For the last 5+ years, I have intentionally avoided Facebook like the plague. I have had reasons for this. They are as follows:
1. I hate doing things "just because everyone else is doing it." For a while, creating a Facebook account was something that "everyone" did. Well I'll be danged if I was going to jump on that train.
2. Most of the people that I care to keep up with I see or communicate with regularly already. If there's someone I don't speak with on a regular basis, there's probably a good reason. I have very little desire to find long lost "friends."
3. Similar to the first two, I'm just not that interested in knowing what's going on in other people's lives all the time. I like to be informed, but for the sake of knowledge, not entertainment. I'm social, but not that social.
Perhaps I have some sort of a social-media-phobia. When I set up a twitter account in January (follow me at twitter.com/davidprairie), I felt dirty. Like I had broken a personal vow. But now the prospect of having a Facebook account mortifies me.
So why am I saying all of this? Two weeks ago I was asked to become the youth pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Chattanooga. Part of my job description is to interact with teens in our group as regularly as possible. And how do teens like to interact? Bingo.
So the days, and maybe even the hours, of my life without Facebook are dwindling faster than the Cubs' playoff chances, which is saying a lot. It's been a battle that I've fought for many moons, and now it appears I've lost. Here's hoping the guilt is short-lived.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
An Example of Leadership
Leading by Example
The most important thing about leadership at any level is what the leader does, not necessarily what he says. Ideally, those two things should line up. But if they do not, the leader will be judged by his actions more so than his words.
The Old Testament book of Joshua describes a leader who was consistent in the example he set for others. Joshua was not a perfect, mistake-free leader (see Joshua 9), but his dedication to the Lord allowed Israel to accomplish the task of overtaking the land of Canaan. It was his commitment to God and to his people that made the difference.
At the very beginning of the book of Joshua, God approached Joshua with a specific challenge, along with promises and instructions for the challenge. Joshua willingly accepted the challenge and led the nation by his words and actions. Leaders today can learn from the example of Joshua and seek to respond to God the same way that he did.
The Challenge
Joshua was the man God established to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land after Moses had died. The Lord challenged Joshua to pick up where Moses had left off at the time of his death. Moses had brought the children of Israel to the edge of the Jordan River, bordering the land of Canaan. It was here, after Moses’ death, that God told Joshua, “Arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them” (v. 2).
The Promises
The Lord gave three specific promises to Joshua to assure him that the challenge would be carried out. The first such promise was that all of the land upon which the people of Israel would walk would be included in their possessions. “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory” (vv. 3-4). “To this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them” (v. 6b).
The second promise was an assurance of victory. “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life” (v. 5a). The third promise was the Lord’s continual presence. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you” (v. 5b). “The LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (v. 9b).
The Instructions
The instructions for Joshua’s success in facing this challenge were twofold. First, God commanded Joshua thrice in this passage to have strength and courage (vv. 6, 7, and 9). This charge was reiterated by the Israelites to Joshua in verse 18. Secondly, God commanded that Joshua regularly meditate on the “Book of the Law” which Moses had written. God declared that doing so would result in prosperity and success (v. 8).
The most important thing about leadership at any level is what the leader does, not necessarily what he says. Ideally, those two things should line up. But if they do not, the leader will be judged by his actions more so than his words.
The Old Testament book of Joshua describes a leader who was consistent in the example he set for others. Joshua was not a perfect, mistake-free leader (see Joshua 9), but his dedication to the Lord allowed Israel to accomplish the task of overtaking the land of Canaan. It was his commitment to God and to his people that made the difference.
At the very beginning of the book of Joshua, God approached Joshua with a specific challenge, along with promises and instructions for the challenge. Joshua willingly accepted the challenge and led the nation by his words and actions. Leaders today can learn from the example of Joshua and seek to respond to God the same way that he did.
The Challenge
Joshua was the man God established to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land after Moses had died. The Lord challenged Joshua to pick up where Moses had left off at the time of his death. Moses had brought the children of Israel to the edge of the Jordan River, bordering the land of Canaan. It was here, after Moses’ death, that God told Joshua, “Arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them” (v. 2).
The Promises
The Lord gave three specific promises to Joshua to assure him that the challenge would be carried out. The first such promise was that all of the land upon which the people of Israel would walk would be included in their possessions. “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory” (vv. 3-4). “To this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them” (v. 6b).
The second promise was an assurance of victory. “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life” (v. 5a). The third promise was the Lord’s continual presence. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you” (v. 5b). “The LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (v. 9b).
