Before, I continue on with this post. I know not just pastors deal with the following issue, but many, many guys deal with this everyday. My heart is for every guy who deals with this, but I want to make myself to pastors who are seeking help at this time.
This has been something that God has placed on my heart and in my spirit for quite some time now. I also this a subject that is taboo to talk about - Pastors & Pornography addiction. Here is the reality, more & more pastors are living with this secret addiction. They are living in complete shame. They are holding on to the guilt. This is addiction is starting to creep up in other areas of life family, ministry, finances, and even day to day living.
Many pastors haven't dealt with the root of this addiction. Many pastors are feeling trapped in the addiction, like being trapped in a prison feeling confined to the wall---they try to escape in ways that they can not escape without being granted true freedom and they find themselves back in the same prison behind the same bars locked down a lot longer.
Many pastors find themselves without anyone to turn to because of consequences from churches, leadership, denominations and spouses. They are afraid if they expose this addiction or talk about it, that they would lose everything---they would lose their family and their jobs. But in the meantime, they are losing their hope, faith and in many ways they are being separated from their calling.
With all that being said, it is my heartbeat and passion to invest in younger pastors. It is also my desire to walk with these younger pastors in this area of their journey and faith and through this addiction to pornography. More and more men are coming into ministry with this addiction already. Many more fall into addiction soon after coming into ministry.
Because my experience and because of what God has done through me with His amazing Grace and His loving patience, I want to offer my self up as a coach, mentor, and a sounding board for these pastors.
I want it to be more than just accountability --- you are only going to be as accountable and honest as you want to be, I can't force you to be honest and tell the truth completely. But I hope you do.
I do want to coach and mentor, help through this journey and be a sounding board for you and be someone you can always contact or connect with.
EVERYTHING IS CONFIDENTIAL: When it comes to dealing with this addiction of pornography.
GRACE & TRUTH: This will be the tension we walk on together as we work though and talk about this addiction.
AVAILABILITY TO YOU: I am making myself available to you anytime. I know the schedule of the pastor. I here via phone call, email or connecting over coffee.
TAKE YOU THROUGH NEXT STEPS: I will walk with you like a tour guide through next steps of getting true freedom from this prison.
ENCOURAGEMENT TO GROW IN SOME READING DURING PERSONAL TIME: I am going to push you to read some books outside of your normal Scripture reading. I want to stretch you and truly coach you and equip through this process.
Here is the thing you aren't the only one dealing with pornography addiction. You aren't the only one dealing with the shame and guilt it brings along with it. We serve a God of second chances. We serve a God who full of GRACE and MERCY! We have a God who loves unconditionally and desires us to be people of the second chance. It is God's desire that we will experience true freedom from this addiction. It does not have to destroy you, your marriage or your ministry. God can redeem you and God can redeem this time.
I will be only mentoring, coaching five pastors. To make sure I keep my personal margins in my own life. If you are interested in being mentored/coached through this addiction --- please email me at chris.jarrell@theaterchurch.com - EVERYTHING IS BETWEEN YOU AND ME.
I want to encourage you as you are considering this to read Hebrews chapter 10 - Meditate on it! Let it get into your spirit.
If you have any questions please email me. Looking forward to connecting with you.
I am praying for you.
God of Second Chances by Carlos Whitakker
We humbly respond
To the call of Your love
Gracious Father
Like a child we run
With our arms lifted up
So let the praises rise
You’re the God of second chances
You're the God who still romances
We're in awe before You now
And our hearts are bowing down
You're the God of all the ages
Who are we that You would save us
We're in awe before You now
And our hearts are crying out
Hallelujah to our God
Hallelujah to our God
Righteous Savior
By Your wounds we are healed
Your compassion draws us here
How amazing
Is the mercy of the Cross
That You would reach out for us
So let the praises rise
You rescue with unfailing love
Hallelujah to our God
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Two Videos to Post for You - Radical Living and Radical Beginnings
I wanted to post these two videos for you...the theme: Be Radical!
First video, is the first service in New York City for Hillsong Church. As Christ followers, we should be celebrating what God is doing through them and God will use them to influence and transform lives with the Gospel is the largest city in America. They are doing doing something radical, they are being Christ's hands and feet that needs to experience and encounter His love. They are going in to serve this New York City and to engage them with the Good News. They are doing something RADICAL!
This next video is from Francis Chan, a man of God, someone who is running after God with everything he has. A man who is stepping out and radically living the Scriptures. He is living with in the pages of Scriptures. He is allow God's Word to lead him and guide. He is raw, honest, genuine...
He left his church where he established himself as a great pastor and doing amazing things for God..."he had success". Now he has sold everything and him and his family are leaving to go overseas very soon to serve the poor and the outcasts, those who are broken and hurting. The widows and the orphans. Francis is doing something RADICAL! This is a portion of his talk from Catalyst 2010.
Here are some questions you need to ask: When you read the Bible what do you see? Does your life reflect that of the Scriptures or rather your own interpretation of them? THINK ABOUT IT Are you living Radically? If so, how and what is your motivation? Do you have GOD SIZED dreams? DO you GOD INSPIRED dreams? What are you doing with your life that is RADICAL?
First video, is the first service in New York City for Hillsong Church. As Christ followers, we should be celebrating what God is doing through them and God will use them to influence and transform lives with the Gospel is the largest city in America. They are doing doing something radical, they are being Christ's hands and feet that needs to experience and encounter His love. They are going in to serve this New York City and to engage them with the Good News. They are doing something RADICAL!
HILLSONG NYC LAUNCH from Hillsong Television on Vimeo.
This next video is from Francis Chan, a man of God, someone who is running after God with everything he has. A man who is stepping out and radically living the Scriptures. He is living with in the pages of Scriptures. He is allow God's Word to lead him and guide. He is raw, honest, genuine...
He left his church where he established himself as a great pastor and doing amazing things for God..."he had success". Now he has sold everything and him and his family are leaving to go overseas very soon to serve the poor and the outcasts, those who are broken and hurting. The widows and the orphans. Francis is doing something RADICAL! This is a portion of his talk from Catalyst 2010.
Here are some questions you need to ask: When you read the Bible what do you see? Does your life reflect that of the Scriptures or rather your own interpretation of them? THINK ABOUT IT Are you living Radically? If so, how and what is your motivation? Do you have GOD SIZED dreams? DO you GOD INSPIRED dreams? What are you doing with your life that is RADICAL?
Letter to Torin - 2 Year Olds
Each year, I write a letter for my son, Torin. He just turned two on October 27. In the letter I try to capture memories or highlights from the past year and my heart and prayer for him for the next year. As he gets older, I hope he will read these letters and cherish them. I also hope he will value the prayers and the spiritual investment in his life.
Here is this year's letter for October 27. 2010...
Here is this year's letter for October 27. 2010...
Torin Christopher Jarrell
10/27/10
2nd Birthday Letter
Happy Birthday to our amazing son! It has been two years since you came into our lives and changed our lives forever. You are definitely a gift and a blessing from God. These last two years have flown by very quickly!
Over this last year we have watched you grow physically and grow mentally as well. You continue to blow us away with how smart you are, from counting to 10 in both English and Spanish, to not only, knowing your alphabet but also identifying all your letters perfectly. Even identifying your name when you see it. You know your colors and many shapes as well.
We also love how you are so interested in books and reading at such an early age. It is our hope that you will continue to love reading and learning.
Outside of spending time with you, we absolutely cherish those times when we can pray with you and pray over you. We also value the opportunities when we get to read with you and read to you.
Over the last year, we have seen you move from stumbling around the house to walking with confidence to climbing the stairs and running around. We also took you for your first haircut. Your vocabulary and the things you say continue to amaze us. We also gave you the incredible opportunity to start going to school…and we love your excitement and enthusiasm as you anticipate your day at school. We are grateful for your teachers, Ms. Summer and Ms Jenna, who love you and invest in your life while you are at school. They have told Mommy and Daddy many times what a blessing you are to them and to everyone at Little Acorn Patch.
We have really watched you go from our baby boy to our big boy. Son, you have brought so much joy and laughter. Our hearts are so filled with love for you.
Some of our biggest prayers for you this past year are that God would use you to be a boy of influence and inspiration to others and that God would use you to be a blessing to all those who come in contact with you. We also continue to pray that God will continue to grow you spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically so you can become a boy and eventually a man after God’s own heart. We have also been praying recently, that past cycles of addiction within our family would be broken in your life.
Torin, as we look forward to the next year, we are anxious to see what God will do in you and through you next. We hope to see some of your talents and gifts begin to come out and even begin to flourish. We also know that this next year will be a year where you are going to grow in knowledge. We also pray that your imagination would grow. We pray that God will help you to imagine Him and that He would reveal Himself to you through your imagination.
We also pray that we would more creatively share with you God’s Story and God’s Word. As you grow, we desire that you continue to understand who God is and all that He has done and that you would grow in knowledge of the foundation that we have in Christ.
We are looking forward to all that God has for you and for our family over the next year. We are always praying for God’s favor over you!
We love you so much, Son! We are proud of you! We appreciate who you are and we are looking forward to who you will become.
Oh God, take our son…mold him, shape him and help him to become more like You. Help him to continue to grow in wisdom and stature and that he would find favor with You and find favor with others who You place in his life. Develop his gifts and talents even now so that he can use them for Your purpose and to bring You glory. AMEN!
Happy Birthday!
Daddy and Mommy
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
More of My LIfe Story
Last week, I shared about some of my early years, when things really became rough in my life. It was in this post - http://www.chrisjarrell.com/2010/10/25-years-ago-on-102785.html
Here is the second part of the story.
__________________________________________________________________
In the summer between my freshman and sophomore years, I began the transition of living with my dad and step-mom. A part of this transition was a transition to a new school, I was attending West Potomac, but moving over to the city of Alexandria, I began to attend TC Williams High School (the school from the movie Remember the Titans).
During this transition, I thought I was going to get an opportunity to start fresh and start new, I remember thinking my life would be different, things were going to get better for me. So after starting my sophomore year, I found myself meeting and hanging with the guys who were doing drugs or could get me my drugs. One of the things, I loved about TC Williams was it was an open campus, in other words you can go off campus as long as you came back for classes. Parking was off campus. We had lots of freedom to go do what needed to do and come back.
Well I would go off of campus or go to someone's car, get some hits in or drop a tab of acid and head back to class. Lunchtime was when everyone left for an hour for lunch, I would go and hit a bong either at someone's house or smoke a couple joints at the old abandoned church that was across the street from the school. This became my life, my daily routine.
During this time, I really started to look at porn magazines and started see girl after girl. I had a few serious girlfriends but not very many. I also a lot more freedom with my dad and step-mom. I had a chance to go out a lot more and party more freely. So every weekend, I would find a party or create one of my own and drink...drink until I was totally wasted and then smoke some pot or drop some acid on top of that. A few time I did shoot up with heroine.
I was addicted! I was addicted to drugs, alcohol, porn and girls. I also started to get involved in theater as well, started acting. Theater became a outlet for me, I could be someone else. Also, I could hide behind a character or a persona. Also, several of my friends were involved in drama, so it was good way for us to hang out and do our thing on stage and then go smoke pot afterwards or drink or whatever else we wanted.
During this time in my life, I started to become very callous and hard towards people...looking back I think I had a hatred for people. I was afraid they were either going to hurt me, abuse me or shut me out so my only defense was to hate them and hurt them before they hurt me. This is when my anger and rage began to become more apparent and the fruit that anger and rage started to come out through violence towards myself and others.
Where I lived with my dad, was in a high rise apartment where several people my age or older than me lived, of course they all either did drugs or drank heavily, so I didn't even have to out to drink, I could just stayed around our building and hung out with these new friends especially some of the older guys who always had the best stash of pot I ever hit! Awesome pot that they grew and I was able to learn to grow as well.
Honestly, I really don't remember a whole lot from my tenth-twelfth grade years.
Here is what I do remember, having sex, looking at porn, doing drugs, drinking, partying, slacking at school eventually dropping out in my senior year, stealing my parents car, driving all over the place without them knowing it. In other words, I was totally completely screwed up...I also vaguely remember trying to commit suicide a handful of times. This included and not limited to standing on the tenth floor of my dad's balcony about ready to jump down to my death, I had a friend who pulled back over the rail before completed the task. Swallowing a whole bottle of Tylenol, ended up getting my stomach pumped. Trying to stab myself in the chest with bar b que skewers, it took both my dad and step mom to pull my the skewers away from chest. Swallowing a bottle of finger nail polished, which I just gagged up. I was messed up, I was not in my right mind...
Also, during this time I started attending a church. My brother, the one who left my house when I was 12. Well he was a live in caretaker at a church in the area and invited me to come to a youth service. I had no clue about church, never been, no idea who Jesus was, God any of it! I went! There were girls there..WIN! People were nice. They had food.
I would start out just going to youth, my dad would take me and drop me off. Have the time, I was stoned or tripping when I went. One thing, I remember was a the youth pastor, who kept reaching out to me, kept talking to me. I was very resistant to him at first, but eventually thought he was alright. So I started going to Sunday School, usually I went hungover. I also start doing other church functions, usually while I was high.
The youth pastor was always persistent, always called, always was checking up on me. He had a genuine concern for me and knowing what I know now, he was showing me the unconditional love of God. Today, that youth pastor is my best friend Mike Colon. He tells me now looking back at that time, that he honestly never thought I would make it to the age of 18. I was also the only youth that ever tried to beat him up (already mentioned my anger and rage issues.)
