Part of The Solution

The last two episodes of the Jesus' Outsider Podcast have focused on different aspects of being the church in a time when we are no longer the dominant force in American culture. The first, Cultural Tipping Points and Revival, showed that we are past the point of no return yet there is still a role for a revived Body of Christ. The second, The Unity Mandate, is about the need to unite across denominational, racial, and ethnic lines upon the sure foundation of Christ to fulfill the mission of reaching the world with the Gospel. Both of these are challenging to hear and, at least for me, moreso to speak. They are a hard word, if you will.

Both episodes speak to a stirring in my heart and, I hope, in the hearts of many Christians in this nation. We are long past the point of any political solutions to the nation's and the church's ills. We are in a huge crisis. However, it is exactly where God needs us to be.

Crisis causes things to happen. It's painful. It flies in the face of a comfortable Western church's theology. In truth, we are soft and have allowed doctrines of comfort, ease, wealth, and complacency to dominate our pulpits, bookshelves, and media. To paraphrase I Samuel 18:7, "Poverty has slain its thousand, Prosperity its ten thousands." Pardon the use out of context but there is truth in this statement. The overall wealth and political power of the American Christian Church have left us ill-prepared for the dark days to come. Fragmentation, division, and doctrinal arguments about minutiae are a luxury of a church that has few battles to fight and has lost its identity. So, as the crisis grows, what shall we do?

Our instincts are to do what we have always done. Fight the war in the public arena, shout our beliefs from the mountaintops, and declare our rights in the streets and social media from the safety of our church bunkers. Hunker down, dig our trenches, and stand against the world in our separate congregations. I wish I was exaggerating but that is what has happened. We want to cling to what we've already done thinking it will work.

The second option is to compromise. Go along to get along, as the old idiom goes. Ignore or utterly refute Biblical teachings on sin, repentance, and the need to live holy, pure lives before God and man. Join in the calls for secular versions of justice and disregard the deeper understanding offered in the Word of God. Become just like the world or preach doctrines that allow us to look like the world while still believing we are right with God. This too is happening all too often.

Based upon what I've seen on social media and heard in conversation, one of these first two options are being taken by an increasing majority of those who call themselves Christians. Politics, protests, speeches, and often mean-spirited debate dominate the cultural landscapes and too many Christians are in the forefront. Infighting is growing even if much of the specifics have changed. We are as divided as we have ever been. However, there is a third and better way.

In times of persecution, the church thrives. Why? Because we are forced to focus on what matters. When we are fighting to grow the Kingdom of God against great adversity, we don't have time to argue doctrinal nuances or about denominational loyalty. We are on a rescue mission behind enemy lines and we need to be equipped with the power of God, His Word, and, above all, His love. We need to demonstrate a difference between us and the world that can only be done when we are truly obedient to the Word, pursue holiness and love, and cast aside the divisions that become prisons. Bind yourself to true brethren in Christ and work as a united force for Christ our Lord and King.

It's time to cast off the old loyalties, reliance on programs and church staff, and minute differences and center who we are upon Jesus, the only true King of Kings. We are citizens of His kingdom and need to act accordingly. Our purpose is to be the light of the world as we shine with the light of Jesus and bear His mark. We are to be different and by that difference, bring more into His life, His Kingdom, and His family. Once that is done, we are to equip them through teaching, encouragement, and example to do the same.

Will you join us and be part of the change? Will you help purge sin from the Body of Christ so that we will no longer resemble the world? Will you live humility, love, and true justice before a world that hates you? Will you love your enemies? Will you fight for those you love on your knees not caring about the so-called big picture? Will you trust the Lord for that? Can you love and work with someone whose doctrine isn't exactly like yours? (That's assuming they're not ignoring sections or adding to the Word.)

We cannot afford to remain as we have been. We can start to change now while we're still in the opening days of persecution and be prepared when it falls or we can wait and take much greater casualties. Which will you do?

The Tyranny of The Urgent

I first came across the concept in business. There's a list of tasks that need to be prioritized and completed. Once sorted in to their proper order, the items on the list need to be checked off in order of importance. Inevitably, something happens that throws the list into chaos. Under normal circumstances, this usually isn't an issue because once the new issue is resolve, the normal priorities return. The problem happens when this happens over and over again. Urgent problems take the place of the truly important things that need to get done. This is the Tyranny of The Urgent and it's destroying lives in ways that few recognize. It's one of the most potent weapons in arsenal of the enemy.