The Instructions
The instructions for Joshua’s success in facing this challenge were twofold. First, God commanded Joshua thrice in this passage to have strength and courage (vv. 6, 7, and 9). This charge was reiterated by the Israelites to Joshua in verse 18. Secondly, God commanded that Joshua regularly meditate on the “Book of the Law” which Moses had written. God declared that doing so would result in prosperity and success (v. 8).
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
We are His Portion
My son, Judah, is three years old. He’s at the age where everything he hears comes out in what he says. We’ve tried to be careful about what gets put into his head so that we can avoid potential humiliation.
To that end, we have been careful about the music that we listen to when driving in our minivan (a Honda Odyssey, mind you, the manliest minivan around). If you were to ask Judah his favorite song, he would tell you “How He Loves,” a song made popular by the David Crowder Band. While it is a catchy song, there is one line in it that bothered me for a little while: “We are His [God’s] portion.”
“Wait a minute,” I thought, “God doesn’t need us. He is His own portion. He is enough for Himself.” I’m probably overly skeptical and critical of music, especially songs that contain theology within the lyrics. However, my skepticism and criticism of this particular line was proved wrong a few days ago when I came across Deuteronomy 32:9, which says, “For the LORD’s portion in His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.”
You would think that might have settled the issue right away. But again, my hyper-cynicism set in, and I found myself declaring, “Moses is talking about Israel in that passage. It doesn’t apply for us in the church age.” After all, a thorough examination of Eschatology will show that Israel and the church are not the same organization.
(If at this point, you are convinced that I over-think things and that my dogmatic mind must be a mess, you are exactly right). But the church is as much the people of God as Israel is. In other words, God indicates in Scripture that He has two programs (one for Israel and another for the church). But regardless of origin (Jew or Gentile), if one belongs to God he is part of the people of God.
This is made very clear in Galatians 3:26-29. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
The letter of Ephesians also makes this very clear by showing that Jews and Gentiles “have access by one Spirit to the Father” (2:18). In the very next chapter, Paul teaches that Jews and Gentiles are members together of the same body in Christ (3:1-7). The point is that members of the church are as much the people of God as the congregation of Israel was in the Old Testament.
In fact, just as Galatians 3:29 calls those belonging to Christ “Abraham’s seed,” Jesus also referred to those who received Him as children of Abraham. In Luke 19, Jesus said that Zacchaeus became a Son of Abraham, not because of his ethnic background, but because he received salvation (Luke 19:9-10).
So the words of the song which I once questioned, I now loudly proclaim: “We are his portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes.”
To that end, we have been careful about the music that we listen to when driving in our minivan (a Honda Odyssey, mind you, the manliest minivan around). If you were to ask Judah his favorite song, he would tell you “How He Loves,” a song made popular by the David Crowder Band. While it is a catchy song, there is one line in it that bothered me for a little while: “We are His [God’s] portion.”
“Wait a minute,” I thought, “God doesn’t need us. He is His own portion. He is enough for Himself.” I’m probably overly skeptical and critical of music, especially songs that contain theology within the lyrics. However, my skepticism and criticism of this particular line was proved wrong a few days ago when I came across Deuteronomy 32:9, which says, “For the LORD’s portion in His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.”
You would think that might have settled the issue right away. But again, my hyper-cynicism set in, and I found myself declaring, “Moses is talking about Israel in that passage. It doesn’t apply for us in the church age.” After all, a thorough examination of Eschatology will show that Israel and the church are not the same organization.
(If at this point, you are convinced that I over-think things and that my dogmatic mind must be a mess, you are exactly right). But the church is as much the people of God as Israel is. In other words, God indicates in Scripture that He has two programs (one for Israel and another for the church). But regardless of origin (Jew or Gentile), if one belongs to God he is part of the people of God.
This is made very clear in Galatians 3:26-29. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
The letter of Ephesians also makes this very clear by showing that Jews and Gentiles “have access by one Spirit to the Father” (2:18). In the very next chapter, Paul teaches that Jews and Gentiles are members together of the same body in Christ (3:1-7). The point is that members of the church are as much the people of God as the congregation of Israel was in the Old Testament.
In fact, just as Galatians 3:29 calls those belonging to Christ “Abraham’s seed,” Jesus also referred to those who received Him as children of Abraham. In Luke 19, Jesus said that Zacchaeus became a Son of Abraham, not because of his ethnic background, but because he received salvation (Luke 19:9-10).
So the words of the song which I once questioned, I now loudly proclaim: “We are his portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes.”
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