What Are YOUR Re-Reads?

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Carl Simmons

Consider this one light and personal. Or a mandate to get into some heavy reading. Or an excuse to mutter, “He clearly has too much time on his hands.” Your call.

Anyway, since it’s Thursday (i.e., Other Voices Day) I’m going to have a little fun here—at least what I consider fun. But since you’re here, it’s reasonably safe to assume that you’re a fairly voracious reader as well.

Thus, I thought I’d share the following…. These are books that God has spoken to me through big-time, so much so that I keep coming back to them for more, and discover something new every time as I do. They’re that good. I occasionally add new ones and drop ones I’ve “read out,” but as of June 23, 2011 these are the ones that’ve stuck. Some are classics, some are fairly recent—a few, in fact, have already been reviewed in these first fledgling months of this blog. But I read one of these every month, on top of whatever else I’m reading. It’s my way of helping God help keep me in line. 🙂

The list below also follows a sequence; there is a method to my madness. Specifically, these books cycle through in a way that reflect the scope and sequence of Growing Out—a spiritual-formation book, a character-formation book, a gifts/calling book, a mentoring book, a leadership book, a personal-mission book, and then back again. I also put space between books by the same author. All of it’s my way of maintaining balance.

Yes, I am way too organized. But some people think that’s my charm.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this list. Use it to fill in your own gaps. And help fill in some of mine, too. Post here about your re-reads. Tell me what books God has spoken to you through, over and over. Look forward to talking more….

So, starting with the book I’m re-reading right now….

Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander—Thomas Merton
Desiring God—John Piper
Power Through Prayer—E.M. Bounds
Organic Church—Neil Cole
The Knowledge of the Holy—A.W. Tozer
The Cost of Discipleship—Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Divine Conspiracy—Dallas Willard
Spiritual Mentoring—Keith R. Anderson & Randy D. Reese
The Crucifixion of Ministry—Andrew Purves
Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith—Robert Gelinas
Prayer: Finding The Heart’s True Home—Richard Foster
Second-Guessing God—Brian Jones
Future Grace—John Piper
Life Together—Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Spiritual Leadership—J. Oswald Sanders
Dark Night of the Soul—St. John of the Cross
The Pursuit of God—A.W. Tozer
Simple Spirituality—Christopher Heuertz
Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship & Direction—David Benner
Restoring the Soul of Leadership—Ruth Haley Barton
Life After Church: God’s Call to Disillusioned Christians—Brian Sanders
Renovation of the Heart—Dallas Willard
Changed Into His Likeness—Watchman Nee (I’ve probably read this one a dozen times now; blows me away every time.)
Whole Life Transformation—Keith Meyer
What Jesus Demands From the World—John Piper
The Irresistible Revolution—Shane Claiborne
Prayers for a Privileged People—Walter Brueggeman
Celebration of Discipline—Richard Foster
Praying Successfully—Charles Spurgeon
The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teachings on Discipleship—Dallas Willard
With Christ in the School of Prayer—Andrew Murray
Reflections on the Psalms—C.S. Lewis
Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal’s Pensees, Edited, Outlined & Explained—Peter Kreeft
Freedom of Simplicity—Richard Foster
The Gift of Being Yourself—David Benner
The Spiritual Man—Watchman Nee (This one’s a monster. I give myself 2 months each for this one and The Divine Conspiracy.)
Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change—Paul David Tripp
Outgrowing the Ingrown Church—C. John (“Jack”) Miller
Too Small to Ignore—Wess Stafford
Hearing God—Dallas Willard
Of the Imitation of Christ—Thomas a’Kempis

So again, what books does God use to keep speaking to you through? Bring ’em on in….

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The Battle of Your Life

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Carl Simmons

“My dear brothers, never forget, when you hear the progress of enlightenment vaunted, that the devil’s best trick is to persuade you that he doesn’t exist!”—Charles Baudelaire, “Le Joueur Généreux”

This is a long one, but it needs to be, as this is both an easily misunderstood and easily abused subject. So let’s ease our way in….

Were you ever picked on or harassed by a bully growing up? What things did you do to keep him or her from bothering you? How successful were you? What advice would (or do) you give your own children about dealing with a bully?

I pretty much faced that every day between grades 4 through 9. Fighting back didn’t work. Not fighting back didn’t work either. I will attribute a whole lot of verbal repartee, and a penchant for cursing I’ve never particularly broken, from that time. Honestly, that was the only thing that seemed to have any effect at all (although it inspired others to want to kick my butt even further).

This time last week we explored how we can let the Holy Spirit work through our lives. This week we’re going to look at other spiritual matters—but not the same spirit. We’re going to consider another, better-known bully: Satan. A lot of people have different ideas of who the devil is—or if he even is at all. But the Bible assures us that Satan is very real and that he’s determined to oppose us, whether we acknowledge it or not.

More important, we’re assured that even though we’re in a battle, Jesus wins. More than that, the Bible shows us how we can live in that victory more and more each day. Let’s break down the best-known passage on this topic, which appears in Ephesians 6:

“Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle  is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness,  against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.  For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground  on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-13, NET).