God started doing a work in me and I didn't even know it.
One of the biggest moments where that became evident was when I was throwing BYOB & BYOD party at my dad's place (remember it was in high rise apartment building -18 floors to be exact) Our apartment was a three bedroom apartment. Out of my infinite wisdom at the age of 17, I decided we should have live band at this party---nothing can go wrong with this idea right? We were a bunch of teenagers, drinking, smoking pot, dropping acid, shooting heroine and some were doing coke and we had a live band ---oh there were about 100 of us packed in! Nope nothing could go wrong.
To make this story short, cops were called, some notified us that cops were called and everyone disappeared in their own direction. A few of us stuck around and the band left their gear. While the cops never made there way up to our apartment...that night I got busted...not by the cops, I got busted by God.
I was so drunk, so high...so screwed up that I found myself on the bathroom floor ready to end my life either by overdose/alcohol poisoning or me wanting to take my own life. However, that night and in a moment God had me looking at my reflection in the mirror. As I looked at the mirror and as I looked at myself...I saw two things: I saw myself deteriorate begin wasting away, physically, mentally and emotionally. I also saw lives around me being destroyed because of my actions. Then it happened, I had first encounter with God, no he did not allow me to see His face or didn't speak to me with loud booming voice. He spoke to my inner core, my soul say I have something greater for than this. I want to take care of you and get you through this stuff.
On that bathroom, I had my GOSPEL MOMENT, where the Good News of God's Grace and Mercy became so real and tangible to me. Where I sense God's love and arms wrapped around me..where I felt like someone greater than me would take care of me and help me through the mess I made of my life. Someone who would free me of this PRISON I found myself lock in. On that bathroom, in a moment I called out...I actually cried out to God to help me through this. That if he allowed me to live through this night, that I would not touch another drug or drink another drink alcohol again and that I would give my life totally to Him.
I don't remember a whole lot past that those words, what I do know is that I woke up the next morning not puking my guts out or feeling cloudy in my head. I woke up like nothing happened, clear minded for the first time in a long time...I woke up with weight lifted off of me. I did not turn back to drugs and alcohol at all after that night.
I was still screwed up and messed up, I still had my struggle with girls and pornography. I still wasn't into school.
My senior year, I started to dating this girl who graduate back in June. I "LOVED" her so much, I meant every moment with her, including those moments I was supposed to be in school. We were very sexually active. I thought she was "the one". We actually were planning to get get married or so I thought.
We broke up like three or four times but always got back together to find ourselves in the same place. We also went to church and youth group together.
During this time my addiction to porn continue to grow and foster, of course I suppressed it. It was something I looked at in private. But I did not realize how much of a hold that pornography had a hold on me...this became another dark PRISON I found myself in for a long time to come (I will share more about this in part three of my story). If I can be candid and real: Pornography is an addiction, it is a sickness, and you are heavily involved you need to get help. You need to allow the light to shine in that dark place. Allow God to redeem you and show you His grace and mercy in this area of you life. Also, if you are a parent of teenager, this is something that is becoming more and more of an issue with teens.
At midway point of my senior, I pretty much stop going altogether to school, with that I wasn't going to graduate (eventually about a year afterwards I got my GED).
It was also in the middle of my senior year, January 1992, was the time I broke up for good with the girl I was so serious about and it was during that time I met another girl (2 weeks after I broke up with the girl that was "the one".) I met another girl.
I met this girl at a youth retreat, she was a friend of another girl that I knew from church. They have know each other for awhile and went to school with each other. The girl that I knew invite this girl to church a few times, (I never met her though during those few times) and earlier in January this girl put her faith in Christ after growing in the Jewish faith.
On February 1, 1992, my life radically change and began to get better. That girl that I met at that youth retreat was Lora, my wife of 17 years. Looking back to that time, I don't know what she saw me or why she agreed to go out with me. Others that knew me and knew my history advised to stay far, far, far away from me. People told her to avoid me and don't get near. I guess I am thankful for her rebellion. We have been together ever since.
Not too long after that time, I decided that I need to get serious about my faith, so in March of that year, I was praying and seeking the Lord's will for my life. Since, I knew I wasn't going to graduate, I ask the Lord to give me direction for my life, I needed direction. I had no idea was next for me.
The Lord, was kind and gracious enough to speak to me during that March evening. He spoke to me through Scripture, Jeremiah 1 and through that still small but confirming voice. God was calling me into ministry, He was calling me as He as called Jeremiah to minister back to his own people, he was calling back to the place where I grew up to the people who were like me, broken and hurt. He was calling to youth who have or are currently going through similar life experience I went through. He was calling me to cry out and stand up for those who were broken and abused.
It was that calling, that time that the trajectory of my life started to move me forward. But before I could truly move forward, there was the past I had to deal with and confront and there was a bunch of baggage I had to unload.
I am going to end this chapter here..and pick up the third part next week. But before I do...here is the baggage and the junk I had to deal with...bitterness towards my mom (unforgiveness issues), anger (my reaction to things was very destructive), insecurities, forgiving myself of stupid mistakes of the past, and pornography the issue that I "kept to myself".
Here is the second part of the story.
__________________________________________________________________
In the summer between my freshman and sophomore years, I began the transition of living with my dad and step-mom. A part of this transition was a transition to a new school, I was attending West Potomac, but moving over to the city of Alexandria, I began to attend TC Williams High School (the school from the movie Remember the Titans).
During this transition, I thought I was going to get an opportunity to start fresh and start new, I remember thinking my life would be different, things were going to get better for me. So after starting my sophomore year, I found myself meeting and hanging with the guys who were doing drugs or could get me my drugs. One of the things, I loved about TC Williams was it was an open campus, in other words you can go off campus as long as you came back for classes. Parking was off campus. We had lots of freedom to go do what needed to do and come back.
Well I would go off of campus or go to someone's car, get some hits in or drop a tab of acid and head back to class. Lunchtime was when everyone left for an hour for lunch, I would go and hit a bong either at someone's house or smoke a couple joints at the old abandoned church that was across the street from the school. This became my life, my daily routine.
During this time, I really started to look at porn magazines and started see girl after girl. I had a few serious girlfriends but not very many. I also a lot more freedom with my dad and step-mom. I had a chance to go out a lot more and party more freely. So every weekend, I would find a party or create one of my own and drink...drink until I was totally wasted and then smoke some pot or drop some acid on top of that. A few time I did shoot up with heroine.
I was addicted! I was addicted to drugs, alcohol, porn and girls. I also started to get involved in theater as well, started acting. Theater became a outlet for me, I could be someone else. Also, I could hide behind a character or a persona. Also, several of my friends were involved in drama, so it was good way for us to hang out and do our thing on stage and then go smoke pot afterwards or drink or whatever else we wanted.
During this time in my life, I started to become very callous and hard towards people...looking back I think I had a hatred for people. I was afraid they were either going to hurt me, abuse me or shut me out so my only defense was to hate them and hurt them before they hurt me. This is when my anger and rage began to become more apparent and the fruit that anger and rage started to come out through violence towards myself and others.
Where I lived with my dad, was in a high rise apartment where several people my age or older than me lived, of course they all either did drugs or drank heavily, so I didn't even have to out to drink, I could just stayed around our building and hung out with these new friends especially some of the older guys who always had the best stash of pot I ever hit! Awesome pot that they grew and I was able to learn to grow as well.
Honestly, I really don't remember a whole lot from my tenth-twelfth grade years.
Here is what I do remember, having sex, looking at porn, doing drugs, drinking, partying, slacking at school eventually dropping out in my senior year, stealing my parents car, driving all over the place without them knowing it. In other words, I was totally completely screwed up...I also vaguely remember trying to commit suicide a handful of times. This included and not limited to standing on the tenth floor of my dad's balcony about ready to jump down to my death, I had a friend who pulled back over the rail before completed the task. Swallowing a whole bottle of Tylenol, ended up getting my stomach pumped. Trying to stab myself in the chest with bar b que skewers, it took both my dad and step mom to pull my the skewers away from chest. Swallowing a bottle of finger nail polished, which I just gagged up. I was messed up, I was not in my right mind...
Also, during this time I started attending a church. My brother, the one who left my house when I was 12. Well he was a live in caretaker at a church in the area and invited me to come to a youth service. I had no clue about church, never been, no idea who Jesus was, God any of it! I went! There were girls there..WIN! People were nice. They had food.
I would start out just going to youth, my dad would take me and drop me off. Have the time, I was stoned or tripping when I went. One thing, I remember was a the youth pastor, who kept reaching out to me, kept talking to me. I was very resistant to him at first, but eventually thought he was alright. So I started going to Sunday School, usually I went hungover. I also start doing other church functions, usually while I was high.
The youth pastor was always persistent, always called, always was checking up on me. He had a genuine concern for me and knowing what I know now, he was showing me the unconditional love of God. Today, that youth pastor is my best friend Mike Colon. He tells me now looking back at that time, that he honestly never thought I would make it to the age of 18. I was also the only youth that ever tried to beat him up (already mentioned my anger and rage issues.)
God started doing a work in me and I didn't even know it.
One of the biggest moments where that became evident was when I was throwing BYOB & BYOD party at my dad's place (remember it was in high rise apartment building -18 floors to be exact) Our apartment was a three bedroom apartment. Out of my infinite wisdom at the age of 17, I decided we should have live band at this party---nothing can go wrong with this idea right? We were a bunch of teenagers, drinking, smoking pot, dropping acid, shooting heroine and some were doing coke and we had a live band ---oh there were about 100 of us packed in! Nope nothing could go wrong.
To make this story short, cops were called, some notified us that cops were called and everyone disappeared in their own direction. A few of us stuck around and the band left their gear. While the cops never made there way up to our apartment...that night I got busted...not by the cops, I got busted by God.
I was so drunk, so high...so screwed up that I found myself on the bathroom floor ready to end my life either by overdose/alcohol poisoning or me wanting to take my own life. However, that night and in a moment God had me looking at my reflection in the mirror. As I looked at the mirror and as I looked at myself...I saw two things: I saw myself deteriorate begin wasting away, physically, mentally and emotionally. I also saw lives around me being destroyed because of my actions. Then it happened, I had first encounter with God, no he did not allow me to see His face or didn't speak to me with loud booming voice. He spoke to my inner core, my soul say I have something greater for than this. I want to take care of you and get you through this stuff.
On that bathroom, I had my GOSPEL MOMENT, where the Good News of God's Grace and Mercy became so real and tangible to me. Where I sense God's love and arms wrapped around me..where I felt like someone greater than me would take care of me and help me through the mess I made of my life. Someone who would free me of this PRISON I found myself lock in. On that bathroom, in a moment I called out...I actually cried out to God to help me through this. That if he allowed me to live through this night, that I would not touch another drug or drink another drink alcohol again and that I would give my life totally to Him.
I don't remember a whole lot past that those words, what I do know is that I woke up the next morning not puking my guts out or feeling cloudy in my head. I woke up like nothing happened, clear minded for the first time in a long time...I woke up with weight lifted off of me. I did not turn back to drugs and alcohol at all after that night.
I was still screwed up and messed up, I still had my struggle with girls and pornography. I still wasn't into school.
My senior year, I started to dating this girl who graduate back in June. I "LOVED" her so much, I meant every moment with her, including those moments I was supposed to be in school. We were very sexually active. I thought she was "the one". We actually were planning to get get married or so I thought.
We broke up like three or four times but always got back together to find ourselves in the same place. We also went to church and youth group together.
During this time my addiction to porn continue to grow and foster, of course I suppressed it. It was something I looked at in private. But I did not realize how much of a hold that pornography had a hold on me...this became another dark PRISON I found myself in for a long time to come (I will share more about this in part three of my story). If I can be candid and real: Pornography is an addiction, it is a sickness, and you are heavily involved you need to get help. You need to allow the light to shine in that dark place. Allow God to redeem you and show you His grace and mercy in this area of you life. Also, if you are a parent of teenager, this is something that is becoming more and more of an issue with teens.
At midway point of my senior, I pretty much stop going altogether to school, with that I wasn't going to graduate (eventually about a year afterwards I got my GED).
It was also in the middle of my senior year, January 1992, was the time I broke up for good with the girl I was so serious about and it was during that time I met another girl (2 weeks after I broke up with the girl that was "the one".) I met another girl.
I met this girl at a youth retreat, she was a friend of another girl that I knew from church. They have know each other for awhile and went to school with each other. The girl that I knew invite this girl to church a few times, (I never met her though during those few times) and earlier in January this girl put her faith in Christ after growing in the Jewish faith.
On February 1, 1992, my life radically change and began to get better. That girl that I met at that youth retreat was Lora, my wife of 17 years. Looking back to that time, I don't know what she saw me or why she agreed to go out with me. Others that knew me and knew my history advised to stay far, far, far away from me. People told her to avoid me and don't get near. I guess I am thankful for her rebellion. We have been together ever since.
Not too long after that time, I decided that I need to get serious about my faith, so in March of that year, I was praying and seeking the Lord's will for my life. Since, I knew I wasn't going to graduate, I ask the Lord to give me direction for my life, I needed direction. I had no idea was next for me.
The Lord, was kind and gracious enough to speak to me during that March evening. He spoke to me through Scripture, Jeremiah 1 and through that still small but confirming voice. God was calling me into ministry, He was calling me as He as called Jeremiah to minister back to his own people, he was calling back to the place where I grew up to the people who were like me, broken and hurt. He was calling to youth who have or are currently going through similar life experience I went through. He was calling me to cry out and stand up for those who were broken and abused.
