxiety

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…” -Philippians 4:6

Let’s break this down:

  • “Be anxious for nothing”: In case it wasn’t clear enough, it’s spelled out here. How much is nothing?
  • “But in everything by prayer and supplication”: God wants us talking with Him, constantly. When we’re aligned with His personality, we can’t worry… because He doesn’t. The more we understand Him, the more we trust Him.
  • “With thanksgiving”: Talk about being present. Instead of thinking ahead or even looking back, consider what you’re grateful for right now. What can you appreciate?
  • “Let your requests be made known to God”: With that mindset of appreciation and desire for communication, tell God what you want.

And look at the promise:

“…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:7

The Bible doesn’t say God will give us what we want, but it does say He’ll give us the peace we need.

That’s why we can have child-like anticipation. The God of the universe, the God who got Himself killed for you, is certainly going to take care of your tomorrow.

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” -Matthew 5:26

So don’t worry about tomorrow. Don’t be anxious about the future. Be ridiculously thankful. Appreciate everything. Enjoy now.

Like children.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Value what’s happening now more than what’s happening later. The opportunities to put this into practice are almost endless. For example, when you’re talking with someone, listen to what they’re saying instead of planning how you’ll respond. Or if someone asks you to do something for them, do it now instead of continuing with your pre-made agenda.

(2) How do you value what’s happening now? By being thankful. I linked to a post about this up above, but in case you didn’t check it out, here it is again. Start appreciating things.

(2) Some things that grab your attention are distractions. That’s what worries everyone about “not planning.” Don’t confuse those distractions, though, with what’s important. You’re not preparing as much, but that’s not so you can waste time on trivial stuff. Do what’s important for right now… right now. Just spend less time planning it.

Becoming child-like: How to play

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Children like to play. Now you’d think that that would be a universal, human trait. Playfulness seems so close to happiness. In reality, though, most of us don’t play, except kids.

(Photo: epSos.de)

I’d like to copy these kids. You?

This is what I did. First, I brainstormed some words that I associate with playfulness. This is what I came up with:

  • Humorous
  • Energetic
  • Smiling
  • Laughing
  • Carefree
  • Festive
  • Positive
  • Lighthearted
  • Spontaneous
  • Fun

To me, that sounds pretty awesome. And it sounds pretty childish too, in a good way. Your list might be a little different, but let’s see if we can distill some of this down to something that can help you and I become more playful.

Playfulness is interested in feeling fun

Your list, my list… it doesn’t matter. All of it centers on feeling fun. Smiles and laughter are expressions of joy. Other words – like carefree, positive, lighthearted, and spontaneous – hint at the type of attitude that allows for playfulness. Finally, you have others that point to specific things kids (anyone, really) do when they’re playful: they joke around, like everything is a game or a party, with tons of energy.

So you have three things, and they all contribute to playfulness:

  1. Attitude
  2. Actions
  3. Expressions

I was watching a friend’s son the other day play with a toy Piggy Bank. He would stick the extra large, multicolored coins into the extra large slot on the top of the bank. The pig would fill up, and then we would take out the coins and do it again. No big deal. But this kid was having a blast, smiling, inserting the coins as fast as his little hands would let him.

I think too often when you and I, grownups, try to play, we only focus on part of playfulness. Maybe we’ll get the actions down, playing Hide-N-Seek, but forget to giggle while trying to hide. Or we’ll want to have fun but feel too self-conscious to let it all hang out on the living room, dance floor.

Playfulness is just that: the courage to embrace all of it, the attitude, the actions, and the expressions. It’s going all in to have fun, forgetting our serious self-image. Kids do that by nature. The rest of us have to relearn it.

And here’s why…

Playfulness is NOT interested in productivity

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we learned that productivity is king. Sacrificing present fun for future rewards, that’s the mark of maturity. How can we accomplish as much as possible in the least amount of time with the least amount of effort?

Kids don’t get that. If you ask a young child what she did today, she could totally tell you:

  • I helped mother sew ribbons onto my ballet shoes.
  • I drew daddy a picture of a pony.
  • I played hopscotch with Bethany.