So, what’s your reaction to Paul’s statement that we are fighting “against the world rulers of this darkness,  against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens”? Does it make you frightened and insecure? challenged and really pumped? skeptical? something else?

Let’s go to another movie illustration, this time from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Two of our heroes, Gandalf and Aragorn, urge King Theoden of Rohan to ride out and meet the evil forces of Sauron. Theoden, who has just been released from what well could be called demonic possession and learned of the death of his son,  refuses, giving what seems like sound reasoning, “I would not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war.”

Aragorn, having already encountered the enemy and knowing his intent, informs Theoden, “Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.”

So, let me ask: Do you really believe “open war is upon you”—that you’re already in a spiritual battle? I believe we’ve all experienced it in some form, whether we’ve acknowledged that fact or its source. Think about it:

• When have you felt a heaviness you knew wasn’t just about you—whether you’d’ve called it temptation, the pull of an addiction, depression? What have you learned from those struggles?
• Did (or do) you ever consider taking a “shortcut” or doing something that’s “less than God’s will” to lessen the pain of those experiences?
• What makes it so hard to fight through these kinds of battles, whether you consider them spiritual or not? What helps you stay focused on God and His desires for you during those times?

Let’s move from the reality of spiritual warfare to the tactics. How does Satan actually go about trying to mess us up? And how should we respond? Two of the best-known “Satan stories” in the Bible give us a clue.

“Now  the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Is it really true that  God  said, “You must not eat from any tree of the orchard”?’  The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat  of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, “You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.”‘ The serpent said to the woman, ‘Surely you will not die,  for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know  good and evil.’

“When  the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food,  was attractive  to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it.  She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:1-6, NET).

“Then  Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River and was led by the Spirit  in  the wilderness, where for forty days he endured temptations  from the devil. He  ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “Man does not live by bread alone.”

“Then  the devil  led him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. And he  said to him, ‘To you I will grant this whole realm—and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. So then, if  you will worship  me, all this will be  yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “You are to worship  the Lord  your God and serve only him.”

“Then the devil  brought him to Jerusalem,  had him stand  on the highest point of the temple,  and said to him, ‘I  you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,” and “with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”  Jesus  answered him,  ‘It is said, “You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.” So when the devil  had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time” (Luke 4:1-13, NET)

Let’s break this down:

• What parallels do you see between these two accounts?
• Look at the strategies Satan uses in each of these passages. How do you see these same kinds of strategies used today? What do they look like to you?
• Why is it sometimes easier for us to believe the lies of Satan rather than Jesus’ promises? What can we do to counter that?

Let’s circle back to Ephesians, so we can better answer that last question:

“Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist  by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by fitting your  feet with the preparation that comes from the good news  of peace,  and in all of this,  by taking up the shield  of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation  and the swordof the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and petition, pray  at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:14-18, NET).

Paul refers to several spiritual weapons here. Which of these weapons do you rely on the most? In what ways? Which of these spiritual weapons could you use an “upgrade” in?

And now that we’ve looked at where each of us is most susceptible to attack and where our defenses are weakest, what’s one thing you can do to more effectively fight your spiritual battles?

Here are some ideas to walk this out in your life. Pick one, or if God’s pointing somewhere else, go there….

Live It—Where have you been most susceptible to attack? Sexual temptation? Addiction? The need for “stuff”? Commit to avoiding situations where temptation is most likely, and to praying for that area of your life daily. Also find someone who’ll hold you accountable. Remember: You’re in this together.

Share It—Who do you know who seems to be under a great deal of spiritual pressure? Maybe he or she is facing some kind of harassment, encountering more than the usual amount of temptation, or simply going through a very difficult time. Be sensitive to ways you can support this person, whether it’s encouragement or personally intervening on his or her behalf—and whether that’s with God or with other people.

Go for It!—Follow Jesus’ example; serve a friend. If your friend compliments you for your good deed, simply thank that person for his or her kind words, and leave it at that. But don’t just dismiss the compliment—it can be an act of humility to accept praise from another person, too.

Do It Together—As discussed in our last entry just below, there are victims of sin everywhere, whether by choice or not. Address one of those needs as a group. Volunteer at a crisis-pregnancy center, to help mothers overcome the fear or rejection they might be facing. Or raise funds and supplies for a group like Justice for Children International (jfci.org), which works toward the elimination of child exploitation and human sex trafficking. Check your heart, then let God move you forward.

And may He bless you in whatever He puts upon your heart to do.

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Help! (or, You Can’t Do It Alone, Part II)

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Carl Simmons

There’s a great series of scenes in the movie Walk the Line, which portray Johnny Cash trying to kick his drug addiction and face the demons that drove him there, especially the tragic death of his older brother when he was a child. It also shows the degree to which the Carter family, especially Johnny’s friend and future wife June, intervene to help Johnny get clean.

