Age of Accountability
We live in an era that demands just decision-making. We’re in an age where the weak can speak up on occasion. And the world is asking a lot of questions about…well, stuff that never used to get questioned.
Look at some of the biggest events on the web this year.
- Cairo, Egypt. In January 2011, an uprising begins to form which results in the ousting of a President (Hosni Mubarak), an unprecedented outcome in thousands of years of Egyptian civilization.
- Occupy Wall Street. People get inspired by what happens in Egypt and begin to protest the richest in the nation, arguing that the rest of the American population must have a voice in the direction of the country.
- John Pike. The reputation of a decorated lieutenant is forever roasted in his eight minute abuse of authority on the campus of UC Davis.
- Penn State. No one saw this coming…well, except for a few whose careers are now over, as well as the lives ruined.
In each of these recent implosions, a person, corporation, or company is being made accountable, after being fueled by a firestorm of social media.
For example…
- The revolution in Egypt was fueled Twitter and Facebook users to organize their protests.
- The Occupy movement was (and is) heavily organized by the famous Twitter hashtag #OccupyWallstreet
- John Pike’s fate was sealed by one short YouTube video.
- The news of Paterno’s firing at Penn State in the middle of the Sandusky scandal was quickly spread “via students’ cellphones” before the chaos ensued.
Without arguing whether the results or methods of these outbursts are right, I do want to call attention to the organizational power of social media to bring people to a new level of accountability.
I’ve already remarked on ways social media can aid a Christian being on mission.
Are there any ways we can redeem the powerful influence of social media? Should we even try?
Blood red skies are like the fire in your eyes
The ol’ blog has a niche: 18-30 year olds, mission, worship, etc.
But I’m thinking about posting an occasional photograph from my iPhone as a break from the daily grind.
Hope you don’t mind!
Pray for the sick
God wants to heal people.
He has been using his people for this since the first century…
- Part of the breaking forth of God’s kingdom means that there will be physical healings as a result of God’s power.
- We don’t just see this in Jesus, but in his Apostles who were sent out to pray for sick people (Luke 9:2), and would lay hands on them and see them healed (Mark 6:13).
- This was not exclusive to the Apostles, for even unnamed Ananias lays hands on Saul who regains his sight (Acts 9:17), and…
- The elders of the church are told to anoint sick people with oil and pray for their physical healing (Jam 5:14-15).
God heals through our prayers.
When Brianna and I first got married, we lived in a small studio apartment. Sometimes the landlord would offer us lemons when we needed them to cook dinner, and would sometimes tell us that we could “help ourselves” to his backyard. So… I took him at his word. One day, I hoped the fence, went over to a tree, and started plucking fruit!
Here’s the deal with prayer: God CAN do anything he wants, and he wants to heal people. But there will be times when God (who wants to heal) will simply wait for his children to ask him (Matt. 7:7). There will be times, when all God is waiting for is for his Children to hop the fence, and start grabbing lemons. There will be times, when the lemons are so high up in the tree that you must grab a branch and begin shaking it vigorously. That’s prayer. Shaking the tree vigorously until an answer from God falls.
This post was adapted from a talk I gave last night:
Any thoughts on this topic? Don’t be so quiet! 
Introverts in a Church Community
Are you introverted? Me too.
Herein lies a wonderful irony:
The Scriptures implore (introverted) Christians to be in active fellowship with others.
I know it seems like keeping to ourselves is to our benefit, but the Scriptures suggest a multi-faceted approach. Along with the rest we find in solitude, comes a deeper form of restoration in Christian community. Honestly, this has always been a difficult thing for me to square with the body of Christ. I often fight the urge to retreat into a corner of isolation when I know I’m suppose to mingle with people. So it may take a bit of work for you to jump into an awkward social setting as well, but it is worth our struggle.
“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” ~ Hebrews 10:25
There is another mistake we often fall into.
We sometimes put so much effort into showing up, that we leave conversational initiation to others.