But if you ask her what she accomplished, she’ll probably hesitate. Most young children don’t know what accomplishment means. Even if they answer, they’ll usually mention an accomplishment that will mean absolutely nothing the next day, even to them.

Sure, the ribbons on the ballet shoes might come in handy next week, but you can almost guarantee that’s not why she cared about the project.

Nah, she cared because she enjoyed helping her mom. That’s fun, especially when it involves sewing and ballet. When she was drawing that pony, she didn’t try to conserve blue crayon. She was just playing.

I like that.

So now to learn it.

How to learn playfulness

Let’s take it in steps:

  1. Understand what playfulness is
  2. Understand the motivation for playfulness
  3. Understand what playfulness feels like
  4. Understand how to act playful

We’ve already covered a little about what playfulness is, so let’s get into how to apply it in our own lives.

  • The motivation for playfulness: If you’re pessimistic about life in general, you’ll assume it’s impossible to have fun all the time. Young kids don’t think that. They might realize life isn’t always fun, but they still think it can be. For them, living on ice cream at Disneyland is still possible. For you and I to fully embrace playfulness in our lives, we have to believe it’s possible. We have to be so insanely thankful that we know satisfaction is possible. Most adults, including me, don’t know that, not completely.
  • The feeling of playfulness: Giddiness. That’s the best word I can come up with to describe the feeling. It’s like when you’ve had a little too much coffee and sugar, not jittery yet, but where you’re like, “I’ve got to do something. Let’s do something. What do you want to do?” It’s a paradox. You’re so satisfied that you want to change it. Or, really, you want to share it. Nothing is serious. Everything is a game, and you want everyone to join in.
  • Playfulness in action: Once you have those first two parts, the motivation behind you and the feeling inside, the rest is easy. It’s basically whatever happens. That’s why it’s so spontaneous. For instance, try doing something that gets you absolutely nowhere. Do something, not nothing, but still get nowhere and enjoy it. That’s playfulness.

It starts with gratitude, builds into giddiness, and finally expresses itself in spontaneity. If you try to be spontaneous without the giddiness, it doesn’t work. If you try to be giddy without the gratitude, it doesn’t work. You need all three parts in the correct order.

That’s why we mess it up so badly. We try to play Hide-N-Seek without the joy that motivates it. We go into it without any fun and then turn around and say, “Hey, look… this isn’t any fun.” You can try all the tactics in the world – always smile, laugh with everyone, make eye contact – but without the starting point, it all falls flat.

Children don’t have to understand this. It’s built into them. But the rest of us, as I said before, have to relearn it. Thankfully, it’s not that hard. Sometimes, it’s as easy as giving ourselves permission.

…permission to not be productive.

…permission to have fun.

…permission to be a kid.

“A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” -Proverbs 17:22

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Hang out with people who are ridiculously thankful. Pay attention to what they appreciate. Copy that.

(2) Hang out with kids. Let them play with you, jump on you, run with you. They’ll rub off on you if you let them.

(3) As you’re going through your daily habits, ask yourself, “How can I do this playfully? Or how would I do this if I felt playful?” Better yet, “What would a kid do?”

Becoming child-like: Are we?

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(Photo: notsogoodphotography)

Have you ever thought about how different you are now compared to when you were as a kid?

I’m the oldest of four brothers and one sister. So I’ve had the wonderful experience of being around kids most of my life.

Right when I thought I was growing out of it too, I volunteered to teach a children’s ministry class. I’ve been doing that ever since. I love it.

Anyway, one thing I’ve noticed – and I’m sure you have too – is that even though kids look a little like the rest of us, just littler, they think totally differently.

  • Children pretty much just want to have fun. They’re always exploring, always curious.
  • Children don’t know how to plan well, and they can barely remember anything.
  • Children get scared easily but not of things that scare most of us. And they never worry.
  • Children don’t know how to lie or even when to try.
  • Children trust people, sometimes too much.
  • Children don’t know how to do many things for themselves, so they stick to copying big people.

Over the next few weeks, I’d like to write more about these differences. Before we get into all that, though, what about the Why question?

