Kingdom Strategist

“God’s networked kingdom finds expression as people cluster together, centered in Christ, living in the way of Jesus.” –Dwight Friesen

[<Disclosure> I received this book to review through my participation in The Ooze's Viral Blogger program. I have not been compensated financially in any way for reading or reviewing this book. </Disclosure>]

Thy Kingdom Connected is written by Dwight Friesen, associate professor of practical theology at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. In it Friesen uses Network Theory to describe various theological implications, perspectives and applications pertaining to the kingdom of God. Friesen’s goal in writing the book is to shine light upon the inter-connectivity of creation and prepare readers for “living into the image of God” and “incarnating the mission of God.”

I Like This Book, But…

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“Most people spend their lives trying to make their heart’s fondest dreams come true… We never imagine that getting our heart’s deepest desires might be the worst thing that can ever happen to us.” –Timothy Keller

I have a fondness for Tim Keller primarily because he was the first preacher that I ever heard preach the Gospel. Granted, that is an exaggeration. What I really mean is Tim Keller was preaching when Jesus Christ opened my eyes, ears, and heart to the truth of the Gospel. My wife (girlfriend at the time) had started attending Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan because she was familiar with his preaching. I had grown up going to church but had fallen away through college and my early 20’s. It was a period when God persistently and forcefully reclaimed his rightful place as Lord of me, unraveling years and years of my own effort to replace him (primarily done out of spite after my mother passed away). So I consider myself quite fortunate that I got to hear Keller preach every Sunday during the crescendo of God’s redemptive work in my life. Anyway, I digress.

Keller has tremendous insight into the truths of the Kingdom of God and Jesus’s redemptive work in the world. And he has a remarkable ability to speak those truths in a away that clears away a lot of the clutter (be it our own baggage or the religiosity of many parts of the church) creating a clear path from your eyes (for his books) or your ears (for his preaching) into your brain and deep into your heart.

Counterfeit Gods is no different. In it Keller tackles the subject of idolatry – the tendency of the human heart to “take good things… and turn them into ultimate things.” (continue reading…)

Everyone knows Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. At least I hope they do. I remember in grade school spending a lot of time studying Dr. King and his contributions to the Civil Rights movement (I’m particularly happy about this seeing as I went to school in, what was at the time, a rural suburb of Atlanta, GA where racism was very real).

But my favorite — FAVORITE – speech by Dr. King is from a sermon he gave on November 5, 1967 at Ebenezer Baptist Church called “But, If Not” (download MP3 of the sermon).

I say to you, this morning, that if you have never found something so dear and precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren’t fit to live.

You may be 38 years old, as I happen to be, and one day, some great opportunity stands before you and calls upon you to stand for some great principle, some great issue, some great cause. And you refuse to do it because you are afraid.

You refuse to do it because you want to live longer. You’re afraid that you will lose your job, or you are afraid that you will be criticized or that you will lose your popularity, or you’re afraid that somebody will stab or shoot or bomb your house. So you refuse to take a stand.

Well, you may go on and live until you are ninety, but you are just as dead at 38 as you would be at ninety.

And the cessation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit.

You died when you refused to stand up for right.

You died when you refused to stand up for truth.

You died when you refused to stand up for justice.

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

What are you living for?

Full text of the speech after the jump… (continue reading…)

Do you ever feel like you’re losing it? No… me neither.

My sister has fought depression and anxiety pretty much her entire adult life. It’s not my place to share the details but it’s been pretty intense at times and for many years I have played an active role in trying to help her.

Depression is an ugly thing that steals the light and the beauty from God’s creation.

I don’t want what I’m about to talk about to be misconstrued as a commentary on what causes depression. Nor am I endorsing or discounting different types of treatment; the merits of one treatment over another should be determined by the patient, their doctor, and their loved ones. Over the years, we tried some things work and others that were disastrous.

To me depression is a lot like diabetes in that some core problem(s) creates a series of additional problems that become intertwined and become increasingly difficult to treat. With depression, these problems aren’t just physical, they affect you mentally, spiritually, and socially.