There’s one scene in particular that’s hard to miss. Johnny tries to prove himself to his father, who’s belittling him in front of the Carters over Thanksgiving dinner, and instead winds up pathetically drunk and in the lake, along with the enormous tractor*** he can’t seem to get started. Embarrassed and at a loss, June gets ready to leave with the Carters, but Mother Maybelle stops her and tells her to go down to the lake and help Johnny.

“Mama, I am not going down there,” June says.

Maybelle responds, “You’re already down there, honey.”

Ultimately, though, June isn’t “down there” with Johnny alone. The Carters end up quarantining Johnny in his own house as he goes cold-turkey, and even chase away drug dealers at gunpoint to make sure Johnny gets clean.

Be honest: Would you have been able to make the kind of hardcore commitment the Carter family made to Johnny? (And if you have, take some time to reflect about that now.) Where would you have drawn the line?

The fact is, all of us have faced situations that were too much for one person to handle—that we were completely unequipped to deal with. Even if you’ve somehow managed to not face this kind of situation with a friend or family member, chances are you will at some point. And the point isn’t to bail when things get tough, but to acknowledge that the situation is something more than you can handle. Our role becomes to help that person get the help he or she needs—even as you do what you can do.

This isn’t only about when someone is caught up in a particular sin or addiction. It also happens, and even more often, when people are victims of sin. It can happen when they’re overwhelmed by the results of a fallen world—a death in the family, a long-term problem another family member is caught up in and can’t handle, or hurts they’ve received because of a messy situation like layoffs at work*** or a church split, and they just can’t seem to get past it. And it could be the results of sins far worse than these, which I choose not to detail but I’m sure you can do for yourself.

The issue here, for our purposes today, isn’t to discuss what speed people should or shouldn’t recover at—that’s not our call to begin with—simply what our roles should or shouldn’t be in that recovery process. Because ultimately, we’re all victims of sin, in need of recovery.

“Brothers and sisters,  if a person  is discovered in some sin,  you who are spiritual  restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness.  Pay close attention  to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too. Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  Let each one examine his own work. Then he can take pride  in himself and not compare himself with someone else. For each one will carry  his own load” (Galatians 6:1-5, NET).

I’ll throw in this quote too, from Thomas Merton’s Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, because I just reread it yesterday and it still rings true: “Hence, you must know when, how, and to whom you must say ‘no.’ This involves considerable difficulty at times. You must not hurt people, or want to hurt them, yet you must not placate them at the price of infidelity to higher and more essential values.”

As discussed this time last week, we want to help people get unstuck. But we also need to remember that it’s never entirely up to us. But the Spirit has gifted others to do what we can’t—people who have resources and wisdom beyond what we can give. And we need to recognize when it’s time to let go of our need to be the one who “fixes” those we care about—or, for that matter, enables them to continue in the behaviors they need to get out of. So, play along with me here and think this through:

• Name a situation people face where friendship might not be enough to get them through.
• Now, put yourself in that situation you just thought of. When would you know that you were in over your head? What would that person need that you know you can’t give?

Let’s take our scenario one step further. Let’s say you knew someone who could help your friend or family member—your pastor, a counselor, a program, or just someone who’d been there—someone who had the time or skills or resources you lacked….

• Truthfully: What feelings would you have about “letting go” and letting that other person take over—not surrendering your love and/or friendship, just those responsibilities you’d been trying to carry? Why?
• What else would have to change in your relationship with your friend once you’d let go of those responsibilities?

Maybe you’ve already been in this situation. Maybe you’re in it now. Don’t try to deal with it on your own. Indeed, accept the fact that you can’t. Find someone you trust who you can talk it out with. Take the time to pray together, and ask that God would give you the wisdom and compassion you need to know how to hand over responsibility in that situation, without letting go of your friendship. And may you sense God’s presence as you open yourself up to the answers the Spirit is offering.

*** P.S. I really wanted to show a clip from the tractor scene from Walk the Line, but couldn’t locate it. I settled for a still-frame from the remarkable video for “Hurt,” since it reminds us that overcoming is ongoing, and that it’s not the same as forgetting. And because it shows the real June Carter Cash, still “down there” with Johnny and watching over him nearly 40 years later.

*** P.P.S. Due to events that have transpired since, I feel compelled to add that the basic text here was written a couple years back. I.e., don’t read too much into this. 🙂

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Lay Down Your Old Identity… part 2

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Carl Simmons

Perhaps the most difficult part of laying it down is the most basic—laying down who we’ve been, in order to become the people God created us to be. Many Christians today believe—or at least live as if they believed—that Jesus died solely to forgive them, and that because their messes are now cleaned up they can go on with their lives as if Christ had no further claims upon them. This is, quite simply, not true.

If we have truly placed our lives and trust in Jesus, then we are also already under the same death sentence as Jesus. The tough part is living this out on a daily basis—or rather, dying it out. But that’s what Jesus calls us to do. “Then he said to them all, ‘If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it’” (Luke 9:23-24, NET).

