As with any successful venture, follow up is incredibly important to personal growth and spiritual development. Whether the goal is growing up in Christ, developing successful ministry, or overcoming a dysfunctional past, follow up/follow through is an intricate piece of the process. Our progress is greatly accelerated when we understand the importance of continual follow up and build a process that facilitates follow through into our Pentecostal activities.
No one should doubt the importance of preaching. The preaching of the Cross is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). Our faith comes through hearing the Word of the Lord (Romans 10:17). God chose the foolishness of preaching to save us (1 Corinthians 1:21). I need the preacher and I need to hear him. But hearing is not enough. I must understand what I am hearing. What I am hearing must mean something to me and be relevant to my life. I must be able to apply what I heard. I have to recognize the implications of the message. The key is, I cannot grasp the depth of the sermon until I have invested time into follow up.
Teaching to clarify the Bible message is as important as prophetic, anointed preaching. We do not fail due to a lack of preaching. We fail due to a lack of understanding and comprehension. Teaching to clarify and apply the Bible message is the remedy for this deficiency. We need to understand the Bible’s position on family dynamics. We need to understand how parenting affects revival in the local body. We need to understand the long term outcomes of godliness. That understanding will not come through osmosis. We must be taught and the lesson must be scaffolded and constantly clarified. Furthermore, my understanding should be tested. A testing and evaluation component is critical to our follow up.
Most of us are capable of great ideas and seeing wonderful visions for the future. The Holy Ghost in us makes dreaming and vision casting easy (Joel 2:28). There is a great difference between a vision and a functional plan however. Plans turn vision into reality and generally, the larger the dream the more important the plan. Far too often, we fail to appreciate that functional planning has to follow faith. Planning without follow through is like buying a rain coat and leaving the house without it. Your dreams will never become reality and you will be wet and your raincoat dry in the closet. If you intend to build a tower or fight a war you must plan ahead and act accordingly (Luke 14:28-31). No one plans to fail. But those who fail to plan and who fail to follow through always do.
Follow up is fundamental. My family feels safe because I do what I say. When I fail to follow through, doubt is sown. My spirituality increases because prayer is more than a good idea to me. I follow through on my commitment to morning devotions. My finances are orderly because I establish a financial plan and stick to it. My work performance merits a promotion and a larger wage because my employer knows I follow through on my commitments. It is not how we start that matters. It is whether we followed through to the finish that does.
If your life is characterized by reoccurring drama and disappointment, if you can see that your failure was not from a bad start or good intentions rejoice! You have all the tools you need to succeed. The only thing you need now is follow up/follow through.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Declaration!!!
The Apostle Peter said we should always be ready to state the reason for the hope people see in our lives (1 Peter 3:15). This suggests making an account or declaring the cause. Simply put, we need to articulate what happened to us and why that event has such a powerful affect on our outlook.
While meditating on this scripture I talked myself through a series of questions that helped me clarify and chronicle my experience with God. These questions helped me actualize my Pentecostal story more comprehensively. They helped me rediscover meaning, find more substance, and measure the impact of my Pentecostal experience.
I have turned the questions I asked myself into open-ended statements and listed them below. I encourage you to take some time and finish each sentence. Whether you have lived for God 30 days or 30 years, you have a story to tell and these statements will help you tell it. Afterwards, I encourage you to find someone in your life who does not know your tale and make a declaration.
While meditating on this scripture I talked myself through a series of questions that helped me clarify and chronicle my experience with God. These questions helped me actualize my Pentecostal story more comprehensively. They helped me rediscover meaning, find more substance, and measure the impact of my Pentecostal experience.
I have turned the questions I asked myself into open-ended statements and listed them below. I encourage you to take some time and finish each sentence. Whether you have lived for God 30 days or 30 years, you have a story to tell and these statements will help you tell it. Afterwards, I encourage you to find someone in your life who does not know your tale and make a declaration.
- I received the Holy Ghost on…
- I received the Holy Ghost at…
- I was baptized on…
- I was baptized at…
- I was baptized because…
- When I received the Holy Ghost I felt…
- When I was baptized I felt…
- When I got the Holy Ghost I…
- The important people with me that day were…
- Since that time God has…
- I am different now in that I…
- My life is different now in that…
- Since that day I have…
- When I think about my future with God I…
- Since that day God has changed…
- Each day the Holy Ghost…
- Every day God becomes…
- Everyone should have an experience with God like mine because…
- The greatest thing that has happened to me since I was born again was…
- The most important thing I have learned while living for God is…
- If I could I would change… about my experience with God
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Guardians...
It is guaranteed - we are going to have problems within every relationship because relationships bring very different people at very different degrees of discipleship and maturity, into very close proximity. No matter how much one loves someone or how much that someone loves the other, we are sinners battling a fallen nature and prone to negative defaults at anytime.
What complicates this arrangement is most of us are experts at the wrong thing - what others do wrong. Let me point out that the first human interaction recorded in the Scripture – Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:3-8 – established some basic tenets. First, the issue is the deed not the person. Second, there will always be a tendency to look for a scapegoat. Lastly, everyone is responsible for themselves whether we like it or not.