The urgent gets in the way of the important and prevents us from actually getting anywhere. Often, the important that the urgent blocks is the very thing that will solve the urgent problem in the long term. To use finances as an example, someone takes a lot of odd jobs to solve immediate financial concerns but doing so prevents an actual job search. The urgent need of unpaid bills drives the decision to solve the short term problem because there seems like no choice. The urgent prevents the long term solution from coming to fruition.

People do this every day. More of us are governed by the this tyranny than we even realize. I have to confess that the last several months have found me in that position. My lovely bride and I have been facing a whole list of issues from health issues to financial problems that have been in the way of doing anything meaningful. Perhaps that's why I'm writing this post. I need to confess my own sins and at the same time try to bring you some hope that you too can overcome your tyranny through prayer and allowing the Lord to actually be in charge.

The root of the Tyranny is fear and worry. What happens if I don't do this? Can we survive if I let this slide? In many ways, as this world slides and the economy just continues to languish, more people will move into survival mode, the essence of the urgent. Fear justifies way too many decisions with finances and relationships. Worry eats us alive.

Like so many issues of life, the answer is simple but not easy. Jesus Himself gave it to us in the Sermon on The Mount. (Matthew 6:25-34)

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 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? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

As I said, the answer is simple but not easy. In truth, this is one of the more challenging teachings the Lord has given us. It's easier to overcome adultery than worry. The urgency that is driven by worry is what keeps us from doing what really needs to be done. The urgent is really a shut down. We get tied up, scrambling from one crisis to the next, never getting anywhere. All we seem to do is just spin our wheels. We were meant for better.

Jesus takes hold of our fears and worries and assures us that God knows our needs and will take care of us. There are times, even for the most spiritually mature, when this truth is hard to grasp. Financial, health, or relational issues get in the way. Here, the Lord is telling us not be worried about such things.

He tells us that God will meet our physical needs if we put His Kingdom first. In truth, all of our needs are found in Christ. The Father knows not only that we need food, clothing, and shelter but so much more. He will meet all of them. 

One of the laments I have taken up over the last several years is that so many important decisions have been made based almost entirely upon finances. This is more than simple budgetary concerns. It's been based upon finding enough money to solve a looming crisis. I'm ashamed to admit how little prayer went into most of them. Now, as the Lord is convicting me of my lack of faith, I look back and see how much damage foolish, prayerless decisions have done. I even see some of my recent choices going awry after choosing to trust God more only a few months ago.

That's when the enemy hits us with urgency. The first of the year, my lovely bride and I undertook a new step in life fueled by faith. It was a huge leap that had been basked in prayer. Two months in and we're facing a huge disaster. Questioning that choice is natural when it seems to go badly. We were hit with a series of health issues affecting by my bride and me. These problems had a profound negative effect on our finances. Combined with other unplanned problems, we've been forced to make decisions we didn't anticipate. Many of those choices at the points of decision went against our better instincts but, because of the problems we face, we made them anyway. In several, those decisions have exacerbated the long term problems. Now, we have to find a way back to the important through the clutter.

That's the problem we all face when we fall into the Tyranny. Now begins a process to reclaiming our position of trusting the Lord. Some of the choices cannot be undone easily. There will be resistance not just in the spiritual realm but the physical as well. This is to be expected whenever moving back to where faith guided decisions rather than urgency. That's why prayer for wisdom is essential. The Lord promises that whosoever asks for wisdom will have it given to them liberally. (James 1:5) That's what all of us need when getting back to the priorities He sets for us.

Allowing the Lord to set our priorities is how we break the cycle of tyranny. "Whom the Son sets free is free indeed." (John 8:36) The law of liberty means that we are set free from the constraints of sin and the world's system. That includes fear and worry, the root of the tyranny of the urgent. Walking out the law of liberty and shedding the shackles of this world is the abundant life Jesus promised.

If you are in this situation now or find yourself there in the future, prayer and faith are the only way out. None of the time management solutions I learned in all my years of business education are truly sufficient for breaking free. Trust me, I've tried. This isn't our first time in this mess but it's at one of our more critical junctures. Faith has freed us before and will do so again. It will just take time. The same is true for you.