When we willingly lay down our old selves and serve God as best we know how, we testify—to God, ourselves, and to everyone around us—that we are not the same people we used to be. And God sees and honors that.

There’s any number of powerful stories in the Bible that illustrate this exchanging of lives. Sometimes even the names change. Going back to Genesis, we see Abram become Abraham, Sarai become Sarah, and Jacob become Israel. I want to start with another Old Testament example that comes soon after this, then jump almost 1,500 years forward, to another changed man with another changed name.

At 80 years of age, Moses was a fugitive from the law, “a stranger in a strange land” (Ex. 2:22, KJV). He had gone from being miraculously rescued and raised in Pharoah’s household to a rebel who murdered an Egyptian on behalf of a people who immediately rejected him. And now, he seemed destined to live out his days in obscurity in Midian. By most people’s measure, he was a failure and would die that way. But God had other plans.

In Exodus 3 God calls out to Moses from the burning bush. He calls him to lead an entire nation out of slavery and into the land He had already promised them. But before He gives this call, He asks Moses to do something: “Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Ex. 3:5, NET). Moses obeyed. He honored God. And his life—and the lives of millions—was forever changed because of that.

Fast-forward 40 years… to the man who completes the task of bringing the Israelites into the promised land. Joshua no doubt knew about Moses’ past, but all he’d actually seen was the man God had transformed Moses into. From that perspective, Joshua knew he was no Moses.

Then again, for 80 years, Moses had been no Moses either.

As Joshua approaches Jericho, the last big hurdle to entering the promised land, he too has an encounter with God: “Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground and asked, ‘What does my master want to say to his servant?’ The commander of the Lord’s army answered Joshua, ‘Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you stand is holy.’ Joshua did so” (Joshua 5:14-15, NET).

The places where we encounter God are holy. For me, that’s not only included both proverbial and literal mountaintops but also gas stations, empty meeting rooms and my own living room. You have your own experiences. And because we’ve encountered God in these places, they’re special, set-apart places for us.

But it’s not the location itself that’s inherently holy—it’s God’s presence that makes it holy. God is capable of making every place in our lives holy, and wants to.

And likewise, God calls us to come out of slavery—to our sins, our selfish desires, even the good things we have that are nonetheless only a shadow of the better things God wants to give us—and “enter the land” He has promised us. And He calls us to help others do the same.

Let’s fast-forward almost 1,500 years this time, to Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples. In the middle of the meal, He does something unusual—He gets up, grabs a towel and a washbasin, and begins washing the disciples’ feet. (It’s safe to assume the sandals are already off this time.) Follow what happens next:

“Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet!’ Jesus replied,‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, wash  not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!’” (John 13:8-9, NET).

Simon—who Jesus renamed Peter—protested, because he knew who he had been, and who in many ways he still was. He knew how unworthy he was of Jesus. But Jesus knew that, too. Furthermore, He knew what would happen to Him later that evening. He knew how badly Peter—all the disciples—would fail Him. But more importantly, Jesus didn’t care. Jesus’ priority was not the disciples’ past, present and future failings. What mattered most of all to Jesus, at that moment, was that the disciples take off their sandals and be served—cleansed—by Him.

What Jesus says to Peter, and to all of us, is: It doesn’t matter who you’ve been, what you’ve done. It doesn’t matter how big a screw-up you are now—and no doubt will be in the future. What matters is: Will you hand over your life—all of your life, including the screw-ups—to Me, so I can begin this incredible lifelong reclamation project called Your Life in Me?

And in case they missed the point, and it’s likely they did, an hour or so later Jesus tells his disciples this: “No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you” (John 15:13-16, NET).

This is where a changed life really begins. Especially at first we want, and need, to make laying down about the “negative” stuff—the things we know we need to give up for Christ’s sake. And that’s where we’re spending most of this first week. But if we focus only on what we need to give up, it’ll probably never happen. We’re overwhelmed by the task. We know we can’t do it. Therefore, we must also grab onto what Jesus promises each of us if we’re willing to lay down everything for Him. We need to remember who we are, now—Jesus’ friends.

We want to justify ourselves before God, to make ourselves worthy. It will never happen. It can never happen. So let go of it. The good news is: Jesus has made us worthy us. He has cleansed us. He has laid down His life for us. Jesus has chosen us because He has chosen us. And because of Jesus, that is enough.

Lay It Down Today

Got shoes on? Take them off. (Or wait for a time when you can do this later on.) Reflect on those places where you know God has already met you, and thank Him for those encounters. Pray a prayer of consecration—something like, “Lord, You have created everything and everything was created to be holy, separated unto You. I want to honor you everywhere I put down my feet, starting in this place. Help me to let go of the person I’ve been, so that I might become the person You intend me to be.”

Then, don’t forget you prayed this. Watch what God does with that prayer in the weeks to come.