Why care how children think and act? What makes their perspective special for us?

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God…” -1 John 3:1

Throughout the Bible, God calls us His children. The metaphor is built right into Christianity. The children of Israel are God’s chosen people, and the rest of us – the Gentiles – have an opportunity to be adopted into the family.

I think this is awesome, but most of that is because of who God is. Like the cool thing about being a child of God is not that I’m a child but that I’m God’s. It’s an identity thing. As children of God, our identity is tied to His. We even get to inherit His blessing because of it.

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” -Romans 8:16-17

Amazing, but that’s only one side of the equation.

In the Gospels, Jesus seems particularly interested in children, not just children of God but children in general.

“Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” -Luke 18:15-17

That’s a ridiculously strong statement, but we usually gloss over it like all the other metaphors we don’t really get. Think about it: “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” That’s why we better pay attention. It’s how we’re told to receive the kingdom of God.

So the next question then is…

How can you and I receive the kingdom of God as a little child?

“Then a dispute arose among [the disciples] as to which of them would be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, ‘Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.’ ” -Luke 9:46-48

If you want the general answer, that’s it: the least will be great. That’s what this site is all about, becoming least. And while slaves sometimes have to learn to be least, children are least by nature. That’s why I think you and I can learn so much by exploring what it means to be child-like.

As Christians, we’ve heard all this. We’ve heard it so often it’s become a cliche. We know children are an extra special gift from God, all that jazz. But as Christians, how are we – in practical terms – patterning our lives after the children around us?

I’m not talking about taking our eyes off Jesus. I’m not talking about focusing on principles, like the principles of how children think and behave. I’m talking about looking to kids for an example of how to relate to the kingdom of God. They seem to have it down, and Jesus even acknowledged this. But when was the last time you and I actually made it a point to observe children to learn anything from them, especially anything spiritual?

That’s what I’d like to flesh out over the next few weeks here. What can we learn from children, and how can we receive them?

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Why do you think Jesus wanted us to receive the kingdom of God like children?

(2) What are some practical ways we can do that?

How to refuel when serving sucks you dry

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(Photo: hectorir)

In the middle of winter in the middle of the freeway, my car stalled.

Thankfully, I was on an overpass, right by an exit. Still, I had to walk a ways to the gas station, buy a can, fill it with gas, and then lug it back to my car, all while keeping my nose from breaking off in the cold.

That was the first time I ran out of gas… but also the last. So far, I’ve kept the lesson in mind.

Running out sucks, especially if you’re excited about where you’re going. Trouble is, we don’t always remember.

The same thing happens with serving. We’re going along great when, all of a sudden, we stall. Sometimes we crash and burn. Other times we bail out. Or want one.

You know the feeling? You’re like, “That’s it. I still love you, God, but I can’t keep giving, giving, giving.” I’ve even made threats: “God, if you make me continue like this, you’re going to lose me altogether.”

Funny, the threats never seem to worry Him. He never tells me to quit. Instead, He teaches me how to continue.

Why thankfulness is not enough

Thankfulness is a wonderful motivation, if not the only worthwhile motivation, for serving others. But it only gives you the motivation, not the material.

It’s the difference between wanting to give something and actually having something to give. Thankfulness can fuel the desire, but you still have to find something to give.

And after you give for a while, you might feel like you’re out of material to give away again. You start feeling a little dry. So the question is, how do you get more to give away? Where can you and I find that abundance?

The obvious but not always helpful answer

The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives an endless supply of amazingness. He’s the real reason we can continue each day.

That’s not always helpful, though, because if you’re like me, you’re not exactly sure how to receive the Spirit and let Him work through your life. That’s why we need to understand the practical side of allowing the Spirit into our lives.

So in a way, even though this post in practical terms is about finding fuel to serve, in a general sense it’s about letting the Holy Spirit fill you and work through you.

Starting from an example

When I think of biblical examples of people being filled with the Holy Spirit, the first one that comes to mind is the classic in Acts 2.

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” -Acts 2:1-4

That’s pretty freakin’ awesome, especially considering what happened afterward, Peter sharing the gospel and a few thousand people getting saved.