It was that calling, that time that the trajectory of my life started to move me forward. But before I could truly move forward, there was the past I had to deal with and confront and there was a bunch of baggage I had to unload.
I am going to end this chapter here..and pick up the third part next week. But before I do...here is the baggage and the junk I had to deal with...bitterness towards my mom (unforgiveness issues), anger (my reaction to things was very destructive), insecurities, forgiving myself of stupid mistakes of the past, and pornography the issue that I "kept to myself".
Friday, October 22, 2010
What Do You Strive For In Life?
I love/hate this question. The below question was mentioned in the latest blog post at the LXVI: From Garden to City post by Nina Schmidgall.
As we check our motivation of why we do what we do in life and/or career it might be worth us ask this very question.
“What do you most strive for in your life: accomplishment, love, security, power, excitement, knowledge, or something else?”
Check out Nina's post to get a deeper insight - Here
As we check our motivation of why we do what we do in life and/or career it might be worth us ask this very question.
“What do you most strive for in your life: accomplishment, love, security, power, excitement, knowledge, or something else?”
Check out Nina's post to get a deeper insight - Here
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Book: The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons - Chapters 1 & 2
I am going through the book, The Next Christian: How a Generation Is Restoring the Faith by Gabe Lyons. I will be going through book a few chapters at a time mark down some great quotes I come across and some questions I am challenged by and questions we need to ask ourselves.
I would love for any of my blog readers to enter the discussion. It doesn't matter where you fall in your faith. If you are someone who does not a faith any thing, or a new believer in the Christian faith, someone has a believe in another faith or a long time follower of Christ.
I may do this as a small group for any and all people who are interested in furthering this conversation. Again, no matter where you are at in your faith or not in your faith I want your voice to be added to this conversation.
Chapter 1: A Fading Reality
Questions to Ask:
What does mission look like in America in 21st century?
How should the message of the Gospel go forward?
What does it mean to be a Christian in a world that is disenchanted with our movement?
Are we proud to carry the label of Christian? Why or why not?
How can we have the label Christianity mean something good, intelligent, authentic, true and beautiful?
How are we demonstrating God's love, not with our words but in deed?
What does the "brand" of Christianity mean to you?
How can we envision our faith?
Quotes:
"The church used to occupy the center of culture in the West."
"Houses of worship were also places of artistic and musical innovation."
"if we fail to offer a different way forward, we risk losing an entire generation to apathy and cynicism."
Chapter 2:The New Normal
Questions to Ask:
Can you have "no faith" in anything and have faith in something?
How can our faith and allegiance in Jesus make sense to a skeptical audience?
Do people want a defense of Christianity or do they want something real and tangible?
How do we determine what "expert" voices we choose to believe? Are they only based on our values or experiences?
What feeds into skepticism?
How are people reacting to the control of Christianity has wielded over the thoughts and minds of society for so long?
At one time for centuries, the church has played a dominant role in civic and cultural communities. What changed and why? Should church get back to being the most creative organization/organism on the planet?
In times and centuries past, churches/Christians have adapted to culture? Why does churches and Christian have problems adapting to culture now?
What will happen if churches are willing to adapt to the culture? (I AM NOT SAYING TO COMPROMISE THE GOSPEL OR GOD'S WORD---just how we present it to a changing world.)
What is the post-Christian narrative?
Are most people actually seeking truth? What does that mean? How can people find truth?
Could the end of Christian America become the stirrings of something beautiful?
For non-believers, how does Christianity affect your worldview? How does the Christian faith impact your life?
For believers, how does a post-Christian culture affect your worldview? How does the lack of Christian faith impact your life?
Quotes:
"They wanted something that could make sense out of their sordid lives-that wanted meaning, purpose-anything but the dusty claims of two-thousand-year-old religion."
"Since the early 1900s, values like speed and progress have crept into prevailing thought-including faith."
"More technology leads to more distractions from faith practices and more "expert" voices leads to more institutional skepticism."
"Rather than accept the inertia of tradition, the next generation doesn't hesitate to question it."
"Our nation's founders were influenced by Christian ideas, but they were also wise enough to structure America to allow for pluralistic setting, -a place where all faiths could be practiced and no faith would be given the upper hand."
"Much of our world's messaging impels us to trust nothing and believe no one, especially people or institutions that claim absolute certainty."
"If postmodernism rejects absolute certainty, it necessarily conflicts with a faith that claims to be certain about so much. Proclaiming in no uncertain terms to have the single answer to life's greatest problems, the Christian advance is being met with cynicism."
"Our daily patterns are structured around the eclectic mix of lifestyle choices."
"Instead of anchoring their center, some churches have become a convenient location where Christians can drop in without disrupting their normal routine."
"The church has stealthily moved from the center of life to the periphery."
"Rather than adapt, a significant group of Christians chose to react. They are resisting change -unaware of the full implications of their response."
"In the midst of change, the promise of good news is palpable. For those attuned to it, enormous possibilities await."
Thoughts? Responses? Answers? More Questions? Your worldview? Engage in the conversation.
I would love for any of my blog readers to enter the discussion. It doesn't matter where you fall in your faith. If you are someone who does not a faith any thing, or a new believer in the Christian faith, someone has a believe in another faith or a long time follower of Christ.
I may do this as a small group for any and all people who are interested in furthering this conversation. Again, no matter where you are at in your faith or not in your faith I want your voice to be added to this conversation.
Chapter 1: A Fading Reality
Questions to Ask:
What does mission look like in America in 21st century?
How should the message of the Gospel go forward?
What does it mean to be a Christian in a world that is disenchanted with our movement?
Are we proud to carry the label of Christian? Why or why not?
How can we have the label Christianity mean something good, intelligent, authentic, true and beautiful?
How are we demonstrating God's love, not with our words but in deed?
What does the "brand" of Christianity mean to you?
How can we envision our faith?
Quotes:
"The church used to occupy the center of culture in the West."
"Houses of worship were also places of artistic and musical innovation."
"if we fail to offer a different way forward, we risk losing an entire generation to apathy and cynicism."
Chapter 2:The New Normal
Questions to Ask:
Can you have "no faith" in anything and have faith in something?
How can our faith and allegiance in Jesus make sense to a skeptical audience?
Do people want a defense of Christianity or do they want something real and tangible?
How do we determine what "expert" voices we choose to believe? Are they only based on our values or experiences?
What feeds into skepticism?
How are people reacting to the control of Christianity has wielded over the thoughts and minds of society for so long?
At one time for centuries, the church has played a dominant role in civic and cultural communities. What changed and why? Should church get back to being the most creative organization/organism on the planet?
In times and centuries past, churches/Christians have adapted to culture? Why does churches and Christian have problems adapting to culture now?
What will happen if churches are willing to adapt to the culture? (I AM NOT SAYING TO COMPROMISE THE GOSPEL OR GOD'S WORD---just how we present it to a changing world.)
What is the post-Christian narrative?
Are most people actually seeking truth? What does that mean? How can people find truth?
Could the end of Christian America become the stirrings of something beautiful?
For non-believers, how does Christianity affect your worldview? How does the Christian faith impact your life?
For believers, how does a post-Christian culture affect your worldview? How does the lack of Christian faith impact your life?
Quotes:
"They wanted something that could make sense out of their sordid lives-that wanted meaning, purpose-anything but the dusty claims of two-thousand-year-old religion."
"Since the early 1900s, values like speed and progress have crept into prevailing thought-including faith."
"More technology leads to more distractions from faith practices and more "expert" voices leads to more institutional skepticism."
"Rather than accept the inertia of tradition, the next generation doesn't hesitate to question it."
"Our nation's founders were influenced by Christian ideas, but they were also wise enough to structure America to allow for pluralistic setting, -a place where all faiths could be practiced and no faith would be given the upper hand."
"Much of our world's messaging impels us to trust nothing and believe no one, especially people or institutions that claim absolute certainty."
"If postmodernism rejects absolute certainty, it necessarily conflicts with a faith that claims to be certain about so much. Proclaiming in no uncertain terms to have the single answer to life's greatest problems, the Christian advance is being met with cynicism."
"Our daily patterns are structured around the eclectic mix of lifestyle choices."
"Instead of anchoring their center, some churches have become a convenient location where Christians can drop in without disrupting their normal routine."
"The church has stealthily moved from the center of life to the periphery."
"Rather than adapt, a significant group of Christians chose to react. They are resisting change -unaware of the full implications of their response."
"In the midst of change, the promise of good news is palpable. For those attuned to it, enormous possibilities await."
Thoughts? Responses? Answers? More Questions? Your worldview? Engage in the conversation.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
25 Years Ago on 10/27/85
That date is significant for two reasons...I just turned 12 years on that date! That is all the date that my older brother walked out of my house after getting in a HUGE fight with my mom!
That night, I remember vividly like it was yesterday, began to shape who I am and in many what I was to be come.
My parents were already divorced. I would see my dad every other weekend. My mom had me on lockdown confined to the house, but no further then the borders of our fence. The image of my brother coming home from work because he was having some kind of health issue at work at the time he was 18 and just graduated from high school the June before. His girlfriend at the time wanted to come over and check on him to see how he was doing. However, my mom would not allow it, he was on lockdown too even as an adult. Well my brother broke and then all hell broke loose in that house at 7017 Grove Rd. Alexandria, VA I remember loud and intense yelling, I remember some pushing and then out of no where my brother who was 6' 300+ lbs had my mom down of the floor with a black rotary phone coiled telephone cord wrapped around my my throat on our pink plush carpet floor.
However, instead choking or strangling my my mom, he got up and stormed out the door and that was the last time I saw my big brother as my protector, my hero, and my friend.
See at one time, I followed my big brother who was 7 years older than I was all over the place, I was that obnoxious little brother, but my brother put up with me and in my ways he took care of me, he became my protector when I would pick fights and he was the one that I could always turn to in tough situations.
From that night on my 12th birthday that all changed in a blink of an eye. My world changed...my life changed for the worse. I started down a road that was messed up for about six years straight, a road where I could have easily destroyed my own life.
Not too long after that night, I started drinking and not just sips here and there but lots of alcohol. Not to long after that I started smoking pot. About a year after starting to smoke pot, I started dropping acid (LSD).
Also after this time, I felt the full wrath of my mom's rage and anger. She begin verbally abuse me and tell me I was nothing and I was going to be nothing in life. I also felt her wrath physically as well. I remember one time where she was on top of while I was on my bed pounding the life out me with her fist in my mouth, I had braces on and my mouth was bloody like a boxer who had just been in a 15 round battle. I also remember the time my my was whipping me so hard with a paddle, that part of the paddle hit me and the other part hit my bed and split in half.
During that time and years to come, I felt alone, I felt empty, I felt like was nothing, I felt like I wouldn't be anything or do any of significance, I even thought what was the point of living. I felt abandoned and forsaken by my brother, who I was close to but not anymore. My mother, who I thought was suppose love me and hold me in loving arms. I felt I was better off dead than alive.
My world was crashing down around me. I felt loss, I felt like I was in a very dark place that there was no way to escape. I also began to become very angry. Angry at no one in particular and at the same time pissed at the world, I wanted to others before they hurt me.
Then another blow hit me when I was 14 just entering the ninth grade, I was dating a girl who was in the tenth grade. We were to suppose go to a party together, like always I was always on lockdown, I couldn't even use the phone my mom would remove the receiver fromthe phone so I couldn't even make calls. Well my girlfriend went to this party without me, and like many parties I went to, there were lots of drugs, acid, pot, some heroine and at this one in particular cocaine.
Before my girlfriend, Kim, met me she never did a drug...after being together for a few months she started smoking pot with me. Well at this particular she decided to do cocaine with friends of mine. I never used cocaine, I might if I was with her, not sure, that drug always frightened me. Well at this party someone had a gun. The decided while totally wasted on cocaine, that they would play a game of russian roulette. The game where there are six chambers and one bullet and you take turn revolving the chambers and then shooting it the gun into your mouth or into your head. Well that night Kim, was the winner, she got the bullet straight in her mouth to her brain and she died instantly with blood against the dining room wall.
Someone else that left me, someone else who wasn't around. Someone else who I loved that was gone. I was screaming out with nothing coming out of my mouth. I was crying with no tears. I was hurting deeply with no visible wounds. I wanted to end my life! I felt hopeless and helpless!
Then the summer between my ninth and tenth grade year, while I was on vacation in Tennessee visiting my grandparents. I actually stayed with my grandparents an extra week longer while my dad and step mom went back home. While I was gone my dad received a letter from my mom in the mail, saying she was giving up custody of me and that I was now the responsibility of my dad.
This become another pivotal point in my life. This time became a slow turning point for me. However, I want to stop here. I will continue the rest of the story soon.
__________________________________________________________________
So why do I share this story now? For several reasons, first of all, before there is a resurrection there must be death.
Second, this is the 25 year anniversary where my life radically changed where death and darkness entered in.
Third, God redeemed my birthday two years ago when I was 35 with my amazing little boy Torin Christopher Jarrell, Torin was born on my 35th birthday.
Fourth, I have greater appreciation for my life and live my life to the fullest now.
Finally, I share my story as a way to let others know where I have come from and how my life has been redeemed and restored.
That night, I remember vividly like it was yesterday, began to shape who I am and in many what I was to be come.