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The Cost of Discipleship: megachurch edition

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Carl Simmons

Still waiting on that other new book. Fortunately, Keith Meyer (he of Whole Life Transformation) hooked me up with this new one in the meantime, and I’m glad he did. In some ways, it’s similar to the journey Keith took with Church of the Open Door, but frankly it sounds like this particular story has been more radical — or at least more difficult, as its subtitle readily implies.

Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken. Renovation of the Church: What Happens When a Seeker Church Discovers Spiritual Formation. Introduction by Dallas Willard. Softcover, 192p., $15.00. IVP Books.

The short version: Carlson and Lueken, co-pastors of Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California, share the 25-year history of what started as a seeker-sensitive church; then share in depth about the past 10 years, when leadership as a whole recognized the need for make spiritual formation the church’s central focus; then address the challenges the church faces to this day in getting the congregation on board and growing.

Carlson describes the dilemma, “Gradually, we began to get some clarity on a troubling truth: attracting people to church based on their consumer demands is in direct and irredeemable conflict with inviting people, in Jesus’ words, to lose their lives in order to find them.… We began to realize that our current church structure was actually working against the invitation of Christ to experience his authentic transformation.”

Lueken adds, “We had built a thriving church, but we were not becoming better people in whom Christ was being formed.”

One painfully visible consequence of this shift: What had been a “small megachurch” of 1,700 now stands at 750. The authors readily confess that this drop is largely due to their own inadvertent bait-and-switch—in Carlson’s words, “In order to help people follow Christ more fully, we would have to work against the very methods we were using to attract people to our church.”

So, that’s their story. How well does the book itself work? Depends on what you’re looking to get from it:

• Carlson and Lueken’s desire to change—and their reasons for it—are altogether inspiring.
• They’re also refreshingly honest about their mistakes and challenges—some variation on the phrases “we’re still working on it” or “we didn’t have an answer” comes up often.
• And they’re a bit frustrating in translating what they’ve learned into terms that could help the rest of us.

So let’s give some examples of those latter issues first, then work back up. Later in the book, the authors break down some of the current practices at Oak Hills especially regarding outreach and worship, but most of said practices don’t seem all that unique. Not that it makes them bad, obviously; it just makes it hard to visualize where the major paradigm shift is occurring, and how the clearly personal transformation among Oak Hills’ leadership has been inculcated into the congregation (although the shift in focus on quality of content over style of worship was helpful to point out).

Elsewhere, the authors mention a curriculum they use with their congregation… and then move on. I would have really liked to have heard more about that. There also was talk about the use of solitude and silence within the congregation; again, I liked the idea and really would have liked to have seen it fleshed out more here.

The one innovation, if you will, that did jump out and seemed immediately applicable was the “One Thing” small groups—a roughly year-long commitment where members are devoted to helping each other address one specific spiritual-formation/character issue in each of their lives.

Moving on… I appreciated Lueken’s confession that, as a result of this shift in focus from outward growth to inward transformation, “Evangelism is [now] the weakest part of our [once seeker-friendly] church,” then using that point to emphasize the importance of finding a balance between spiritual formation, mission and evangelism.

But as both authors point out, once the shift from seeker-sensitivity/performance to spiritual formation occurs, having all the answers and having them now isn’t the most important thing anymore. In probably the most insightful passage of the book, Lueken puts it this way:

“Perhaps our greatest lesson from the past decade is that it is spiritually formative to be dissatisfied and unable to resolve that dissatisfaction. In fact, there is hardly a better catalyst for transformation than to not get what we want. Sitting in the dissatisfaction, without frantically trying to resolve it, can do wonders for a human soul.

“When we don’t get what we want, we are more acutely aware of eternity. We are more apt to remember God. We learn what it really means to trust him.”

A big way of trusting God that the authors had tackle head-on was their own sense of ambition. Numbers meant accomplishment; sacrificing those numbers also meant relying on God. One practical step Carlson and Lueken took in addressing this issue was to become co-pastors (originally, Carlson was founding and senior pastor; Lueken had come on some time later as spiritual formation pastor after a failed church plant — another hard lesson about ambition). The story of their deepening friendship while working together as equals runs throughout the book.

And I personally enjoyed Carlson’s recount of the early days of planting Oak Hills—if “enjoyed” is the right word. Perhaps “brotherly groan of recognition” is better. I had to laugh when he said, “I hated [going door to door]. I can’t think of a person who came to our church because of all that door knocking.”

So that’s it, in a nutshell. I  leave it for you to discover the rest—not least of all, more thoughts about consumerism and God’s meaning of success. So go do it.

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Living in the Spirit… or not….

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Carl Simmons

Got some fruit handy? Go grab some right now. Try to grab more than one of the same kind; grapes are ideal for this little meditation. Take a few moments to really look your fruit over. Then, look over the following two quotes:

“But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires  that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law….  [T]he fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and  self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:16-18, 22-23, NET).

“It is interesting that the Bible talks of the fruit of the Spirit rather than the fruits. A tree may bear many apples, but all come from the same tree. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is the source of all fruit in our lives.”—Billy Graham

So: Which of the fruit (or fruits) listed in Galatians do you think are most evident in your life right now? Which ones could use a little more fertilizer? How come?