To understand how this came about, though, let’s move back a chapter to Jesus’s promise before He ascended into heaven. A bunch of His followers were hanging out with Him, wondering what would happen next. So Jesus told them:

“[Y]ou shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” -Acts 1:8

I love that. He didn’t tell them to do anything, just that they’d receive the Spirit automatically when God wanted them to.

So His followers just hung out together:

“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication…” -Acts 1:14

They stayed in fellowship, in unity, and talked with God. In fact, if you go back to the beginning of chapter two, which I quoted already, you’ll notice that theme showing up again: followers hanging out together, in unity, in peace.

The secret to getting filled

Someone once said that the biggest secrets are the ones that are so obvious they’ve become secrets. This is one of those.

God is about grace, giving to people who don’t deserve it. So the secret to getting filled…

  • …isn’t doing a bunch of good stuff for other people
  • …isn’t showing God that you’re worthy of being filled with His Spirit

The secret to getting filled is being able to receive it.

And our ability to be filled with the Holy Spirit is directly proportional to our ability to jive with Christ and Christians, in one accord. I say “jive” because it’s more than just agreeing. We often say we agree with each other even when we’re really not feeling it. We’re not vibrating the same way. We’re not in harmony.

I think God often tries to fill us with His Spirit, but we reject Him because we’re not ready for the change. God’s trying to fill us, but our core belief system isn’t compatible with His gift. So the Spirit just waits, waits for us to trust God enough to let Him work through our lives.

How to prepare for the Spirit

Preparing for the Spirit simply means understanding and living within God’s nature, which includes understanding and living with others Christians, getting to know them, sacrificing our comfort for community.

In super practical terms, you can begin by…

None of these alone can give the Spirit a magic pass into your life, but collectively they can help align your nature with God’s nature while connecting with the body of Christ.

The list could go on, but it all comes back to unity, abiding in who God is. When that happens, the Spirit’s like, “Okay, now you’re ready. You’re ready to trust me enough to let me direct your life. Now I can do my job.”

The peace of fullness

It’s tough to communicate this peace to someone who’s never experienced it. The best I can say is that when the Spirit works in your life, you feel unstoppable. And in a way, you are unstoppable because you’re functioning in alignment with God’s will.

You realize that things still might not turn out the way you plan, but you know if that happens, it’s not a problem. You’re doing what God says, so you can let Him deal with the consequences. He actually appreciates that.

The power of abundance

When the Spirit is directing your life and you’re in harmony with the body of Christ, you feel like you’ll never run out. You don’t have to worry about what you’ll say today or what you’ll give today or what you’ll do today.

You’ll just give what you get, and what you’ll get will be limitless.

Like over the past few weeks, I’ve felt a little dry. My tank was running out, my cup underflowing. I was drifting away from God’s nature. I was still serving, but I was falling out of alignment.

Thankfully, I started with prayer (sad to say, it’s often my last resort). I was like, “God, what’s up with this? It’s a new year and everything. I’m usually pumped right about now. Why’s it so hard this time?”

Even posting here. I had a bunch of decent ideas, but none that were inspiring me.

But then His answer came back:  ”Share what I’ve given you. That’s what you’re supposed to do. The life I give you is for other people too.”

As I’ve fellowshipped with other Christians, especially lately, I’ve tried to focus on sharing what I’m learning and learning what they’re sharing, joining together as one body.

That’s how this article came about. It’s what I’m learning. And look, I’m already over 1,500 words here. I don’t feel like I’m losing anything by giving this away. I don’t feel like I’m working or losing time or losing anything, really.

It seems ridiculous to even think that way, but that was the slump I had fallen into. I was serving from my own superficial skills, the ones I thought I’d conjured up.

Right now, though, I’m working from the blessings God’s poured into my life. They’re flowing through me. As a result, I feel like I’m getting more pumped the more I share.

That’s the power of abundance through the Holy Spirit.

Refueling by giving what you get

Most of us oscillate back and forth between growing and withering, at least slightly. I don’t think growth is something we perfect. I’m certainly not there. I might slip right after publishing this.