My parents were already divorced. I would see my dad every other weekend. My mom had me on lockdown confined to the house, but no further then the borders of our fence. The image of my brother coming home from work because he was having some kind of health issue at work at the time he was 18 and just graduated from high school the June before. His girlfriend at the time wanted to come over and check on him to see how he was doing. However, my mom would not allow it, he was on lockdown too even as an adult. Well my brother broke and then all hell broke loose in that house at 7017 Grove Rd. Alexandria, VA I remember loud and intense yelling, I remember some pushing and then out of no where my brother who was 6' 300+ lbs had my mom down of the floor with a black rotary phone coiled telephone cord wrapped around my my throat on our pink plush carpet floor.
However, instead choking or strangling my my mom, he got up and stormed out the door and that was the last time I saw my big brother as my protector, my hero, and my friend.
See at one time, I followed my big brother who was 7 years older than I was all over the place, I was that obnoxious little brother, but my brother put up with me and in my ways he took care of me, he became my protector when I would pick fights and he was the one that I could always turn to in tough situations.
From that night on my 12th birthday that all changed in a blink of an eye. My world changed...my life changed for the worse. I started down a road that was messed up for about six years straight, a road where I could have easily destroyed my own life.
Not too long after that night, I started drinking and not just sips here and there but lots of alcohol. Not to long after that I started smoking pot. About a year after starting to smoke pot, I started dropping acid (LSD).
Also after this time, I felt the full wrath of my mom's rage and anger. She begin verbally abuse me and tell me I was nothing and I was going to be nothing in life. I also felt her wrath physically as well. I remember one time where she was on top of while I was on my bed pounding the life out me with her fist in my mouth, I had braces on and my mouth was bloody like a boxer who had just been in a 15 round battle. I also remember the time my my was whipping me so hard with a paddle, that part of the paddle hit me and the other part hit my bed and split in half.
During that time and years to come, I felt alone, I felt empty, I felt like was nothing, I felt like I wouldn't be anything or do any of significance, I even thought what was the point of living. I felt abandoned and forsaken by my brother, who I was close to but not anymore. My mother, who I thought was suppose love me and hold me in loving arms. I felt I was better off dead than alive.
My world was crashing down around me. I felt loss, I felt like I was in a very dark place that there was no way to escape. I also began to become very angry. Angry at no one in particular and at the same time pissed at the world, I wanted to others before they hurt me.
Then another blow hit me when I was 14 just entering the ninth grade, I was dating a girl who was in the tenth grade. We were to suppose go to a party together, like always I was always on lockdown, I couldn't even use the phone my mom would remove the receiver fromthe phone so I couldn't even make calls. Well my girlfriend went to this party without me, and like many parties I went to, there were lots of drugs, acid, pot, some heroine and at this one in particular cocaine.
Before my girlfriend, Kim, met me she never did a drug...after being together for a few months she started smoking pot with me. Well at this particular she decided to do cocaine with friends of mine. I never used cocaine, I might if I was with her, not sure, that drug always frightened me. Well at this party someone had a gun. The decided while totally wasted on cocaine, that they would play a game of russian roulette. The game where there are six chambers and one bullet and you take turn revolving the chambers and then shooting it the gun into your mouth or into your head. Well that night Kim, was the winner, she got the bullet straight in her mouth to her brain and she died instantly with blood against the dining room wall.
Someone else that left me, someone else who wasn't around. Someone else who I loved that was gone. I was screaming out with nothing coming out of my mouth. I was crying with no tears. I was hurting deeply with no visible wounds. I wanted to end my life! I felt hopeless and helpless!
Then the summer between my ninth and tenth grade year, while I was on vacation in Tennessee visiting my grandparents. I actually stayed with my grandparents an extra week longer while my dad and step mom went back home. While I was gone my dad received a letter from my mom in the mail, saying she was giving up custody of me and that I was now the responsibility of my dad.
This become another pivotal point in my life. This time became a slow turning point for me. However, I want to stop here. I will continue the rest of the story soon.
__________________________________________________________________
So why do I share this story now? For several reasons, first of all, before there is a resurrection there must be death.
Second, this is the 25 year anniversary where my life radically changed where death and darkness entered in.
Third, God redeemed my birthday two years ago when I was 35 with my amazing little boy Torin Christopher Jarrell, Torin was born on my 35th birthday.
Fourth, I have greater appreciation for my life and live my life to the fullest now.
Finally, I share my story as a way to let others know where I have come from and how my life has been redeemed and restored.
Who are the People God has Put In Your Life?
Very simple question. But I think we need to really need to be intentional and think about that question.
Who are the people who have poured into your life? Who are the people that have inspired you? Who are those who have influenced you? Who are the ones that you are able to influence and inspire? Who are those individuals that are a part of your refinement process? Who are those people who are able to speak hard truth and loving grace into situations and circumstances?
God has put a bunch of people in my life who have helped shape into the person that I am right now. People have inspired me, influenced me, people and encouraged and refined me along the way in both life and ministry.
I want to give huge props and thanks for those people who have challenged me, inspired me, influenced, and refined me and many continue to do so...
Lora, Jarrell, Mike Colon, Mike Buckley, Tim Cerce, Tom Gulbronson, Heather Zempel, Mark Batterson, Joel Schmidgall, Jason Yost, Dave Schmidgall, Jon Chevalley, Kurtis Parks, Mike Whitford, My parents, David Simon, Will Wardlaw, Jeremy Sexton, Clarence Geter, & John Hasler
These people have and some continue to make huge impact on my life! There are others that are also a part of my life I know I am learning from and growing in my faith with that will make me a better person as I continue to grow and develop both personally as a Christian and as a pastor.
Who are the people who have poured into your life? Who are the people that have inspired you? Who are those who have influenced you? Who are the ones that you are able to influence and inspire? Who are those individuals that are a part of your refinement process? Who are those people who are able to speak hard truth and loving grace into situations and circumstances?
God has put a bunch of people in my life who have helped shape into the person that I am right now. People have inspired me, influenced me, people and encouraged and refined me along the way in both life and ministry.
I want to give huge props and thanks for those people who have challenged me, inspired me, influenced, and refined me and many continue to do so...
Lora, Jarrell, Mike Colon, Mike Buckley, Tim Cerce, Tom Gulbronson, Heather Zempel, Mark Batterson, Joel Schmidgall, Jason Yost, Dave Schmidgall, Jon Chevalley, Kurtis Parks, Mike Whitford, My parents, David Simon, Will Wardlaw, Jeremy Sexton, Clarence Geter, & John Hasler
These people have and some continue to make huge impact on my life! There are others that are also a part of my life I know I am learning from and growing in my faith with that will make me a better person as I continue to grow and develop both personally as a Christian and as a pastor.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Writings of the Next Generation or Text Generation
I have cousin who is 18 years old, he is on Facebook, as read his statuses, I get more and more frustrated that this is language and the writings of the next generation. Is this how they are learning to write? It is like a whole new language.
I am the first one to tell you that my grammar is horrible. My writings are not good...but this, this is a whole new language. It bugs me and I don't know why...is it possible books will written in this form in the future? Will people be writing like this all the time in the future?
What do you think about this writing? I guess this is the writings of the TEXT Generations...here are a few examples.
U kno u got sum1 special if u gna wait 4dem n do anythng 4dem wen eva dey need2 n wen u dwn dey make u happy n smile n dey gve u sumthn 2luk 4ward2always
Cnt do it anymre i dnt thnk im strng enough i jus wana go nw idk wat 2do
at da crib thinkin of wat to do today bord out my mind watchin ladder 49 gota go to work today at 3 n i wont getg off till late cuz todays truck gone b loaded so i gota lot of work to day today
Wow iv waitd n tryd to get wit you 4so lng now n now i geta date finaly lol wensday cnt wait babe
U kno wat fuk it if u gota dream chase it :) im chasen mine im nt wrryd bout anythng anymore bt my dream im chasein no youngins bills ppl or nuffn ima make it
I am the first one to tell you that my grammar is horrible. My writings are not good...but this, this is a whole new language. It bugs me and I don't know why...is it possible books will written in this form in the future? Will people be writing like this all the time in the future?
What do you think about this writing? I guess this is the writings of the TEXT Generations...here are a few examples.
U kno u got sum1 special if u gna wait 4dem n do anythng 4dem wen eva dey need2 n wen u dwn dey make u happy n smile n dey gve u sumthn 2luk 4ward2always
Cnt do it anymre i dnt thnk im strng enough i jus wana go nw idk wat 2do
at da crib thinkin of wat to do today bord out my mind watchin ladder 49 gota go to work today at 3 n i wont getg off till late cuz todays truck gone b loaded so i gota lot of work to day today
Wow iv waitd n tryd to get wit you 4so lng now n now i geta date finaly lol wensday cnt wait babe
U kno wat fuk it if u gota dream chase it :) im chasen mine im nt wrryd bout anythng anymore bt my dream im chasein no youngins bills ppl or nuffn ima make it
Gospel Series: Making All Things New (Rough Notes)
The following are the rough notes from the message I preached at NCC Kingstowne yesterday 10/17/2010 --- I was off notes for much of the message...here is my train of thought for those who missed it or want to see what God put on my heart to share.
I also share about a personal Gospel moment for me, not the time I actually came to faith. But the time, I actually understood the realities of Hebrews 10 and accepted the Truth of my faith.
I was at a point in my life and ministry , where I was dealing with the baggage of anger and sin effects of my anger, as well as an addiction to pornography. I shared that Gospel moment in the light of Hebrews 10 and within the context of this message.
If you have any thoughts or questions, perhaps you would even like to talk to me deeper about the message or the above issues I mentioned. Would love to connect...
GOSPEL: MAKING ALL THINGS NEW
This morning, we continue our series GOSPEL, we are looking at the gospel from four biblical angles: Leviticus, Hebrews, Matthew, and Romans. The goal? We want everyone to understand the gospel backwards and forwards and inside out.
This weekend, each Campus Pastor across all six of our locations will be tackling the second dimension of the GOSPEL by unpacking Hebrews 10.
We all want NEW THINGS: New cars, new homes, new jobs, new clothes, new spouses ☺, the newest technology, new kids, new music…we aren’t satisfied with the old!
This morning, as we are going to walk through Hebrews 10 together, we will see how Jesus has come to make ALL THINGS NEW.
First, we must understand that Hebrews 8, 9 and 10 are unbelievably repetitive It's like the author of Hebrews is going to say, “Okay, if you miss everything else I say and if you don't get anything else I say in this book, you've got to get this.” And so twelve times in three chapters, he's going to talk about symbols and pictures and these things that are a symbol of something, but they aren't that full on thing.
As you can see, Israel’s sacrificial system was a good gift from God. It served as the means by which He continually renewed His covenant with His people. However, it was never intended to be an end in itself. As our passage is going to point out, the sacrifices offered in Israel’s temple didn’t actually atone for sin. Instead, they pointed forward to something else. As we think about our readings from this past week from Leviticus is a foreshadowing of Christ’s work…everything points towards what Christ has done for us and this is the Gospel, Good News, THE BREAKING NEWS. This is why the writer of Hebrews says that they were a “shadow,” rather than the actual reality. Like a shadow, they provided an outline of the good things that God would provide for His people in the future, but they themselves were not the substance.
Hebrews makes a unique contribution to the New Testament witness to Jesus Christ because of its emphasis that Jesus came as the fulfillment of all of the institutions and offices at the heart of the Jewish religion, especially the tabernacle / temple, the sacrificial system, and the priesthood. These emphases are central to the meaning of this weekend’s passage of Scriptures. Please turn with me to Hebrews 10:1-20.
Let us start with Hebrews 10:1, if you have your Bibles I challenge you to read along or if you don’t have one with you, you can follow along on the screen…
1 The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 2 If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.
So if you have been reading along with us in the Bible Reading Plan LXVI: From Garden to City, we just got out of the book of Leviticus…you can not read this passage Scripture without reading the book of Leviticus.
Our passage, in Hebrews 10, begins with a discussion of the Old Testament law, and by the context we know that the writer is talking about the Old Testament sacrificial system in Leviticus, which God had instituted in Israel’s law. Christians typically understand this system as the means by which God provided atonement for the sins of His people. The sacrifices are seen as the way in which God provided, or promised to provide, forgiveness for the wrongs that His people had committed against Him, thus restoring them to right relation with Himself.
However, the meaning of Israel’s sacrificial system was not strictly limited to the concept of forgiveness of sins. In fact, the temple sacrifices actually served three different purposes in Israel’s worship:
1. There were sacrifices for cleansing from sin (the sin offering and guilt offering). 2. There were sacrifices for the consecration of the worshipper to God (the whole burnt offering).
3. And there were sacrifices that signified the communion (or fellowship) that believers enjoy with their God (the peace offering).
When more than one sacrifice was offered, they typically followed this order: cleansing first, then consecration, and then communion (reference to Leviticus 9 and other passages in Leviticus). This order reveals something about the regular order of worship in the Old Testament. First, sin had to be dealt with. Second, the worshipper had to be wholly devoted (or consecrated) unto the Lord. Third, the worshipper enjoyed fellowship with the Lord by sharing a meal with Him (many the feasts that we read about in Leviticus).
Here’s the point I want to get to: None of these Sacrifices were sufficient. None of these Sacrifices and Offerings we read about in Leviticus, the instructions that were given to Moses was Sufficient or a long time solution for humankind’s condition---what is humankind’s condition?