Now, let’s come back to your fruit. Some of them are riper, some are smaller, some may even be a bit discolored, but they’re all fruit, and they all came from the same source. They didn’t grow by themselves, and they didn’t grow completely apart from one another. The same is true of us. As Christians, we all belong to Jesus, and whatever spiritual growth we have—whether individually, as a group, or as the church—comes from being connected to the Holy Spirit.

Go ahead and eat your fruit if you’d like; and while you’re at it, chew on these questions, too:

• How does living by the Spirit help us produce the fruit of the Spirit?
• Practically speaking, what does it mean to live by the Spirit? What does that actually look like? Think of some ways right now.

The Bible says the Spirit’s already within those who believe in Jesus (Romans 8:9). Since that’s true, you’d think it’d be pretty easy to connect and live life in the Spirit in all those ways you came up with, right?

But a lot of times, we still feel disconnected from the Spirit—like we’re going through the motions and we’re not sure whether we’re really living life in the Spirit. And sometimes—let’s be honest—we choose not to listen to what the Spirit’s trying to tell us.

Many times, though, we’re just not very good at recognizing when the Spirit’s trying to guide us. We haven’t properly trained our “spiritual ears,” so to speak, to listen for the Spirit. And that’s where we’re starting today. Here’s a couple more questions to think about:

• How would you explain to a friend who the Holy Spirit is and what the Spirit does?
• What would you like someone to explain to you about the Spirit?

Read the following passages aloud. But don’t just read them—act them out, raise your voice, get out of your chair, do whatever it takes to fully convey the meaning here. Be persuasive, convicting, transforming—whatever this passage says the Spirit does, try to emulate it. Better yet, do this with a friend or more. By the way, you might want to put some space between you and whoever’s nearby—it could get loud!

• John 14:25-26
• John 16:7-14
• Acts 1:4-8
• Romans 8:26-27
• 1 Corinthians 2:9-15
• 2 Corinthians 3:7-9, 16-18
• Galatians 4:6-7
• Ephesians 1:13-14

Got it out of your system? Good. Hope you had a little fun, even if it was a little embarrassing. Now you can go back to being serious. Get settled back into you chair and think through these questions:

• Out of these attributes of the Spirit, which ones have you seen at work in your own life? Which ones are new or still kind of hard for you to grasp?
• All acting aside, how can other people help us understand how (or when) the Spirit’s trying to guide us?
• On the other hand, how can others get in the way of us hearing what the Spirit’s trying to tell us?
• How can we better train our “spiritual ears” so we really know whether it’s the Spirit who’s trying to guide us? What would that look like in your own life?

One more quote from Galatians, and it’s likely you’ve seen this sort of thing go wrong in person: “The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort? Have you suffered so many things for nothing?—if indeed it was for nothing. Does God then give  you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law  or by your believing what you heard?” (Gal. 3:2-5. NET).

This is a tough passage, but let’s start positive and end positive. And I’ll see you tomorrow…..

• Was there a time in your life that you can now remember and say, “Yeah, the Spirit had to have been in that”? What was that like?
• On the other hand, when have you seen a person or church “[begin] with the Spirit,” then “[try] to finish by human effort?” In the words of Dr. Phil, how did that work out?
• Let’s take that to another level: How do you take—or how have you taken—things out of the Spirit’s hands in your own life? Why do you think you’ve done it?
• What’s one way you need to trust the Holy Spirit to work and bear fruit in your life? Who can help you do that?

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Uncovering Our Blind Spots

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Carl Simmons

Think about your last trip down the highway… the last time you tried to switch lanes, then suddenly had to swerve back because someone in your blind spot was coming up, fast. Not a great feeling, was it? You know, aside from the relief of not getting killed….

Now, think about another kind of a blind spot, the kind that’s been uncovered in your own life—something good or bad that you were incapable of seeing. What (or who) helped you finally discover it? Why do you think it stayed hidden for so long?

Almost all of us have had blind spots in our lives that God’s unveiled to us, and in many cases He’s used others who care about us to reveal those things. It may have been a wonderful a-ha moment for us, where the light suddenly came on. On the other hand, it might have been painful or even made us angry at first, but once we’d gotten past our reactions we realized we’d been done a huge favor.

And we’re called to return the favor. Perhaps the most critical role in growing others is getting them past their blind spots, so they can see the people God’s created them to be, and finally get on with becoming that person.

Rick Warren put it like this: “There is no growth without change; no change without loss; no loss without pain. But the pain is temporary, and the growth is eternal. God is more concerned with our character than with our comfort.”

So let’s reflect again on those times when God’s brought change into our lives. What are some of the ways God’s used to get through to you—including ones others have used with you as they were led by God? Write them down, if you have paper handy. Then reflect on your list. It’s likely you’ll see a variety of ways that the light has come on in the past—and you’ll probably be surprised in the future, too. After all, if you weren’t surprised, it wouldn’t be a blind spot.