“Ok, I came to the gathering. Now, someone please talk to me while I hide in a corner!”
This is not introversion, but simply being shy, and non-committal.
We may be tempted to remain on the edge of a community, or float from one community to the next, without making commitments or becoming known. If we stay on the outskirts we don’t owe anyone anything and people don’t expect anything. (Adam McHugh, Introverts in the Church)
This kind of non-committal self-entitlement will cause us to end up as wall flowers; feeling neglected, ignored, overlooked, and wondering why we can’t make meaningful relationships. Sometimes it’s because people do ignore us. But more often it’s because we’re too scared to put both feet in the door by reaching out to others despite our discomfort. Now is the time to try.
But allow me to offer a liberating suggestion as a fellow introvert….
You will be more successful in Christian community when you think of the well-being of others instead of your own.
In other words…
Let your drive for community be mission instead of self-aggrandizement.
You’re already in the building, and that was difficult! You might as well go all the way in your effort. You may find the reward of committed human contact in the body of Christ far outweighs the momentary anxiety of meeting new people.
A cliff notes version on how to handle prophetic words
There are two types of prophecy. There is that which the Prophets and Apostles used to author Scripture, and then the more subjective means by which God communicates to his people through the gift of prophecy. This is the one to which the New Testament believer might be exposed, and is sometimes referred to as a prophetic word. Wayne Grudem describes this type of prophecy as “telling something that God has spontaneously brought to mind” (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1049).
If you run in circles where prophetic words are commonplace, you may experience them in different ways: spoken words from other people, dreams, visions, confirmations, etc.
Here’s a simple way to view prophecy as advised from the mouth of the prophets themselves…
Don’t disregard prophecy
1 Thess. 5:20Paul is pretty clear. Don’t just disregard prophecy because it makes you uncomfortable, or because it doesn’t seem right. Be open to the possibility that God is trying to communicate to you in a way you are not used to or are not ready for.
Examine all of it
1 Thess. 5:21Paul is also clear that we are not to swallow every prophetic word or vision that comes our way. Just because someone calls it a “prophetic word” doesn’t mean that it is from God.
Take anything that lines up with God’s Word
1 Thess. 5:21The way we examine prophecy is by squaring it with the Scriptures. Remember the first type of prophecy I mentioned? That which has been penned by those who were under the influence of the Holy Spirit in such a way that we are able to call their prophecies God-breathed. And since it is God-breathed, it cannot be abrogated by anything else, since the Holy Spirit will not contradict himself.
Of course, you first need to be reading, studying, and memorizing the Scriptures before you can check prophetic words with them. Knowing God’s Word is incredibly important!
Leave behind the bad stuff
1 Thess. 5:22Should you come across a Scripture passage that contradicts a word you received from a person, dream, or vision, you can disregard that “prophecy” as false, and stop thinking about it. (This part will keep you out of a lot of unnecessary drama!)
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m going to put away the keyboard for the week to be with family. But I’ll be back blogging before the week is over 
Have a great weekend!
Making Good Decisions: Wisdom
In the event that none of the following occurs whilst you are trying to discern God’s plan for your life:
- no lightning bolts from heaven
- no booming voice in the clouds
- no miraculous intervention
- no parting of any small oceans
- no strange pillars of fire
- no french toast falling from the sky
- no properly soaked fleeces
- no unmistakable dreams
- no boisterous visions
- no vociferous prophecies
- no sun standing still
- no weight of glory
Congratulations. You are the 99%.
Remember in September when I posted an article on five ways we can know God’s will? I left one thing out….
Wisdom.
Wisdom is the God-given ability to make decisions in accordance with one’s godly identity.
Wisdom is more than earthly philosophies, or intelligence. It is the practical aspect of our decision-making catching up with our positional standing in Christ. One of the best passages to illuminate this is in Romans 12:2,
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Within the Scriptures, this is the bastion of a Christian’s decision-making process!