We are all sinners…because we are all sinners, to be in a right relation with God we need a sacrifice, a blood sacrifice. As we look back at the sacrifices that Moses was instructed to make for sin we see it was not working, as we just read in verse 2, He's saying, “Hey listen, it's not working. You keep coming in, you keep confessing your junk to the priests, the priests continually tell you what to do is right, you keep killing animals, and yet you keep coming back. So, it's like you're taking medicine to get well, but the medicine's not working. But you keep just taking more and more of the medicine that's not working to try to get healthy. It's not working. If it worked, you'd quit coming to the tabernacle. If it finally worked in your hearts, if you finally confessed it, killed the animal and walked away, you wouldn't come back. But you keep coming back.”
The old ways, the old laws weren’t getting the job done. While they were foreshadowing or symbolic of what is to come, they simply weren’t a ideal solution for the issue of sin. Matter of fact let us look a little further at verse 3 & 4.
3 But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. 4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
So not only were these sacrifices not getting the job done, their conscience wasn’t being clean, they were holding on to their guilt.
Now, we've got an interesting thing happening, because God said, “Hey, sacrifice these bulls and goats for the removal of sin.” And now you've got God saying, “But they don't really remove sin.” And then He's going to explain it.
Verses 5-9:
5 That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God,
“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
But you have given me a body to offer.
6 You were not pleased with burnt offerings
or other offerings for sin.
7 Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—
as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”
8 First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.
So here it is, what was written in Psalm 40:6-8 the work of Jesus Christ on the cross thus makes the old covenant "obsolete".
Hebrews 8:13 puts it this way, When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.
It is Jesus’ perfect sacrifce , offered in complete submission, verse 9”I have come to do your will.”, supersedes and therefore replaces all previous sacrifices.
So, now you've got Jesus coming, saying, “This old way of you trying to do what you know is right, this old way of you trying to barter with me all the time, this old way of you coming into my temple and going, 'I've blown it again, but here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to do better or I'm going to stop doing this or here, take my sacrifice, let this sacrifice appease you for my failures.'” Jesus is saying, “That way is not working. I'm done. I'm coming, I'm removing the old system, I'm establishing a new one.”
I want to make an observation, I think we still get stuck there today…we come back again and again for the same issues. (My Personal Gospel Moment - Getting stuck offering my junk and mess to God over and over and over and over again) We still negotiate with God, if you take this sin away, I can do this for you. Jesus has taken care of it, there is nothing we can do on our part, there are no reasonable negotiations that can take place. Don’t get me wrong, we need to come to Him with hearts of repentance, we need to turn away from the old way of doing things…we need to allow what Christ has done to transform our lives, through that transformed life our only response is to run towards Him and stop running away.
Bottom line: Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for us and sufficient for all of our sins.
I want to stop there and touch on what it means to repent before we move on…REPENTENCE –
1. It is a response to what Christ has done
2. It is a response to the sin, iniquities, and transgressions in our life
3. It is a full understanding and acceptance of the Sacrifice Christ made on the Cross for our sins
4. It is the receiving of forgiveness that can only come from Christ
5. It is when we leave those things at the cross and turning away from them and going the opposite directions.
6. It is the running towards Jesus.
Now, let's read about the new way, because the new one is Good, Breaking News. Verse 10,
10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
That phrase MADE HOLY, the problem of how to approach a holy God has been solved once for all by the death of Christ. The meaning of verse 10 can be understood as the opposite of verse 1. That is to say, the sacrifice of Christ that was once for all instead of continually offered year after year is able to perfect those who approach God. In other words the sin problem that keeps us from approaching has been solved. It is possible to live without constant consciousness of sin.
That does not mean that our sins of the past are unimportant and can be easily and conveniently forgotten. It does not mean we cannot fall into sin. It does mean that we can live in fellowship and communion with God because the sacrifice of Christ was sufficient to be a once for all atonement for our sins.
Let us keep moving forward:
Verse 11-14
11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13 There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
The priests had to stand continually in their work. Their work continued daily and sacrifices had to be repeatedly offered. The priests could never sit down! But Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, having finished His work of sacrificing for sin.
The seated posture of Jesus is important. It shows that His work is finished. He doesn’t need to stand ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices as priests under the Old Covenant had to. Jesus still ministers in heaven - He has a ministry of intercession for His people. But that ministry flows from His completed work, so He can adopt a posture of rest - He sat down at the right hand of God.
The phrase in verse 14 --- he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.: This makes it plain that the work of Jesus is effective for those who are being sanctified. The work of Jesus is capable of saving every human being, but it is only effective in saving those who are being sanctified (set apart to God). ARE YOU SETTING YOURSELF APART FOR GOD? ARE YOU WILLING TO SET YOURSELF APART FROM YOUR SINS? (In my own personal mess, this is what I learned to do. This is what Christ has set me free to do.) The process of continual & progressive SANCTIFICATION – renewing that time where we are continuing to be Set Apart for God and His Purposes!
Let us Continue as we begin to wrap this up…
Verses 15-18
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,
16 “This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then he says,
“I will 16 “This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
So, no longer is the Law an external thing that is put on top of us that we have to bear externally, but now, He'll write it on our hearts. And out of the overflow from our heart, the life will live.
It's not a set of external rules given to the body of, “Dress this way, eat this way, don't eat this way, go here, don't go there...” It's not that set of rules; it is an impression on the heart, it is the Holy Spirit of God transforming the heart, mind and soul, that the still small voice of God whispering inside of us leads us into all righteousness.
People don't like this, because if you say this, you can't control people. But it's going to look different for some of us.
Some of us are going to get more freedom than others of us. And I know that people don't like that. People like the rules, they like the Law.
Some of you that listen to me preach and go on and use it as a license to sin. But that's not between me and you. I am not God's police. I'm going to preach grace. And if you take it and use it as a license to sin, that's between you and the Lord, not between me and you. I cannot police you, but I will tell you this: perfected once and for all, He writes it on our hearts and leads and guides us in the paths or righteousness. The question is not if you out and sin or you don't go out and sin, the question is...HOW WILL YOU RESPOND TO WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR YOU? WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO HIS AMAZING GRACE AND HIS AMAZING LOVE?
17 Then he says,
“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.”
18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.”
So, what just happened is Jesus says, “, I am no longer taking sacrificial offerings. The shop is shut down. It's done. It's over. You no longer have anything to bring to My altar. I have offered myself! I gave the only perfect sacrifice.
(WE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION/NEGOTIATION WITH GOD)
Jesus goes, It's over.” And we go, “Well, what about my sins? What about my struggles? I'm so messed up.” And so, we bring them and lay them down, “I mess up here, and I struggle with that. And so, I'm going to do this, and I'm going to stop doing that.” And Jesus sits back and goes, “Already paid for. Already paid for. I'm not accepting offerings. It's over.”
“Well, what about my...I...but...yeah, I just did...You died like a couple thousand years ago, I just did this this week.” “All time. All time means “all time.” All time, I'm not taking offerings.” And yet, so many of us keep dragging things to His altar and saying, “I'm going to do this for You, and I'm going to do this for you. And I'm hoping this pleases You, and I'll start doing it this way, and I'll quit doing this and I'll start doing this....” We keep laying things down at His altar, and Jesus is going, “What is all this stuff? Why are you cluttering My altar up? What is all this junk?” “Well, I'm just...You know....You've got to be upset with me. I keep blowing it here and I'm doing this and I can't shake this and this is haunting me...” And Jesus is going, “What are you talking about? I'm not taking offerings anymore.” “Well, what about my mess ups?” “It's paid for.” “Yeah, I know You already said that and all, but I keep struggling with that...” “Okay, listen. Look at Me here. It's paid for. See, there's nothing in you that's of value to Me, nothing. You have nothing that I need, nothing you can offer Me, nothing you can bring to My table. I'm God and everything, well everything's mine.
Your sin had to be punished so I took care of it through Jesus, He paid that debt, now when I see you, I see my Son, perfect, spotless, radiant. So take your good behavior and get it off My altar, because this altar is covered with the blood of Christ that washes away the sins of man. I'm no longer taking sacrificial offerings.”
We have nothing to offer, it has all been done once and for all!
Now, let me tell you this is a very, very, very, very difficult truth for rule followers.
Because all that stuff is meant to control people, and grace doesn't let you control people, and it's an unbelievably dangerous thing. And people use it all the time. They grab that banner of grace and use it as a license to sin. And so, there are people who go, “Yeah, you've always got to put the “but” on grace.” But once you do that, you've added to the cross of Christ. And you've said that it's not sufficient in itself. So, it's the cross plus we don't drink” or “It's the cross, and we don't....the cross, and we do....the cross and we...” No, if you add anything to the cross, you're off.
Oh the love of God that He would lavish upon us, grace enough to love us today, right now, right where you are. I mean, it's such a freeing thing. And for the saints, the Scriptures say the saints of God, those called by Christ unto God, that they'll hear this message and this kindness will lead them to repentance. Not fear, not me standing here going, “If you do this, God will destroy you. If you do this, this is what's going to happen to you.” I mean, that might lead to a kind of repentance, but it's a kind of repentance that gets filled with joy and life. No, the kindness of God in this grace, that's what leads the people to repentance.
This unbelievable truth of love and grace, it leads us to press into Him all the more and not run from Him. And that's why accusations actually become one of your best friends. Because it's in those moments when you become aware of how messed up you really are, but the fullness of Christ has been made aware to you. That's why we read, back in Hebrews 9, that where there's any standing left in the tabernacle, the door of the holy of holies will remain shut for you. It's this idea that you'll never know the fullness of Jesus as long as you think you can bring an offering that He likes.
Like, you'll never know the fullness of Jesus until you understand that you don't bring stuff to His altar, you come lay down on it. That's the difference. You don't bring your religious activity, you bring you, with all that you have – nothing. And you become the living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. You know, the old argument of the Old LAW is, “I don't want your bull, I want you.” And now with the New Covenant, it's the same argument, “Quit bringing Me your stuff. Keep your bull. You lay down. I want you.”
(THE BIG IDEA) Jesus came to Make All Things NEW - So, The "New Covenant" is the new agreement God has made with mankind, based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The concept of a new covenant originated with the promise of Jeremiah that God would accomplish for His people what the old covenant had failed to do. Under this new covenant, God would write His Law on human hearts.
This is not a contract or covenant that is written paper or tablets of stone, but it is written in our hearts and sealed with the blood of Jesus.
COMMUNION TRANSITION:
So today, we celebrate another picture. We are going celebrate COMMUNION – Lord’s Supper
It is indeed through Christ’s Sacrifice, the NEW COVENANT that God put into effect that we are able to come boldly into that Holy Place…We have a way where we can commune with God. We can gather around the Lord’s Table and Celebrate the Contract the Covenant that has been sealed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
It is truly by HIS death, that Jesus open a new and life-giving way for all of us. We have been given ALL ACCESS to come and COMMUNE with our God!
In a few moments, we will be gathering around the Lord’s Table to celebrate Communion.
We are going to approach the Lord’s Table
This morning, we are going to step out move towards the foot of the cross.
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[f] we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death,[g] Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
So as we take communion this morning we have been given access through the Covenant
This morning, we are receiving COMMUNION a little bit differently, we have different stations where you step out of your seats come…come and receive the Lord’s Supper…I would also encourage you to take another step– to renew your covenant with God. Here’s what that means. You exchange your sin, your problems, your trust to God, and he’ll give you his righteousness, his goodness, and his presence.
For some of you, this is your first time entering into relationship with God. And today, you want to say, God I want to take a step of faith towards you and I will accept what you have done for me and receive the forgiveness and washing of my sins. Let communion be your Gospel moment.
Others have been ignoring the voice of God and need to renew your covenant with God today – repent, turn away from the old ways and turn towards the new ways let communion be that renewal.
And some are here and you need to re-establish your foundation in God. Let communion be a start.
Let us Pray:
Maybe you just feel like it's impossible to let that thing go, despite that fact that you, just like the Hebrews, keep coming back and making the same sacrifices every week or even every day to no real change. “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.” So may the dangerous grace of the cross of Christ lead you to repentance. May the new covenant that Jesus sealed with His blood make all things new in your life. Lord, we just read that the Law and external morality are just a shadow, that offerings and sacrifice is just a shadow, just a picture. You are the real thing. Your death, the real thing, no longer taking offerings, no longer receiving sacrifices, paid for once and for all. And so, may this good news send us running towards You. Let this be a gospel moment in our lives today. It's in your Holy and Wonderful name I pray. Amen.”
As we sing this song, I encourage you to go before the Lord and confess those things that have come before him. What is the old that is getting in the way of the new? Let’s confess to him and prepare our hearts. Come and up during these next two songs when you feel ready to celebrate this reminder of this Covenant that Christ has seal for you…
On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.”
(ADDED FOR THIS POST)
Beautiful Things by Gungor (fits with the context of the message)
I also share about a personal Gospel moment for me, not the time I actually came to faith. But the time, I actually understood the realities of Hebrews 10 and accepted the Truth of my faith.
I was at a point in my life and ministry , where I was dealing with the baggage of anger and sin effects of my anger, as well as an addiction to pornography. I shared that Gospel moment in the light of Hebrews 10 and within the context of this message.
If you have any thoughts or questions, perhaps you would even like to talk to me deeper about the message or the above issues I mentioned. Would love to connect...
GOSPEL: MAKING ALL THINGS NEW
This morning, we continue our series GOSPEL, we are looking at the gospel from four biblical angles: Leviticus, Hebrews, Matthew, and Romans. The goal? We want everyone to understand the gospel backwards and forwards and inside out.
This weekend, each Campus Pastor across all six of our locations will be tackling the second dimension of the GOSPEL by unpacking Hebrews 10.
