1 Cor 2: 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Recently I've had a couple of conversations with people who have been reading or studying a series by Andy Stanley in which he asks "what's the wise thing to do?" I guess this is a great catch phrase, but on the surface, I hate the question. Don't get me wrong, he develops the series well, and I would benefit from completing the entire study rather than just skimming through the book, but I still hate the question. I hate it, because on the surface, I can simply gather data, get some sage advice, and make the best decision I can on my own - without God. I think he uses it to hook people because lets face it, we all want to make the best decisions and we know in our minds that God knows best.
My observation, however, of my own life as well as the decision process that I can observe in others lacks deep-rooted, I-won't-make-a-move-until-I've-heard-from-God, kind of faith. My own downfall is a lack of patience to wait upon the Lord. I put artificial constraints on God that demand an answer by a certain time or I think I've narrowed the options down. Often I wonder if I get out ahead of God like I believe the disciples did in Acts ch1. If you look at the progression of their decision to replace Judas, first they set conditions on candidates regarding their experience, then they held nominations against the criteria, then they prayed, then they cast lots to determine God's will. They essentially gave God a choice among 2 candidates. We never hear of Mathias (or Barsabbas) again. Meanwhile God was raising up someone who didn't fit the original criteria to take His message of salvation through Christ to the Gentiles - Saul. I don't really know if the early church got it wrong or if we simply didn't need to hear from Mathias, but my interpretation is that the disciples got the order of events wrong and failed to recognize where God was working. Once we recognize God at work, the decision process becomes much more straightforward - we simply decide whether or not to join him.
I wonder how often I've made sub-optimal decisions. I sit in meetings at work and obvious decisions are required yet sometimes I'm torn and don't have a clear indication of how to proceed, but the pressure of urgency and leadership seemingly demands an on-the-spot decision. I also have numerous deep-rooted personal desires. I want to do this, or that and I want to do it my way. I think my own agendas can drown out the still small voice of God.
I'm concerned that we work the same way at church as I don't see a clear distinction between the processes I've studied and learned at work vs the way we conduct business at church. Yet I expect a marked difference: I expect someone to lead us in how to discern God's will. After all, many have studied "What is the Wise Thing to Do" yet I don't see a difference in our decision processes. To be fair, I was really encouraged when Dave made taking a prayer guidance sheet a prerequisite for obtaining an information sheet on the upcoming Assisted Living Facility. Clearly this is a move in the right direction. Yet, when the group is divided rather than simply voting, what if we stopped and prayed until we came into clear majority? I don't live in a utopian world that thinks everyone will pray open mindedly, so I don't expect unanimity, but an overwhelming majority seems obtainable.
It seems to me rather, that church, just like my job, tends to get dominated by personal agendas and reliance on our own "pick myself up by my bootstraps" or "God gave us a mind and expects us to use it" kind of approach rather than a total dependence on God. Am I off base?
1 comment:
You're not "off base", usually you're on base, Eglin AFB to be exact! haha Anyway, you should probably watch the Andy Stanley series, he actually teaches that the only true wisdom comes from God, so when he says the question to ask is "What is the wise thing to do?" he is essentially saying, "What is the God directed thing to do?" As in a what did God say about this in His Word sense. ... Now, I know you didn't write this just to beat up Andy Stanley. I do agree that there should be a decidedly different approach to the decision making processes of the world and the church and it is very difficult to see a difference. ... When Dan Mullen went into MSU he told everyone there in the athletic program that they were a part of the problem and standing in the way of success because they were trying to copy the successful ways of other programs and those programs weren't MSU. MSU had to have its own identity and therefore would have to have its own program style. Similarly, the church needs a peculiar style because we are a peculiar people. We should be doing actions that make no sense to the world because we are following a God that knows men's hearts and the future. There should be an inspiring noticeable difference.
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