I believe that a the root of all of the factors that contribute to depression is that fact that because of sin we are separated from God. We were not designed to be separated from God and as a result we are physically, mentally, and socially out of whack. Depression is just one of the many afflictions where this is affect is magnified to debilitating proportions. (continue reading…)

I wrote this in my journal on January 24, 2009. At the time I had been self-employed for about two months, expecting my second child in less than two month, and scared. Reflecting on the time that has passed between then and now, all I can say is that the year got away from us. Being self-employed, having two children under the age of two, both my wife and I having to deal with major medical issues… it all felt like a dark, dark storm that was disheartening and disorienting.

While I can say that while I never lost faith through all of it, I definitely lost momentum… and frequently lost my bearings. So that’s where we are right now, sifting through the aftermath of this past year and focusing on moving forward. It was good to re-read this, just because it reminds me that what is the most important thing I can do this year is to focus on Christ – making sure my all is centered in Him: my sight, my attention, my hope, my identity, my love. I know that if I do, everything won’t just fall into place. But if it does, or if it doesn’t, it will be good because I will be Christ’s. And Christ will be mine.

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2:28 pm – The fear I am feeling right now is nearly debilitating. There is tenseness in my shoulders, my neck, my ribs and chest. There is tiredness in my eyes and my legs. It’s stupid, really. And until two days ago I didn’t know the name of my foe… though I’ve struggled like this most my life.

This is fear of sucess. Or of failure. Or both. I desire the safety of mediocrity where no one asks, or rather, expects anything of you.

But that is not where I am called to. I know this: I am called. Kaleo… yet, I want to hide. I am Adam, hiding in the garden covering my shame.

That is what this is: an attempt to reclaim the freedom that I (we) was created for. The recognition that the enemy wants me defeated, ashamed, broken, and, thus, useless… unable to serve, a barren tree. Fruitless. That is what this is about, rendering me lame and crippled (at least deceiving me into thinking that way), so that even though my Savior has said to me (gently, patiently, stooping low to pick me up) “Stand up and walk,” I would doubt.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God! Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We Were born to maifest the Glory of God that is within us… and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” — Nelson Mandela

This is truth and this is my confession. I am a sinner. I am made in Glod’s glorious image. I am made beautiful. Yet I am broken. Yet I am healed by God’s grace! I withdraw into my brokenness and cling to it as my protective garment. I claim a truth about myself that denies the Lord the chance to clothe me in His righteousness.

Father God, this is my confession:

I am a perfectionist.

I procrastinate.

My mind has difficulty resting.

I am fearful.

I lust.

I do not work hard.

I get mad and bitter toward others who do things in the fields I feel called to serve.

I am not a good steward of my time.

I expect loss in my life and fear it.

I get anxious about money.

I get anxious about interacting with people who have hurt me.

I seek my own solution instead of trusting Your providence.

I am proud.

I consume way too much, way too fast.

I mock and make fun and tear down.

I do not love selflessly. I do not love well.

Father God, this is my prayer: that I would be in Christ just as Christ is in me. I pray that I would die to myself, to my sin, to this world, so that I may live and love unto you and unto others with all my heart, mind, body, and soul. Amen.

I haven’t fully gotten into the blogging groove yet. I’ve been at it for just over a year now but I’m only recently starting to feel like I’m picking up momentum. But I enjoy blogging and I’m especially enjoying all the new people I’ve met and interacted with this year. I know that my blog doesn’t have much to do with these relationships forming but it’s part of it none the less.
Well someone forgot to send me the memo letting me know that bloggers have to do two things at the end of the year.

1. Write a really awesome retrospective post.
2. Write a post highlighting your top content from the past year.

Check and check. (continue reading…)

Barrington Gifts is a Business as Mission company that manufactures luxury gifts. The company is based out of Dallas, TX and operates a manufacturing facility in Xiamen, China. I’ve written about Barrington before and am a big fan of what they do.

I received an email this morning sharing a video which tells the story of Shirley Huang, a Xiamen local who found both employment and a new life in Jesus through Barrington.