But we can still aim for fullness all the time.

My car ran out of gas because I pushed the limits of emptiness… and lost. I was cold and late, but overall it wasn’t a big deal.

Spiritually, though, it’s way serious. “Not empty” is not cool. It’s better to refuel before you need it, aiming to be completely full, overflowing, all the time.

You and I can do that by… well, not doing anything at first, just waiting and resting and submitting to what God wants to give us. And then when He gives us something – and He always does – we can share that. That way, no matter how much we give, we’ll never run out.

Because the life God gives is for other people too.

Give that. Refuel by learning and living and appreciating God’s nature, His personality. Then share those lessons.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Prepare yourself to receive the Spirit by aligning with God’s nature and making peace with the body of Christ.

(2) In practice, this means resting in who God is, studying how He thinks and acts and what He enjoys. The Holy Spirit loves to fill believers who are ready to trust God to direct their lives but also willing to wait for His leading.

(3) It also means seeking to understand your brothers and sisters in Christ, communicating with them even when it’s not comfortable. All together in one accord, moving in one direction, for the same reason… Christ.

Off-duty serving

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Last year, we talked about off-season serving. Now, let’s look at the other side, off-duty serving.

As you’ll remember, off-season serving is serving when others least expect it. I think it’s one of the best ways to serve others because you get the most effect for the effort you put in.

For example, when you give someone a gift in the middle of summer for no reason, they’ll remember it and appreciate it more than if you give them the same gift around Christmas time. One seems like you genuinely care – the other can sometimes feel like an obligation.

Off-duty serving is the opposite.

(Photo: Nomadiq Miles)

Off-duty serving defined

Off-duty serving is serving when you least expect it.

I think this is one of the hardest types of serving. But it can be one of the most genuine if you’re able to pull it off. People don’t always appreciate it as much as off-season serving, but God might appreciate it even more.

For me, off-duty serving might mean serving on a Monday. Monday is usually my day off. The weekend church services are over, and it’s time to settle back into a routine to build back up for the coming weekend. So a giant, “let’s fold clothes for the homeless shelter” experience is probably not what I’m wanting to do.

Another hard one for me is at night. After a long day, I want to settle in, maybe read a book, do some writing, or catch a movie with friends. But then I get a phone call. Evidently someone’s car broke down on the other side of town. So I have to get in the car, find them, drop them off somewhere, and then drive home. There goes my evening, maybe even my night’s sleep.

Those are the hard ones, especially if they come after I’ve already had a full day, which is most days. I’m like, “God, come on. I’m off duty here. Can’t I even get the rest I deserve?”

But that’s what off-duty serving is all about. It’s serving when you think you should be having fun, serving when you think you should be self-centered.

Yours might happen on different occasions than mine. Maybe you want to enjoy a game night with the family, but they end up choosing a game you hate. Or you spend money on a meal you don’t like because you were invited to the restaurant but no one was paying for it. Even attending a Bible study when you’d rather not… that can be a form of off-duty serving.

They’re usually not big enough annoyances to guard against, but they wear you down because they come up all the time. Only someone with a genuine heart for serving others can serve in these situations.

That’s the problem, but that’s also the challenge.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Identify five different situations from the past week where you could have done some off-duty serving. To find these situations, think about when you’ve felt off duty. There’s almost always an opportunity.

(2) In those situations, what could you have done differently? How could you have served others instead of taking a break? Sometimes it’s as simple as letting someone else in line first. Sometimes it’s as complicated as taking half a day off from work to help a friend fix her car. Either way, it’s never easy. But it’s what bondChristians do.

The bondC guide to slavery

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Ah yes, the ever fun topic of slavery. As you know, I have a different take on this than most people. Hence, the “bond” in bondChristian.

I shared some of my thoughts on this in a series a while back but never compiled the posts in one place. So that’s what I’m doing here: providing a list for you to find the series and learn more about slavery, the “Jesus is Lord” variety.

It’s a turn off for some Christians, but it’s helped me understand my relationship to Jesus and how He’s more than my Savior: He’s my Lord. That’s a perspective many Christians, including me, have trouble applying.