God will use anything and anyone to get through to us. And that’s because, for many of us, our biggest blind spot is the inability to grasp how much God loves us. But the truth is, God is cheering us on. He’s pushing us forward. And God is committed to helping us overcome every obstacle we face—even when that obstacle is us.

God doesn’t have our limits, but He wants us to trust Him to overcome those limits we have—or, often more to the point, the limits we’ve placed upon ourselves that God never intended to be there.

So let’s look at how God says He sees all of us—the people we already are in Christ, whether we fully believe it or not—so we can help others see it, too. Check out these Bible passages below:

• Romans 8:31-39
• Ephesians 2:4-10
• 2 Peter 1:3-9
• 1 John 3:1-3

And now, answer this question both scripturally and experientially: Who are you in Jesus? In other words: What does God tell you through his Word, and what has God shown you about the person He’s created you to be?

One more passage: “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit  intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will. And we know that all things work together  for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters…. If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:27-29, 31, NET).

So let’s put all this together:

• How does understanding how God sees us, and knowing He’ll use whatever we give Him to work with, help us move past whatever we’re facing in life right now?
• How can seeing and remembering God’s love and power in your life help free others to see it in their lives? 

This blog is dedicated to helping others grow into the people God’s created them to be, just as God’s already grown us. But we’re always growing, too. There’s always new challenges we need to face and allow God (and others) to help us through. And sometimes things we’d thought we’d overcome return to haunt us in a different way—or even in ways we thought we were done with. There’s a good chance you’re facing a situation right now, where you’re wondering what God wants you to do next.

Therefore, let’s step back and reflect: Is there an area where you’re having problems continuing in Christ’s love right now?

Let’s take time now to prepare ourselves, so God can better use us to prepare those we care about as well. In fact, allow me to lead you in a little prayer. Let it sink in, and I’ll see you Wednesday:

Lord, we’re willing to change. Change us, as You need to. If we’re in the right place right now and just need to see that, show us. If we’re not, show us our blind spots. Use those people we care about to help us see Your hand.

Lord, guide us. Help us to only take on what You want us to take on. Help us to see everything as an opportunity for growth, no matter what the earthly outcome is.

You love those we love far more than ever can. Help us to see that their lives are already in Your hands. Use us as you see fit. Help us to let go when it’s Your turn to work. Help us each to experience the love of Jesus, even though we can’t understand how truly great that is. But begin to complete us in all the fullness of Your life and power. And help us to trust that Your mighty power can work within and through us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Lord, help us to trust You with every part of our lives, and helps us to love others the way Jesus did—and does. Amen.

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Lay Down Your Reputation: a fragment

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Carl Simmons

I was recently hanging out in a wildlife area of Colorado, where informative plaques abounded. One in particular caught my eye, highlighting families who’d owned ranches where this area now stood, in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. It got me thinking about all the different ways we come up with to “historically” immortalize ordinary people after they’re gone—and by “ordinary” I mean people we wouldn’t think twice about if they were standing in front of us right now, because they’d be roughly as accomplished or smart or likeable as us. But because they’re no longer with us, we find ways to keep them alive, to highlight the importance we didn’t especially recognize while they were still alive—to resurrect their memories, if you will.

I think we do this, at least on some unconscious level, because we inwardly recognize our deep desire to keep ourselves alive a little longer, even beyond our own time on earth. We believe and hope that people will remember us after we’re gone. We want our lives to have mattered to someone, to have been significant in some way. And even far too many of us among the living don’t feel that. In fact, “the need for significance” gets an unusual amount of play in the church today. You might be feeling that need right now, in fact.

And that’s apparent in the reputations we try to keep—whether it’s a good name or at least a bad enough name that people will remember it. We want to be loved or respected, or at least feared or hated—even if peoples’ feelings are really being directed more toward a persona with our name attached to it than a representation of who we really are and what really matters to us. Either way, however, if we’re not careful, eventually those reputations will own us, rather than the reverse.

And I think that’s one of the biggest reasons that God calls us to lay our reputations down. Not because we need to grovel before God and make absolutely sure He’s higher than us, but because our reputations, no matter how legitimate they might be, become a way of securing and encasing ourselves in a human love that—even when that’s genuine—is less than God’s love for us.

Thomas Merton, in New Seeds of Contemplation, described it as “winding experiences around myself… like bandages in order to make myself perceptible to myself and to the world, as if I were an invisible body that could only become visible when something visible covered its surface.”

As soon as we begin to rest in our own accomplishments and others’ perceptions of them, we drift away from the Spirit. Walk into almost any long-established church or denomination if you need further proof.

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Getting Your Small Group Where God Wants It

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Carl Simmons

I’m still on hold with the new stuff, so one more blast from the past…. This isn’t a brand-new book — it’s a couple years old now, actually — but it’s certainly fresh even if it’s not new.