In developing ministry based relationships we need to understand what the pervasive disposition should include. The best relationships are those in which both partners are more committed to doing something with them rather than with their partner. This commitment focuses on developing the five following characteristics; godliness, gentleness, humility, introspection, and willingness to be accountable for one’s personal behavior (Galatians 6:1-5).
I would like to offer some guardian questions that will help us see whether our behavior is consistent with these characteristics…
First we need to question our motives. Charles Cooley, an American Sociologist said; “The human mind is indeed a cave swarming with strange forms of life, most of them unconscious and unilluminated. Unless we can understand how the motives that issue from this obscurity are generated, we can hardly hope to foresee or control them.” We should never forget, “Happy are those… in whose spirit there is no deceit (Psalms 32:1-2, NRSV).
We should also ask ourselves what difference are we about to make. Every action makes a difference of some kind so and if it is not going to make a positive difference why do it. As Christians our responses to things should be medicinal not poisonous. The life lived along the banks of the Spirit “grow all kinds of trees for food… and their leaves for are for healing” (Ezekiel 47:12, NRSV).
We should also ask whether we are letting the other person be themselves or expecting them to be someone or something they are not. There are two very important qualifications to be made about respect though. Loving someone is not synonymous with respecting that person and we must love, accept, and appreciate who the person really is not who we think they are or try to make them be. Our love for people must be guided by heavenly wisdom that is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy”( James 3:17, NRSV).
We should also question we are really saying? We need to recognize when we are manipulating instead of negotiating. I need to recognize if my speech involves bullying, intimidation, or oppressive words. Secondly, we need to recognize when we are using you did instead of I feel. Blame never works. Pointing out other people shortcomings simply puts them on the defensive and makes them antagonistic. We must “speak the truth to one another, render in our gates judgments that are true and make for peace, do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath; for all these are things that I hate, says the Lord” (Zechariah 8:16-17, NRSV).
Lastly, I should question whether or not I am putting them or me in an untenable position? I need to recognize when I am painting someone into a position where they have no alternatives. Nabal was a rich fool. His ignorance and vanity put his wife into a position where she had to beg mercy and intercede with death on his behalf (1 Samuel 25:1-32). Paul’s position about John Mark broke up a very successful missionary team (Acts 15:37-39). We must leave people with alternatives.
I need love and acceptance. Likewise, I need to love and accept. We are designed to be social. We cannot thrive without community. To maximize these all important relationships in my life, I need guardians…
What complicates this arrangement is most of us are experts at the wrong thing - what others do wrong. Let me point out that the first human interaction recorded in the Scripture – Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:3-8 – established some basic tenets. First, the issue is the deed not the person. Second, there will always be a tendency to look for a scapegoat. Lastly, everyone is responsible for themselves whether we like it or not.
In developing ministry based relationships we need to understand what the pervasive disposition should include. The best relationships are those in which both partners are more committed to doing something with them rather than with their partner. This commitment focuses on developing the five following characteristics; godliness, gentleness, humility, introspection, and willingness to be accountable for one’s personal behavior (Galatians 6:1-5).
I would like to offer some guardian questions that will help us see whether our behavior is consistent with these characteristics…
First we need to question our motives. Charles Cooley, an American Sociologist said; “The human mind is indeed a cave swarming with strange forms of life, most of them unconscious and unilluminated. Unless we can understand how the motives that issue from this obscurity are generated, we can hardly hope to foresee or control them.” We should never forget, “Happy are those… in whose spirit there is no deceit (Psalms 32:1-2, NRSV).
We should also ask ourselves what difference are we about to make. Every action makes a difference of some kind so and if it is not going to make a positive difference why do it. As Christians our responses to things should be medicinal not poisonous. The life lived along the banks of the Spirit “grow all kinds of trees for food… and their leaves for are for healing” (Ezekiel 47:12, NRSV).
We should also ask whether we are letting the other person be themselves or expecting them to be someone or something they are not. There are two very important qualifications to be made about respect though. Loving someone is not synonymous with respecting that person and we must love, accept, and appreciate who the person really is not who we think they are or try to make them be. Our love for people must be guided by heavenly wisdom that is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy”( James 3:17, NRSV).
We should also question we are really saying? We need to recognize when we are manipulating instead of negotiating. I need to recognize if my speech involves bullying, intimidation, or oppressive words. Secondly, we need to recognize when we are using you did instead of I feel. Blame never works. Pointing out other people shortcomings simply puts them on the defensive and makes them antagonistic. We must “speak the truth to one another, render in our gates judgments that are true and make for peace, do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath; for all these are things that I hate, says the Lord” (Zechariah 8:16-17, NRSV).
Lastly, I should question whether or not I am putting them or me in an untenable position? I need to recognize when I am painting someone into a position where they have no alternatives. Nabal was a rich fool. His ignorance and vanity put his wife into a position where she had to beg mercy and intercede with death on his behalf (1 Samuel 25:1-32). Paul’s position about John Mark broke up a very successful missionary team (Acts 15:37-39). We must leave people with alternatives.
I need love and acceptance. Likewise, I need to love and accept. We are designed to be social. We cannot thrive without community. To maximize these all important relationships in my life, I need guardians…
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