Shirley, a local resident of Xiamen, has found a new home in our factory. When we heard about her, she was lonely and seeking a job. Upon interviewing and offering her a position, she eagerly agreed. Although she was nervous and intimidated, her courage and her colleagues’ friendliness helped to overcome these initial feelings.

Enjoy this three minute video telling Shirley’s story and be sure to check out Barrington at http://barringtongifts.com/ to learn more about this great company.

The video can also be found here. Thanks to Ben Briggs for sending this to me.

I personally am a huge proponent of Christians leveraging the power of the Internet to advance the Kingdom and to give glory to God. I recognize that the web is changing the way people live their lives, I see it in my own family. My nigh-two year old is already comfortable with video calls and would rather look at pictures of her mother and brother on the computer than look at them in person. It is apparent to me that Internet will be a integral aspect of the lives of future generations of Christians.

As Christians around the world are exploring new expressions of faith within the virtual context of the web, people are forming strong opinions on what it means to be a church online. Though there has been some discourse on these issues, most of people’s attention is focused on making online church a reality. As a result, foundations are being laid for future generations without truly understanding what it is that is being built.

People argue that subjecting online church to examination and measurement will stifle progress and even discourage people from coming to the faith by online churches. While those are both valid concerns, I believe our generation has an obligation to study online church, subjecting our theories and practices to critical analysis and testing, and debating the issues. Here’s why:

15 reasons why “online church” should be debated:

1. We have a limited capacity to discern God’s will

Scripture tells us that we can not achieve the fullness of knowledge of God and his will. So if our desire is to build God’s church, then we must acknowledge that no individual or no group of people will be able to fully understand what or why or how we are supposed to be the church online. If we recognize this to be true then the natural response is to humble ourselves and say, “If what I know and believe is incomplete and may not be right. Then I should supplement it with counsel from diverse backgrounds and beliefs.” (continue reading…)

Gabe Taviano, founder of DigitalDisciples.net and all around good dude, recently posted a few things about his struggles with leadership. I can appreciate where he’s coming from and recommend you check him out. His posts (here and here) have agitated something that’s been brewing inside of me for awhile and instead of hijacking his blog, I thought I’d address it here.

Why Leadership is Not the Same as Kingdom Influence

I personally have never been comfortable when people (especially Christians) emphasize leadership and focus on the discipline of leadership.

To me, when you focus on leadership outside of the context of whatever it is you and your group is trying to achieve, the actual leadership becomes empty. Leadership is only valuable in so much as it is exists within a greater context.

So when I hear “Christian leaders” going on and on about “leading leaders” I often wonder what exactly are they leading them in? Sitting around and talking about leadership? Woo hoo (eye roll).

It seems to me like we become so enamored with becoming leaders that we lose sight of who we really are. Followers. Followers of Jesus Christ.

If you want to be a great leader then I say forget about leadership. Leadership is a byproduct. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that leadership is a skill set and a necessary component to creating change. But it shouldn’t be exalted over all the other skills that are needed to create something. If you want to be a great leader you need to focus primarily on what you are trying to achieve.

This is especially critical for Christians because what we are trying to achieve is the Kingdom of God. And the Kingdom of God is supremely important. There is nothing greater!

The things that are important in the Kingdom of God is loving and glorifying God. | Seeking him through Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior.| Dying to ourselves and to this world so that we can live in Christ!| Loving our neighbor as ourselves.| Living in and loving a community of believers.| Being the church!| Feeding the poor!| Caring for the widows and orphans!| Clothing the naked!| Healing the sick!| Making disciples of all the nations!| Driving out demons and fighting to evil forces of this world!| Raising the dead!| Singing with great joy and reckless abandon the praises of our God who lives! These are what are important. Leadership is just a byproduct.

Leadership will happen when we do four things:

1. Start from a place of love;
2. Focus on what we are trying to achieve;
3. Help those around us work together to achieve it; and,
4. Help people work through the change that is happening.

Oh and #5. Don’t worry who takes the role of leader; it might not be you and that’s okay.

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Image: http://www.activeminds.org/storage/activeminds/images/leadership_penguines.jpg