Today I have been reflecting on what I have learned about identity. Every on searching for it. Everyone longs to have identity in something. This is why so many people join clubs, or are a part of an organization. They long to be able to identify who we are.
When I look at an older generation, I see that a lot of what they know of who they are is changing. There bodies are not working the way they used to. Our culture does not uphold a value of the elderly. It seems that every day they loose a little more of who they are. Therefore, when it comes to the church, subconsciously or consciously, they do not want anything to change. They are clinging to the identity the have in the church. For many people this could feel like all they have left.
It is important as leaders to help others find their identity in Christ and nothing more. If we invest our identity in a building, a religion, or a human being, we are setting ourselves up to fall away from that understood identity. Jesus Christ is the only thing that is unwavering. Our hope in God sustains us for eternity. This world and everything in it is passing away. Let us not put our identity stock in what will not last forever.
Monday, October 24, 2011
The What and the How
I have been thinking a lot about the "what" and the "how." Basically the "what" is never changing. It is the core values that make up who you are. It is the set of standards that are unwavering as you approach any position in ministry or leadership. Now, the "how" is what you do to accomplish the "what." This is constantly changing.
If you desire to teach students the love of God, the principals of who God is are always going to be the same. But how you present those characteristics are going to be different if you are speaking to elementary kids or high school kids. The "how" must change in order to stay relevant.
A problem that is a recurring problem in the church is when we take the "how" and legalize it. A certain look of a building, or the type of music we sing are a couple of examples. As leaders it is important to be aware of this dynamic in order to help others move past the "how" and keep focused on the "what."
If you desire to teach students the love of God, the principals of who God is are always going to be the same. But how you present those characteristics are going to be different if you are speaking to elementary kids or high school kids. The "how" must change in order to stay relevant.
A problem that is a recurring problem in the church is when we take the "how" and legalize it. A certain look of a building, or the type of music we sing are a couple of examples. As leaders it is important to be aware of this dynamic in order to help others move past the "how" and keep focused on the "what."
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