So enter…

A guide to slavery

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Some of the posts in this series are long. I suggest reading them one at a time, not all at once.

(2) If you were God’s slave, how would your life be different from what it is right now? If God were Lord, not just Savior, what would you do differently? Live like that. Make that your resolution.

Others-oriented gratitude: Creating reasons for THEM to be thankful

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(Photo: Kıvanç Niş)

Last week, I made a Thanksgiving shift. I shifted from thinking of thankfulness in terms of how I’m blessed to thinking of thankfulness in terms of how others are blessed. Call it others-oriented gratitude.

Once I realized it, I wondered how I’d missed it for so long.

After all, I try to be all about others-orientedness. I try to feel what others might feel. I try to align my feelings with theirs. It doesn’t always happen, but I thought I’d made more progress than I had. Clearly, I wasn’t as far along as I thought.

On top of that, it struck me that others-oriented gratitude totally aligns with God’s nature. I’d missed that too:

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ” -Matthew 25:37-40

Not only is God grateful when others are blessed, He’s also in the business of creating reasons for people to be grateful. What else do beautiful sunrises accomplish? :)

Realizing this was a big shift for me. I starting thinking that if you and I can be grateful when others are blessed, then we can (and should) also get on board with creating reasons for people to be grateful, you know, mirroring God’s nature.

That’s what I’ve been working on and what I’d like to share with you…

Step 1: Inspiring others to be thankful

When you and I reflect on things we’re thankful for, we can usually place them in one of four groups.

The first group is purely God-given: things like trees, fresh air, the ability to walk. We won’t talk much about that now because this post is all about how you can be part of the process. The next three groups, though, are groups where you and I can play a role in why someone is thankful.

Giving something amazing

  • Selling someone a car for a dollar
  • Paying someone’s tuition
  • Buying someone cruise tickets

These are all examples of ways you and I can give amazing things. These stand out for people because they’re big and usually make a big difference in people’s lives.

Doing things unexpectedly

  • Giving back a lost wallet (with all the money still in it)
  • Sharing some garden vegetables with a neighbor
  • Picking up the tab for lunch

Things in this group are both easier, because they cost less, and harder, because you can’t always plan for them.

Being someone close

  • The grandma who always sends birthday cards
  • The friend who calls right when someone needs a call
  • The dad who takes his kids to the park… and actually plays with them there

These are the hardest to engineer. They’re more about who you are than what you do. But you can still make progress by, each day, doing little things that matter, things that bring you deep into the lives of the people around you.

Really, anytime you serve others, you’re giving them a reason to be thankful. But in practice, that doesn’t always work out. These three groups I’ve mentioned are, I think, the most notable ways you and I can impress thankfulness on other people’s lives.

But all of this is really only Step 1.

Step 2: Encouraging people to bless others

Often a partial measure of our success is how well it transfers to the next generation. Because you and I, individually, can only impact so many people. The real work happens when we’re able to inspire others on the same mission.

So that’s what Step 2 is really about. How? Well, as with everything, I think there are three ways to do this (and you and I should use all three):

  • Pray: Get the Holy Spirit working, influencing lives.
  • Live: Be an example of someone who blesses others.
  • Tell: Share with people about what’s been done for you, what you’ve done, and – perhaps most importantly – what they can do to bless others.

When it comes down to it, all Christians are part of the same body. So it only makes sense that we should bless others and be overjoyed when they are blessed, for then the blessings are ours also.

And for that, you and I can be insanely thankful.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) How can you create a reason for someone to be thankful? Think of the three groups I mentioned: giving something amazing, doing something unexpectedly, and being someone close. Can you use one of those? It’s not that difficult. It’s just a matter of thinking in different terms and then setting aside your own desires for a few moments. Not hard at all, right? :)

(2) How can you encourage others to start thinking and acting this way? One way might be to acknowledge when people do things to bless others. Another way might be to create some accountability between you and a friend, keeping each other moving forward and blessing others. Again, it just takes a little thought and some personal sacrifice.