We all want NEW THINGS: New cars, new homes, new jobs, new clothes, new spouses ☺, the newest technology, new kids, new music…we aren’t satisfied with the old!
This morning, as we are going to walk through Hebrews 10 together, we will see how Jesus has come to make ALL THINGS NEW.
First, we must understand that Hebrews 8, 9 and 10 are unbelievably repetitive It's like the author of Hebrews is going to say, “Okay, if you miss everything else I say and if you don't get anything else I say in this book, you've got to get this.” And so twelve times in three chapters, he's going to talk about symbols and pictures and these things that are a symbol of something, but they aren't that full on thing.
As you can see, Israel’s sacrificial system was a good gift from God. It served as the means by which He continually renewed His covenant with His people. However, it was never intended to be an end in itself. As our passage is going to point out, the sacrifices offered in Israel’s temple didn’t actually atone for sin. Instead, they pointed forward to something else. As we think about our readings from this past week from Leviticus is a foreshadowing of Christ’s work…everything points towards what Christ has done for us and this is the Gospel, Good News, THE BREAKING NEWS. This is why the writer of Hebrews says that they were a “shadow,” rather than the actual reality. Like a shadow, they provided an outline of the good things that God would provide for His people in the future, but they themselves were not the substance.
Hebrews makes a unique contribution to the New Testament witness to Jesus Christ because of its emphasis that Jesus came as the fulfillment of all of the institutions and offices at the heart of the Jewish religion, especially the tabernacle / temple, the sacrificial system, and the priesthood. These emphases are central to the meaning of this weekend’s passage of Scriptures. Please turn with me to Hebrews 10:1-20.
Let us start with Hebrews 10:1, if you have your Bibles I challenge you to read along or if you don’t have one with you, you can follow along on the screen…
1 The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 2 If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.
So if you have been reading along with us in the Bible Reading Plan LXVI: From Garden to City, we just got out of the book of Leviticus…you can not read this passage Scripture without reading the book of Leviticus.
Our passage, in Hebrews 10, begins with a discussion of the Old Testament law, and by the context we know that the writer is talking about the Old Testament sacrificial system in Leviticus, which God had instituted in Israel’s law. Christians typically understand this system as the means by which God provided atonement for the sins of His people. The sacrifices are seen as the way in which God provided, or promised to provide, forgiveness for the wrongs that His people had committed against Him, thus restoring them to right relation with Himself.
However, the meaning of Israel’s sacrificial system was not strictly limited to the concept of forgiveness of sins. In fact, the temple sacrifices actually served three different purposes in Israel’s worship:
1. There were sacrifices for cleansing from sin (the sin offering and guilt offering). 2. There were sacrifices for the consecration of the worshipper to God (the whole burnt offering).
3. And there were sacrifices that signified the communion (or fellowship) that believers enjoy with their God (the peace offering).
When more than one sacrifice was offered, they typically followed this order: cleansing first, then consecration, and then communion (reference to Leviticus 9 and other passages in Leviticus). This order reveals something about the regular order of worship in the Old Testament. First, sin had to be dealt with. Second, the worshipper had to be wholly devoted (or consecrated) unto the Lord. Third, the worshipper enjoyed fellowship with the Lord by sharing a meal with Him (many the feasts that we read about in Leviticus).
Here’s the point I want to get to: None of these Sacrifices were sufficient. None of these Sacrifices and Offerings we read about in Leviticus, the instructions that were given to Moses was Sufficient or a long time solution for humankind’s condition---what is humankind’s condition?
We are all sinners…because we are all sinners, to be in a right relation with God we need a sacrifice, a blood sacrifice. As we look back at the sacrifices that Moses was instructed to make for sin we see it was not working, as we just read in verse 2, He's saying, “Hey listen, it's not working. You keep coming in, you keep confessing your junk to the priests, the priests continually tell you what to do is right, you keep killing animals, and yet you keep coming back. So, it's like you're taking medicine to get well, but the medicine's not working. But you keep just taking more and more of the medicine that's not working to try to get healthy. It's not working. If it worked, you'd quit coming to the tabernacle. If it finally worked in your hearts, if you finally confessed it, killed the animal and walked away, you wouldn't come back. But you keep coming back.”
The old ways, the old laws weren’t getting the job done. While they were foreshadowing or symbolic of what is to come, they simply weren’t a ideal solution for the issue of sin. Matter of fact let us look a little further at verse 3 & 4.
3 But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. 4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
So not only were these sacrifices not getting the job done, their conscience wasn’t being clean, they were holding on to their guilt.
Now, we've got an interesting thing happening, because God said, “Hey, sacrifice these bulls and goats for the removal of sin.” And now you've got God saying, “But they don't really remove sin.” And then He's going to explain it.
Verses 5-9:
5 That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God,
“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
But you have given me a body to offer.
6 You were not pleased with burnt offerings
or other offerings for sin.
7 Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—
as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”
8 First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.
So here it is, what was written in Psalm 40:6-8 the work of Jesus Christ on the cross thus makes the old covenant "obsolete".
Hebrews 8:13 puts it this way, When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.
It is Jesus’ perfect sacrifce , offered in complete submission, verse 9”I have come to do your will.”, supersedes and therefore replaces all previous sacrifices.
So, now you've got Jesus coming, saying, “This old way of you trying to do what you know is right, this old way of you trying to barter with me all the time, this old way of you coming into my temple and going, 'I've blown it again, but here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to do better or I'm going to stop doing this or here, take my sacrifice, let this sacrifice appease you for my failures.'” Jesus is saying, “That way is not working. I'm done. I'm coming, I'm removing the old system, I'm establishing a new one.”
I want to make an observation, I think we still get stuck there today…we come back again and again for the same issues. (My Personal Gospel Moment - Getting stuck offering my junk and mess to God over and over and over and over again) We still negotiate with God, if you take this sin away, I can do this for you. Jesus has taken care of it, there is nothing we can do on our part, there are no reasonable negotiations that can take place. Don’t get me wrong, we need to come to Him with hearts of repentance, we need to turn away from the old way of doing things…we need to allow what Christ has done to transform our lives, through that transformed life our only response is to run towards Him and stop running away.
Bottom line: Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for us and sufficient for all of our sins.
I want to stop there and touch on what it means to repent before we move on…REPENTENCE –
1. It is a response to what Christ has done
2. It is a response to the sin, iniquities, and transgressions in our life
3. It is a full understanding and acceptance of the Sacrifice Christ made on the Cross for our sins
4. It is the receiving of forgiveness that can only come from Christ
5. It is when we leave those things at the cross and turning away from them and going the opposite directions.
6. It is the running towards Jesus.
Now, let's read about the new way, because the new one is Good, Breaking News. Verse 10,
10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
That phrase MADE HOLY, the problem of how to approach a holy God has been solved once for all by the death of Christ. The meaning of verse 10 can be understood as the opposite of verse 1. That is to say, the sacrifice of Christ that was once for all instead of continually offered year after year is able to perfect those who approach God. In other words the sin problem that keeps us from approaching has been solved. It is possible to live without constant consciousness of sin.
That does not mean that our sins of the past are unimportant and can be easily and conveniently forgotten. It does not mean we cannot fall into sin. It does mean that we can live in fellowship and communion with God because the sacrifice of Christ was sufficient to be a once for all atonement for our sins.
Let us keep moving forward:
Verse 11-14
11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13 There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
The priests had to stand continually in their work. Their work continued daily and sacrifices had to be repeatedly offered. The priests could never sit down! But Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, having finished His work of sacrificing for sin.
The seated posture of Jesus is important. It shows that His work is finished. He doesn’t need to stand ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices as priests under the Old Covenant had to. Jesus still ministers in heaven - He has a ministry of intercession for His people. But that ministry flows from His completed work, so He can adopt a posture of rest - He sat down at the right hand of God.
The phrase in verse 14 --- he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.: This makes it plain that the work of Jesus is effective for those who are being sanctified. The work of Jesus is capable of saving every human being, but it is only effective in saving those who are being sanctified (set apart to God). ARE YOU SETTING YOURSELF APART FOR GOD? ARE YOU WILLING TO SET YOURSELF APART FROM YOUR SINS? (In my own personal mess, this is what I learned to do. This is what Christ has set me free to do.) The process of continual & progressive SANCTIFICATION – renewing that time where we are continuing to be Set Apart for God and His Purposes!
Let us Continue as we begin to wrap this up…
Verses 15-18
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,
16 “This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then he says,
“I will 16 “This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
So, no longer is the Law an external thing that is put on top of us that we have to bear externally, but now, He'll write it on our hearts. And out of the overflow from our heart, the life will live.
It's not a set of external rules given to the body of, “Dress this way, eat this way, don't eat this way, go here, don't go there...” It's not that set of rules; it is an impression on the heart, it is the Holy Spirit of God transforming the heart, mind and soul, that the still small voice of God whispering inside of us leads us into all righteousness.
People don't like this, because if you say this, you can't control people. But it's going to look different for some of us.
Some of us are going to get more freedom than others of us. And I know that people don't like that. People like the rules, they like the Law.
Some of you that listen to me preach and go on and use it as a license to sin. But that's not between me and you. I am not God's police. I'm going to preach grace. And if you take it and use it as a license to sin, that's between you and the Lord, not between me and you. I cannot police you, but I will tell you this: perfected once and for all, He writes it on our hearts and leads and guides us in the paths or righteousness. The question is not if you out and sin or you don't go out and sin, the question is...HOW WILL YOU RESPOND TO WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR YOU? WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO HIS AMAZING GRACE AND HIS AMAZING LOVE?
17 Then he says,
“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.”
18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.”
So, what just happened is Jesus says, “, I am no longer taking sacrificial offerings. The shop is shut down. It's done. It's over. You no longer have anything to bring to My altar. I have offered myself! I gave the only perfect sacrifice.
(WE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION/NEGOTIATION WITH GOD)
Jesus goes, It's over.” And we go, “Well, what about my sins? What about my struggles? I'm so messed up.” And so, we bring them and lay them down, “I mess up here, and I struggle with that. And so, I'm going to do this, and I'm going to stop doing that.” And Jesus sits back and goes, “Already paid for. Already paid for. I'm not accepting offerings. It's over.”
“Well, what about my...I...but...yeah, I just did...You died like a couple thousand years ago, I just did this this week.” “All time. All time means “all time.” All time, I'm not taking offerings.” And yet, so many of us keep dragging things to His altar and saying, “I'm going to do this for You, and I'm going to do this for you. And I'm hoping this pleases You, and I'll start doing it this way, and I'll quit doing this and I'll start doing this....” We keep laying things down at His altar, and Jesus is going, “What is all this stuff? Why are you cluttering My altar up? What is all this junk?” “Well, I'm just...You know....You've got to be upset with me. I keep blowing it here and I'm doing this and I can't shake this and this is haunting me...” And Jesus is going, “What are you talking about? I'm not taking offerings anymore.” “Well, what about my mess ups?” “It's paid for.” “Yeah, I know You already said that and all, but I keep struggling with that...” “Okay, listen. Look at Me here. It's paid for. See, there's nothing in you that's of value to Me, nothing. You have nothing that I need, nothing you can offer Me, nothing you can bring to My table. I'm God and everything, well everything's mine.
Your sin had to be punished so I took care of it through Jesus, He paid that debt, now when I see you, I see my Son, perfect, spotless, radiant. So take your good behavior and get it off My altar, because this altar is covered with the blood of Christ that washes away the sins of man. I'm no longer taking sacrificial offerings.”
We have nothing to offer, it has all been done once and for all!
Now, let me tell you this is a very, very, very, very difficult truth for rule followers.
Because all that stuff is meant to control people, and grace doesn't let you control people, and it's an unbelievably dangerous thing. And people use it all the time. They grab that banner of grace and use it as a license to sin. And so, there are people who go, “Yeah, you've always got to put the “but” on grace.” But once you do that, you've added to the cross of Christ. And you've said that it's not sufficient in itself. So, it's the cross plus we don't drink” or “It's the cross, and we don't....the cross, and we do....the cross and we...” No, if you add anything to the cross, you're off.
Oh the love of God that He would lavish upon us, grace enough to love us today, right now, right where you are. I mean, it's such a freeing thing. And for the saints, the Scriptures say the saints of God, those called by Christ unto God, that they'll hear this message and this kindness will lead them to repentance. Not fear, not me standing here going, “If you do this, God will destroy you. If you do this, this is what's going to happen to you.” I mean, that might lead to a kind of repentance, but it's a kind of repentance that gets filled with joy and life. No, the kindness of God in this grace, that's what leads the people to repentance.
This unbelievable truth of love and grace, it leads us to press into Him all the more and not run from Him. And that's why accusations actually become one of your best friends. Because it's in those moments when you become aware of how messed up you really are, but the fullness of Christ has been made aware to you. That's why we read, back in Hebrews 9, that where there's any standing left in the tabernacle, the door of the holy of holies will remain shut for you. It's this idea that you'll never know the fullness of Jesus as long as you think you can bring an offering that He likes.
Like, you'll never know the fullness of Jesus until you understand that you don't bring stuff to His altar, you come lay down on it. That's the difference. You don't bring your religious activity, you bring you, with all that you have – nothing. And you become the living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. You know, the old argument of the Old LAW is, “I don't want your bull, I want you.” And now with the New Covenant, it's the same argument, “Quit bringing Me your stuff. Keep your bull. You lay down. I want you.”
(THE BIG IDEA) Jesus came to Make All Things NEW - So, The "New Covenant" is the new agreement God has made with mankind, based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The concept of a new covenant originated with the promise of Jeremiah that God would accomplish for His people what the old covenant had failed to do. Under this new covenant, God would write His Law on human hearts.