Let’s extract four elements from Paul’s excerpt:
- Don’t form your decisions on the same values the world does (“do not be conformed”)
- Change the way you think! (“be transformed”)
- Form your ideas according to what God thinks is important (“by the renewing of your mind”)
- This type of wisdom will help you to know God’s will (“prove what the will of God is”)
Instead of focusing on every minute situation that could arise in any given moment, Paul goes directly to the heart of our decision-making: our worldview–that which forms the grid by which we understand reality.
Paul’s reasoning is that if we can change our worldview to match Christ’s, we will inevitably make heavenly-minded decisions where we must respond with haste.
The best way to change your worldview is to let it assimilate God’s. We do this by feeding like starving animals on the written Word of God. There is no shortcut. Only a feast.
As you feast on the delicacies of God’s written revelation, you will find over time that you begin to think more like him in every situation. At that point, just make the wisest decision you can.
Poison and Wine || The Civil Wars come to Santa Barbara
A little break from the daily grind….
Related articles
- The Civil Wars – Poison and Wine (lyndonology.com)
Operation Lydia ~ Discipleship
Operation Lydia is a four-part series, which is a simple way to consider mission within the context in which you live.
You can find a longer explanation here, the first post here (image), and the second post here (mission), and the third post here (community).
This is the final post, and arguably the most climatic once it is experienced…
4. Find your “Lydia”
Acts 16:12-13 ~ “On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening…”
Assuming you’ve been frequenting a particular place where you normally enjoy life, begin to prayerfully and thoughtfully consider a “regular” there who you will commit to in friendship for a long period of time. The rest is simple: engage with that person! The knowledge that you will be devoting yourself to that person in friendship for the long haul will remove from you the pressure to paint a target on them as a potential convert, and will allow you to more freely learn who they are as fellow imagers of God, empathize with their struggles, and enjoy them as potential friends. 
I challenge you, after identifying your “Lydia,” to spend the next six months just learning and listening to them.
You will be surprised what a litte L&L can do to further the mission of God.
Related articles
- Operation Lydia – an introduction (christopherlazo.com)
- Operation Lydia ~ Image (christopherlazo.com)
- Operation Lydia ~ mission (christopherlazo.com)
- Operation Lydia ~ community (christopherlazo.com)
The Church needs to do more!
Heard that one before? Said that one before??
Millennials thirst for significance, and we are no different in the church; too restless to settle with the status quo ante, we want to push any limit that smacks of apathy. Neither do younger generations like to fall into routine, just because “That ‘s how it’s always been done,” especially when we see some traditions actually harming the body of Christ or the world around us. This Millennial boat-shaking ought to be welcomed as a blessing.
With limits, of course.
Sometimes we take it overboard, and may grow disgruntled with the church because it won’t move as fast as we would like.
Ever been in that Bible study where the young dude shouts in zealous angst, “The modern church should be more like the church in the book of Acts! More like the Early Church!”
To which I reply, “No, YOU need to be more like the Early Church! Drink some decaf and stop yelling.”
Sometimes our zeal is too tightly packed. We end up waving a gun around at anyone who gets in the way….including the Church.
But how can Millennials remain passionate without dishonoring the Bride of Christ? Below are means that will help us more effectively siphon a passion for change back into the church.
Let’s repent of our pride, and remember that we ARE the church.
Things always seem to go awry when we remove ourselves from the mayhem (even if we had nothing to do with it!). When you join a church, you are joining the mess! And when you follow Christ, you join his Church. I’ve heard Millennials cite Martin Luther’s reform of the church as reason to rebel, yet unaware of how hard he struggled to bring change from within, in fact, he never left the church—he was kicked out! And when the prophet Daniel wanted healing for God’s people, he did not do so from a safe place, but identified with the mess, praying, “We have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulation” (Dan. 9:5, emphasis mine), though he is one of the few men in Scripture whose sins went unrecorded!
Passion must never travel without humility.
Conviction must not go unchecked by a community.
Change must always be accompanied by empathy.
And this is where we often thrive, anyway: through collaborative relationships.