• Finding the Flow: A Guide for Leading for Small Groups and Gatherings. Tara Miller and Jenn Peppers. Book, 240p., $17.00. IVP Connect.

Don’t let the subtitle fool you — it’s not incorrect, but it’s not the kind of book you might think it is. It’s not a how-to book. It is, however, a what-to and why-to book. Rather than prescribing a strategy for small groups, Tara Miller and Jenn Peppers lay out the elements that make a small group successful… then point out that it’s not going to look the same for every group… then help you make the choices that will work best for your group. And that’s a far more practical approach, in the long run.

From the outset, Miller and Peppers affirm that lots of small-group models work. The trick, they suggest, is finding an approach that accurately reflects the values of your group. Both the opening section and the appendixes are built to help you think through what you and your group really value. From there, building your group becomes a much more natural process.

Another huge point the authors make early on is: While there’s a variety of ways to get there, if the focus isn’t squarely on a hunger for God (rather than on group needs), things will eventually fall apart. That one hit me square between the eyes.

Other sections cover such meaty topics as stages of group life, learning how to listen to God and others, asking questions that go deep rather than lead to obvious answers, dealing with conflict, and developing new leaders.

Peppered throughout each chapter (no pun intended) are many “Do This” suggestions — little ideas you can try either on your own or with your group. As you take these measured risks, your group life will almost certainly be enriched.

Even though it’s a small-group resource, I’ve already gotten this into the hands of one church planter who wanted to start things right with his core team. The principles in this book very much work in that context as well.

Whether you’re starting a small-group ministry or looking to grow your leaders (and yourself) in a meaningful way, this is a great book to help you face the issues that every small-group ministry comes up against. For more info about the book and other related resources, visit www.findingtheflow.org.

An earlier version of this review first appeared on smallgroupministry.com.

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We’re In This Together

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Carl Simmons

We often tend to expect more from other Christians, don’t we? Just about as often, though, these expectations set us up for a fall. Scripture in fact says we’re all fallen people. We’re going to let each other down. It’s inevitable. We’re all lost causes without Jesus.

The trick, then, isn’t simply to pursue relationships with other Christians, but to pursue Jesus together as Christians. The two things sound similar, but there’s all the difference in the world between them. When Jesus is the focus, suddenly all those little things that often get in the way of our relationships don’t seem so important. When we pursue Jesus together, our relationships naturally become closer and deeper, because we’re letting Jesus set the tone. And Jesus is never going to steer us the wrong way.

So let’s dig into this, starting with Acts 1:6-11. Let’s stop for a few moments and try to picture this: One minute Jesus is right there with his apostles—the people He’s entrusted to share His life and message with the rest of the world—and the next, He’s gone. And on top of that, two men in white clothing, presumably angels, show up and in essence say, “What are you doing, just standing there?” How do you think the apostles felt at that moment?

And for that matter, in what ways do you feel (or have felt) like you’re “just standing there” in your Christian walk, waiting for Jesus to tell you what to do?

Cut to Acts 1:12-17 and 21-26. How did Jesus’ followers respond, once they got past their initial shock? A number of ways—they go back to “the scene of the crime,” Jerusalem, to the same upstairs room many believe the Last Supper with Jesus had been held; they pray together “with one mind”; they choose a replacement for Judas Iscariot.In short, they get on with the work they do know Jesus left them to do. And they do it together. And we see the much bigger fruits of that obedience in Acts 2.

Now, think about what that’s looked like in your own lives. How does knowing other Christians you can trust and share your struggles with—no matter what kind of struggles they are—help you to stop “just standing there” and move forward? When has someone who’s been through the same trials really been there for you (or when have your trials helped you help someone else)? Who do you know right now who’s not only your friend but who pushes you closer to Jesus?

I hope there isn’t dead silence at the other end after those last couple questions. But if so, that’s OK. This is huge. We need to find answers if we don’t already have them. As William Barclay put it, “It has been said that true friendship begins only when people share a common memory and can say to each other, ‘Do you remember?’ Each of us is one of a great fellowship of people who share a common experience and a common memory of their Lord.”

If you have a small group, try this activity with them. Trust me, it works: Get a pile of ice cubes. Get everyone to take one ice cube, and then stand in a circle. If there are more than 12 people, form groups of six to eight for this experience. Hold hands with the people on either side of you, and hold the ice in between your hands. Hold hands tightly—with the ice in between—until the ice completely melts. Don’t let go. It’s going to get cold, but remember, you’re all in this together! When the ice has fully melted, drop hands. Blow on them, rub them together, get your circulation back. Then discuss:

• What was it like as you held onto the ice—and it got colder? Did it make it better or worse to know that you were all going through the same thing? Explain.
• How does standing together with others help us to keep Jesus a priority in our lives, even (or maybe especially) when things are tough?
• If you could ask this group for advice or prayer on just one thing right now, what would it be?
• Who right now would you really like to develop a spiritual relationship with? Not just a friendship, but a relationship in which Jesus is the important person in it?

Go make it happen. And may God bless you as you move forward together.

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