This is not a contract or covenant that is written paper or tablets of stone, but it is written in our hearts and sealed with the blood of Jesus.
COMMUNION TRANSITION:
So today, we celebrate another picture. We are going celebrate COMMUNION – Lord’s Supper
It is indeed through Christ’s Sacrifice, the NEW COVENANT that God put into effect that we are able to come boldly into that Holy Place…We have a way where we can commune with God. We can gather around the Lord’s Table and Celebrate the Contract the Covenant that has been sealed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
It is truly by HIS death, that Jesus open a new and life-giving way for all of us. We have been given ALL ACCESS to come and COMMUNE with our God!
In a few moments, we will be gathering around the Lord’s Table to celebrate Communion.
We are going to approach the Lord’s Table
This morning, we are going to step out move towards the foot of the cross.
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[f] we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death,[g] Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
So as we take communion this morning we have been given access through the Covenant
This morning, we are receiving COMMUNION a little bit differently, we have different stations where you step out of your seats come…come and receive the Lord’s Supper…I would also encourage you to take another step– to renew your covenant with God. Here’s what that means. You exchange your sin, your problems, your trust to God, and he’ll give you his righteousness, his goodness, and his presence.
For some of you, this is your first time entering into relationship with God. And today, you want to say, God I want to take a step of faith towards you and I will accept what you have done for me and receive the forgiveness and washing of my sins. Let communion be your Gospel moment.
Others have been ignoring the voice of God and need to renew your covenant with God today – repent, turn away from the old ways and turn towards the new ways let communion be that renewal.
And some are here and you need to re-establish your foundation in God. Let communion be a start.
Let us Pray:
Maybe you just feel like it's impossible to let that thing go, despite that fact that you, just like the Hebrews, keep coming back and making the same sacrifices every week or even every day to no real change. “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.” So may the dangerous grace of the cross of Christ lead you to repentance. May the new covenant that Jesus sealed with His blood make all things new in your life. Lord, we just read that the Law and external morality are just a shadow, that offerings and sacrifice is just a shadow, just a picture. You are the real thing. Your death, the real thing, no longer taking offerings, no longer receiving sacrifices, paid for once and for all. And so, may this good news send us running towards You. Let this be a gospel moment in our lives today. It's in your Holy and Wonderful name I pray. Amen.”
As we sing this song, I encourage you to go before the Lord and confess those things that have come before him. What is the old that is getting in the way of the new? Let’s confess to him and prepare our hearts. Come and up during these next two songs when you feel ready to celebrate this reminder of this Covenant that Christ has seal for you…
On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.”
(ADDED FOR THIS POST)
Beautiful Things by Gungor (fits with the context of the message)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
GOSPEL MOMENT: Looking at Hebrews 10 this coming Weekend
This weekend at NCC, we will have one of our Hybrid weekends. This is the time when the Campus Pastor get the opportunity and honor to preach and share God's Word and what God is doing in their heart through His Word.
This weekend, we will be diving into Hebrews 10, as NCC goes through our Bible Reading Challenge LXVI: From Garden to City, we will be finishing up with the book of Leviticus (the Law) and going into the book of Hebrews (New Covenant). So this weekend, all of us Campus Pastors will be tackling Hebrews 10!
By the way, I love this passage of Scripture! Hebrews 10 is one of those chapters that we can look at say this is what I believe, this is the foundation of my faith. As we share this weekend, we will be tying into the GOSPEL series that we started last weekend.
I look at Hebrews 10 and go WOW! This the GOOD NEWS! This is BREAKING NEWS! Where the old way of doing things was not enough, there is a new and a better way! Where at one time we had to do multiple sacrifices to satisfy all our sins, iniquities and transgressions...all of that was taken care of through one ultimate SACRIFICE in the person of Jesus Christ.
What a great realization! What an amazing opportunity we have as God fulfilled a COVENANT with all of humanity...the COVENANT of, you give me your death, I will give you life. You give me your sins and I will give you freedom. You give up your life and I will lay down my life.
Looking forward to sharing this weekend from Hebrews 10 and also looking forward to sharing what God has done in and through me...that GOSPEL MOMENT. That moment when the Gospel became Good News to me, the moment where the Good News became Breaking News in my life and transformed my life...I am still in the process of be renewed each and every day but there was a transformation moment in my life, a GOSPEL MOMENT!
When was the Gospel Moment in your life? When did the Gospel become Good News to you?
What does the Covenant that God made with you and all humanity mean to you?
I would love to hear your thoughts?
This weekend, we will be diving into Hebrews 10, as NCC goes through our Bible Reading Challenge LXVI: From Garden to City, we will be finishing up with the book of Leviticus (the Law) and going into the book of Hebrews (New Covenant). So this weekend, all of us Campus Pastors will be tackling Hebrews 10!
By the way, I love this passage of Scripture! Hebrews 10 is one of those chapters that we can look at say this is what I believe, this is the foundation of my faith. As we share this weekend, we will be tying into the GOSPEL series that we started last weekend.
I look at Hebrews 10 and go WOW! This the GOOD NEWS! This is BREAKING NEWS! Where the old way of doing things was not enough, there is a new and a better way! Where at one time we had to do multiple sacrifices to satisfy all our sins, iniquities and transgressions...all of that was taken care of through one ultimate SACRIFICE in the person of Jesus Christ.
What a great realization! What an amazing opportunity we have as God fulfilled a COVENANT with all of humanity...the COVENANT of, you give me your death, I will give you life. You give me your sins and I will give you freedom. You give up your life and I will lay down my life.
Looking forward to sharing this weekend from Hebrews 10 and also looking forward to sharing what God has done in and through me...that GOSPEL MOMENT. That moment when the Gospel became Good News to me, the moment where the Good News became Breaking News in my life and transformed my life...I am still in the process of be renewed each and every day but there was a transformation moment in my life, a GOSPEL MOMENT!
When was the Gospel Moment in your life? When did the Gospel become Good News to you?
What does the Covenant that God made with you and all humanity mean to you?
I would love to hear your thoughts?
Monday, October 11, 2010
HELP ME! CELEBRATE MY BIRTHDAY on 10/27/10
I want you to help me to celebrate my birthday this year. Instead of gifts and money, I have so much already...GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE! GIVE WATER through Charity:Water. Donate throughout the month of October and help me to celebrate my birthday!
GO HERE to donate - http://mycharitywater.org/chrisjarrell my goal is $1000 - Please help me to reach my goal!
Fund water projects around the world.
100% will be used for direct project costs.
$20 can give one person clean water for 20 years.
charity: water is a registered 501(c)(3). All Donations are tax-deductible.
GO HERE to donate - http://mycharitywater.org/chrisjarrell my goal is $1000 - Please help me to reach my goal!
water project sustainability. from charity: water on Vimeo.
Fund water projects around the world.
100% will be used for direct project costs.
$20 can give one person clean water for 20 years.
The story of charity: water - The 2009 September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.
charity: water is a registered 501(c)(3). All Donations are tax-deductible.
Beautiful Things - Such a Great Song by Gungor
Here are the incredible lyrics for the incredible song. Focus on the lyrics and let them resonate within you.
BEAUTIFUL THINGS by Gungor
All this pain
I wonder if I'll ever find my way?
I wonder if my life could really change at all?
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found?
Could a garden come up from this ground at all?
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
Oh, you make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new
Making me new
You make beautiful things
(You make me new)
You make beautiful things out of the dust
(You are making me new, making me new)
You make beautiful things
(You make me new)
You make beautiful things out of us
(You are making me new, making me new)
Visit http://www.xtralyrics.com
Oh, you make beautiful things
(You make me new)
You make beautiful things out of the dust
(You are making me new, making me new)
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new
Credits :
songwriters: gungor, lisa; gungor, michael
© worshiptogether.com songs
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Carrot & Stick Motivation or Autonomy, Mastery & Purpose
I want to first say that I an a great self-motivator...I don't do well under a controlled and managed environments. So what motivates me. Well that depends on what I am doing.
For example:
My "job" as a Pastor - my calling from God; love seeing people's lives be transformed by God's Word and His Love; my passion to make God known (Isaiah 26:8); love of people and to see them to grow in the life they are meant to live. (Side note, I would do this if I wasn't getting paid...I love what I get to do and I love doing where I get to do it.)
Working out and staying in shape - I HATE getting up early in the morning (4:30am). Working out isn't really a fun activity. So, why do I motivate myself to get up 4:30am during the week. My health, I need to discipline my physical body, I have a 2 year old son that I need to be around a long time for. I also feel better when I workout in the morning. The early morning is really the only chance I can go that doesn't cut into my family time. It is good to get a workout in before the day begins, I actually feel better through out the day.
Those are two major examples of how I self-motivate, I don't need others to tell me what I "need" to do...I do things because I want to do them and I want to be the best in what I do (both Holy Discontent & Sanctified Competition)
One of my favorite sessions at Catalyst was Daniel Pink's session. I know people take issue with what he says for various reasons, experience, personality, style of management they are used to. What he talked first of all resonates within me, it how I have led in the past, it is also the place where I grow and do my best work and when I am the most creative.
I know as Daniel Pink spoke to various organizations at Catalyst, this is outside the normal of the way organizations are USED to doing things, or they get caught in the vicious cycle, WELL WE ALWAYS DONE IT THIS WAY. Granted for some people they need to be motivated, they need to be micromanaged (very bad word to me) or they need to held to a tighter accountability. However, there are people who work better and much more productive in their work and calling.
Who is Daniel Pink for those that do not know:
I believe this can be a huge paradigm shift in organizations and churches. He sited research from some big organizations like Google and other Fortune 500 companies.
Here are the basic notes from what Daniel Pink shared:
Fellow NCCer Staff Member and Office mate Will Johnston took incredible notes on this as well, check them out here- http://willfjohnston.com/2010/10/07/daniel-pink-catalyst-2010/
Another quick personal note/thought on evaluation from Daniel Pink's session: I am also a huge believer in self-evaluation or what he DIY Evaluation, I actually share about this during our team meeting last Tuesday during our all staff meeting. But I also believe you need to get the input of others to help you to see those blind spots.
I know, people can find so much of this as being controversal. But through out my personal experiences and know who I am as a person and my personality as an ENFP (Myers-Briggs) and a high D and a high I (DISC Personality) this is the best way for me to grow personally and in my "job"/calling.
Why do you feel organizations, businesses and churches are reluctant to experiment with model with their employees? Why do you think organizations and church who want to innovate with their customers or congregation sees and they don't want innovate with this type of model Monday-Friday?
I bought Daniel Pink's book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (where many of these principles and thoughts came from) yesterday, I will try to do a little more in depth review on some of these principles and ideas.
Would love to get your feedback and thoughts on these, I believe are innovative thoughts and ideas.
For example:
My "job" as a Pastor - my calling from God; love seeing people's lives be transformed by God's Word and His Love; my passion to make God known (Isaiah 26:8); love of people and to see them to grow in the life they are meant to live. (Side note, I would do this if I wasn't getting paid...I love what I get to do and I love doing where I get to do it.)
Working out and staying in shape - I HATE getting up early in the morning (4:30am). Working out isn't really a fun activity. So, why do I motivate myself to get up 4:30am during the week. My health, I need to discipline my physical body, I have a 2 year old son that I need to be around a long time for. I also feel better when I workout in the morning. The early morning is really the only chance I can go that doesn't cut into my family time. It is good to get a workout in before the day begins, I actually feel better through out the day.
Those are two major examples of how I self-motivate, I don't need others to tell me what I "need" to do...I do things because I want to do them and I want to be the best in what I do (both Holy Discontent & Sanctified Competition)
One of my favorite sessions at Catalyst was Daniel Pink's session. I know people take issue with what he says for various reasons, experience, personality, style of management they are used to. What he talked first of all resonates within me, it how I have led in the past, it is also the place where I grow and do my best work and when I am the most creative.
I know as Daniel Pink spoke to various organizations at Catalyst, this is outside the normal of the way organizations are USED to doing things, or they get caught in the vicious cycle, WELL WE ALWAYS DONE IT THIS WAY. Granted for some people they need to be motivated, they need to be micromanaged (very bad word to me) or they need to held to a tighter accountability. However, there are people who work better and much more productive in their work and calling.
Who is Daniel Pink for those that do not know:
Daniel H. Pink is the author of several provocative, bestselling books about the changing world of work. His latest is Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, which uses 40 years of behavioral science to overturn the conventional wisdom about human motivation and offer a more effective path to high performance. Drive reached every national bestseller list in its first month of publication and is now in its eighth week on the New York Times list. Over the next year, it will appear in Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, and 15 other languages.
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future charts the rise of right-brain thinking in modern economies and describes the six abilities individuals and organizations must master in an outsourced, automated age. A Whole New Mind is a long-running New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller that has been translated into 21 languages.
His articles on business and technology appear in many publications, including the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Wired, where he is a contributing editor. He has provided analysis of business trends on CNN, CNBC, ABC, NPR, and other networks in the U.S. and abroad. He also lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world on economic transformation and the new workplace.
A free agent himself, Dan held his last real job in the White House, where he served from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. He also worked as an aide to U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich and in other positions in politics and government.
He received a BA, with honors, from Northwestern University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a JD from Yale Law School. To his lasting joy, he has never practiced law.
Dan lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and their three children.
So what did Daniel Pink say, what was his BIG IDEA: Carrots & sticks motivation are so last century for 21st century work we need to upgrade to autonomy, mastery & purpose.I believe this can be a huge paradigm shift in organizations and churches. He sited research from some big organizations like Google and other Fortune 500 companies.
Here are the basic notes from what Daniel Pink shared:
- Human beings have biological drives.
- We are more than a biological drives.
- We are motivated by rewards and punishment.
- We have other motivators.
- We do things because they are interesting, because they are the right thing to do, because we have faith, etc.
- What are you doing here?
- We are here because we a part of a community, want to make an impact, etc.
- Too often we stop at the second drive, we have a two-dimensional view of human beings.
- We think we get by by punishing behavior we don’t approve of and rewarding behavior we like.
- It’s wrong.
- Over the last 50 years, social scientists and sociologists have studied human motivation.
- Science calls many orthodoxies into question about motivation.
- It’s not about rewarding or punishing… it’s about the third drive.
- Larger rewards lead to poorer performance.
- Solving a new problem requires hard work.
- Rewards work for simple tasks; not for complex ones.
- How many of you day to day work draw on rudimentary cognitive skill?
- Jobs today no longer require manual, laborious tasks because of technological advances and outsourcing.
- We have to do more creative work today.
- We have to do work like artists do work.
- We are all artists… trying to give the world something they didn’t know they were missing.
- We all do commissioned work.
- In art, the commissioned works were rated as significantly less creative than the noncommissioned works, yet they were not rates is different in technical quality.
- Too often we follow a fundamentally misguided road of rewards.
- Rewards don’t work.
- Money is a motivator.
- In the world of work people are acutely attuned to fairness. You have to treat people fairly and pay them appropriately.
- The best use of money as a motivator enough to take the issue of money off of the table.
3 Elements in Enduring Motivation: Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose
Autonomy
- Think about the word management.
- We think management emanated from nature or was delivered to us from God.
- Management is something that someone invented.
- Management is a technology for organizing people into productive capacities.
- It’s a technology from the 1850′s.
- How many technologies from the 1850′s do we use today?
- The whole purpose of management is designed to create compliance… getting people what you want them to do the way you want it.
- We don’t want compliance today; we want engagement.
- People don’t engage by being managed or controlled.
- People do their best work by having autonomy.
- People need to have autonomy over their time, task, team, and technique.
- People will do better work when they have autonomy.
- FEDEX Days – companies allowing people to use 20% of their time working on whatever they want to.
- This 20% margin gave birth to things like Gmail, Google News, etc.
- Carving out islands of non essential work creates space for creativity and innovation.
- Try a FEDEX day. The first will be OK. The second one will rock.
Mastery
- Our desire to get better at stuff.
- Getting better at something is inherently satisfying.
- The single most motivating factor at work is making progress.
- The only way to make progress and achieve mastery is through feedback.
- What’s our main mechanism for giving people feedback? Annual performance reviews.
- The problem with them is that they are annual.
- Boomers have misstated the need for feedback in Millennials as neediness.
- We live in a feedback rich world today… we post or click and people respond.
- DIY Performance Reviews – set out your goals [learning and performance] at the start of the month. At the end of the month, call yourself into the office and review, give yourself feedback.
- High-performing teams already do this.
- You have develop the ethic of doing your own evaluations.
Purpose
- The profit motive has limits.
- It’s a good thing morally and for efficiency.
- It’s not the only thing.
- It’s insufficient.
- If the rally cry is to “earn earnings per share,” it’s a good goal but it’s not going to cause people to leap out of bed.
- When the profit motive gets unhitched from the purpose motive, bad things happen.
- Things get mediocre, blah, and unremarkable.
- When we marry profit and purpose great things happen.
Exercise on Purpose
- “A great man is a sentence…”
- People who do things that last aren’t trying to do many things in a mediocre way, they are trying to do a few things in a big way.
- You can distill what great people do to a single sentence.
- Do you have a sentence or a paragraph?
- What’s your sentence?
- Ask yourself: Was I better today than yesterday?
Fellow NCCer Staff Member and Office mate Will Johnston took incredible notes on this as well, check them out here- http://willfjohnston.com/2010/10/07/daniel-pink-catalyst-2010/
Another quick personal note/thought on evaluation from Daniel Pink's session: I am also a huge believer in self-evaluation or what he DIY Evaluation, I actually share about this during our team meeting last Tuesday during our all staff meeting. But I also believe you need to get the input of others to help you to see those blind spots.
I know, people can find so much of this as being controversal. But through out my personal experiences and know who I am as a person and my personality as an ENFP (Myers-Briggs) and a high D and a high I (DISC Personality) this is the best way for me to grow personally and in my "job"/calling.
Why do you feel organizations, businesses and churches are reluctant to experiment with model with their employees? Why do you think organizations and church who want to innovate with their customers or congregation sees and they don't want innovate with this type of model Monday-Friday?
I bought Daniel Pink's book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (where many of these principles and thoughts came from) yesterday, I will try to do a little more in depth review on some of these principles and ideas.
Would love to get your feedback and thoughts on these, I believe are innovative thoughts and ideas.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
100 +41 (Random?) Superduper Relevant Blogs :-)
http://churchrelevance.com/resources/top-church-blogs/ - This has to be a joke right. Church Relevence website. I guess we all have an Emerging Relevant Authentic Story that God wants us to tell about our Purpose Driven Life as we pray the Prayer of Jabez because that is WWJD? RIght? That is why these blogs are so important.
I have a lot of issues with us (Christ followers/Christian) doing posts and lists like this. Not sure what this does or why we need this posted as a list.
If you know why we need to do these lists, especially one that is so random. I guess it should be Stuff Christians Like, of wait that blog is on there. Perhaps it is about give Jesus New PR, oh yeah they are on there too. Seriously please answer why we do this type of lists, do they proof something? Maybe it proves who is great in the Kingdom of God or who has more followers Jesus, Paul or Apollos. Church Relevance---Seriously??? No really seriously??? yep I am jealous I am not on the list...Seriously? Perhaps if they went to 100 +42 or +43 www.chrisjarrell.com would have made the list.
Why do we as Christians do these types of things? What is the point? Are these bloggers more important? Is their voice more important or significant? Why is the list so random...100 +41? Why not 150 or 200 or 500 blogs or included every Christian blog?
I have a lot of issues with us (Christ followers/Christian) doing posts and lists like this. Not sure what this does or why we need this posted as a list.
If you know why we need to do these lists, especially one that is so random. I guess it should be Stuff Christians Like, of wait that blog is on there. Perhaps it is about give Jesus New PR, oh yeah they are on there too. Seriously please answer why we do this type of lists, do they proof something? Maybe it proves who is great in the Kingdom of God or who has more followers Jesus, Paul or Apollos. Church Relevance---Seriously??? No really seriously??? yep I am jealous I am not on the list...Seriously? Perhaps if they went to 100 +42 or +43 www.chrisjarrell.com would have made the list.
Why do we as Christians do these types of things? What is the point? Are these bloggers more important? Is their voice more important or significant? Why is the list so random...100 +41? Why not 150 or 200 or 500 blogs or included every Christian blog?
Monday, October 04, 2010
History of Hip Hop - Awesome Stuff!
Love It! Any true fans of Hip Hop should appreciate this! My friend Jason posted this on his blog so I wanted to be cool like him. :-)
How Do You Evaluate Yourself & What You Do?
I will be the first to say, self-evaluation stinks. However, it is important to evaluate & reevaluate what you do personally, what you do in the context of your job and the organization that you lead. How often do we evaluate or reevaluate ourselves? How do we evaluate ourselves? Do we scrutinize ourselves pretty heavy? Do we glance over things? Do we make changes where there needs to be changes? Do we change processes and systems?
Here is the thing if we evaluate others, which is so easy to do, we evaluate spouses, music, employees, (in my context) churches, we can go on and on...with hopes that they will change to fit our evaluation. It is easier to make HONEST evaluation of others than it is ourselves or our organizations. I think part of the reason we get comfortable where we are currently. Another reason, it is harder to make changes than it is to keep everything status quo. We get to use to and to familiar where are at that we don't want it to be difference.
I also don't believe that we should try to find things that aren't there just for the sake of evaluating. However, we definitely need to look at what we are doing and correct things that need to be fixed. For long term growth personally and organizationally we need to even allow others to honestly weigh in (honestly without you being upset or justifying why something is done that way) and give thoughts and feedback on changes to systems or areas of needed growth.
Here is peril of not evaluating yourself honestly and not giving others an opportunity to evaluate you...we stop growing, we stop learning, we stop moving towards the future and we start maintaining and we get stagnant in our current place or position. Evaluation helps to keep growing and moving forward. Lack of evaluation we begin to move backwards...see it way to often.
What is the purpose of this post? Just a reminder to us all we need to evaluate everything we do from our spiritual life to how we are doing at our job to our marriages. Everything should come under the test of evaluation...allow others to speak in and evaluate as well.
This post was inspired after reading here - http://networkedblogs.com/8CHd5 comments made by longtime U2 Producer Steve Lillywhite, as he evaluated one of the greatest rock bands - U2 (my opinion) latest albums No Line on the Horizon. It would be easy to just stay content with album sales but the honest evaluation of the album has affected the band.
What are you thoughts on evaluation? How does the evaluation affect you? Do you go through the process of correcting yourself?
Here is the thing if we evaluate others, which is so easy to do, we evaluate spouses, music, employees, (in my context) churches, we can go on and on...with hopes that they will change to fit our evaluation. It is easier to make HONEST evaluation of others than it is ourselves or our organizations. I think part of the reason we get comfortable where we are currently. Another reason, it is harder to make changes than it is to keep everything status quo. We get to use to and to familiar where are at that we don't want it to be difference.
I also don't believe that we should try to find things that aren't there just for the sake of evaluating. However, we definitely need to look at what we are doing and correct things that need to be fixed. For long term growth personally and organizationally we need to even allow others to honestly weigh in (honestly without you being upset or justifying why something is done that way) and give thoughts and feedback on changes to systems or areas of needed growth.
Here is peril of not evaluating yourself honestly and not giving others an opportunity to evaluate you...we stop growing, we stop learning, we stop moving towards the future and we start maintaining and we get stagnant in our current place or position. Evaluation helps to keep growing and moving forward. Lack of evaluation we begin to move backwards...see it way to often.
What is the purpose of this post? Just a reminder to us all we need to evaluate everything we do from our spiritual life to how we are doing at our job to our marriages. Everything should come under the test of evaluation...allow others to speak in and evaluate as well.
This post was inspired after reading here - http://networkedblogs.com/8CHd5 comments made by longtime U2 Producer Steve Lillywhite, as he evaluated one of the greatest rock bands - U2 (my opinion) latest albums No Line on the Horizon. It would be easy to just stay content with album sales but the honest evaluation of the album has affected the band.
LEGENDARY U2 producer Steve Lillywhite has said the band’s latest album No Line on the Horizon did not achieve what it set out to achieve and its relative failure had affected them.
The album, released last year, sold a fraction of its predecessors and received mostly lukewarm reviews though it did get a five-star rating in Rolling Stone magazine. Lillywhite, who was its co-producer along with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, said No Line on the Horizon lacked a big song and the North African ambience that it tried to recreate did not work.
“At the end of the day, the public are always right especially when you have a platform as big as U2,” he said. “Of course it affects them . They are only human. They put their heart and soul into everything they do, but the sales were not what they expected because they did not have the one song that ignited peoples imaginations.
“It’s a pity because the whole idea of Morocco as a big idea was great. When the big idea for U2 is good, that is when they succeed the most, but I don’t think the spirit of what they set out to achieve was translated. Something happened that meant it did not come across on the record.”
Lillywhite will be one of the star turns at the Hot Press Music Show this weekend at the RDS, the biggest showcase for the music industry in the country. He will speak on Sunday afternoon on the theme of producer as star. Others taking part over the weekend include Bob Geldof and Louis Walsh along with two Government Ministers, Eamon Ryan and Mary Hanafin, while the artists performing include Cathy Davey, Fight Like Apes and Sharon Corr.
Lillywhite (55) has been synonymous with U2 from the beginning having produced or co-produced almost all their studio albums. He also produced some of The Pogues’s best work and his late wife Kirsty McColl’s vocal was part of what made Fairytale of New York an all-time classic.
Lillywhite described Pogues singer Shane MacGowan as an “underachiever” who knows his best work is behind him.
“Shane MacGowan has not recorded a song recently because it wouldn’t be any good,” he said.
“He is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met, but he is also an underachiever. Sometimes such a fantastic natural talent means you don’t have to try so hard. Bono is the biggest overachiever I’ve ever met. His talent is not inconsiderable, but what sets him so far ahead of everybody else is his determination. “That determination to succeed is overachieving.”
Warner Music Europe’s Irish-born chief executive John Reid will speak at midday today on the crisis in the music industry. He said rumours of the demise of the record were “greatly exaggerated”
“You name an act that can thrive on the internet and go on and have commercial success and get their music out to millions of people without having a record company behind them?”
Mr Reid said the “three strikes” policy to stop illegal downloading will pave the way for Ireland’s first internet access model which would allow people to access any music they want for a set fee every month. He anticipated such models would cost between €10 and €15 a month as they do in other parts of Europe.
“When you have got legislation in there and when you have an Internet Service Provider that is going to charge for music instead of facilitating for free, then we will do it and that is what we are discussing with people like Eircom. I hope it will be in Ireland within months,” he explained.
What are you thoughts on evaluation? How does the evaluation affect you? Do you go through the process of correcting yourself?
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