by Wade Crews | May 31, 2017
As Christians today, we are challenged by a secular worldview that goes against almost everything we stand for. The truth is, we often find it very difficult to stand for what we claim to be true.
The world does not have the same definition for life that we do. Marriage, personhood, gender, truth, creation, eternal essence, even historical figures’ faith in God are all maligned and drastically twisted to meet the desires of those who want to live a life that is not described in Scripture as good, wholesome or holy.
So how do we walk in the midst of a fallen and broken world that would rather drag us down than have us help lift them up? First, I would suggest we walk in a way that is unashamed. Don’t allow the world to define who you are and who you are in Christ.
God’s definition of success is not the same as the world’s. There are too many places where God honors the lowly. Look at the widow and her tiny offering. See Jesus at a leper’s home. The lowly, the outcast, the hated were who Jesus spent time with. God is less concerned that you have the right car, live in the right house, wear the right watch and your kids go to the right school than He is with you living and walking the right way.
I would suggest one example for us lies deep in the Old Testament. It is no secret that life is hard, and how we face the world can make a huge difference in outcomes. In our journey through life, we need to realize there will be obstacles and challenges so overwhelming we need to listen to God and follow His direction.
Such was the case as Joshua and Israel after crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land faced the mighty city of Jericho. God gave them guidance and direction. Basically, it was “be who I called you to be, take Me with you and walk around the city.”
Notice God did not say “Throw rocks or rotten tomatoes at the city walls. Yell at them and tell them how bad they are. Walk with signs that read they are vile people and are going to hell, etc.” In Joshua 6, God actually said this, “You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead” (Josh 6:3-5).
I know everyone doesn’t see things the way I do, and that’s probably not a bad thing, but is there a takeaway for us out of the history of Jericho? I think there is.
- The battle is already won! God is the victor and the provider of success.
- Be not ashamed. The Lord goes before you. “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you” (Deut. 31:6).
- Just walk around. That sounds simple, but look at what God had them do. He had them walk around the city with the Ark of the Covenant, maybe even with some banners, dressed in their uniforms and priestly garments, and even blowing the trumpets.
As we engage the world, we can’t be timid or try to appease them. We can’t join the world in their definition of success and fun.
We can’t worry about offending them by how we live or the way we do life in a manner that honors God. We need to understand the truth will always offend people who want to live a lie.
We need to understand that, more than anything, all we have to do is listen to God. We should walk around unashamed of who we are, knowing that God is not only with us but goes before us and is ready to tear down the walls that stand between us, and lives He uses us to impact.
Do we walk around our city unashamed of who we are in Christ? Are we strong and courageous, knowing God has gone before us? Are we ready to move when God tears down walls?
All we really have to do is be who we really are and walk around unashamed. Are you ready for God to tear down the walls in your life?
by Wade Crews | Apr 11, 2017
In this, our last installment of the A.I.M. series, where “A” stands for being Authentic, not hiding our love for the Lord and who we are in Christ, and “I” means being Intentional in how we live so that we intentionally honor God, on purpose, in whatever we do. “M” represents being Missional.
It has been a while since I have blogged. We are all busy, but the last several months have been crazy in a lot of ways. Often Satan will use the busyness of life to throw us off our game or our “mission.” That is still no excuse for this blog being so overdue. See my past blogs for more in depth information on Authentic and Intentional.
What does “Missional” look like? What does it even mean? An easy place to start is in the last chapter of Matthew. Known as the Great Commission, I will often ask groups I am speaking to who tend to be very knowledgeable in what the Bible says, to quote it for me.
They usually begin like this, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” At which point I stop them, because they begin in verse 19 of the 28th chapter. Christians hang their hats on the Great Commission, but we tend to underwhelm our faith with the focus.
If we were a corporate entity, our product would be ….wait for it … Disciples! That is what Christ called us to make.
We play a role in kingdom work. It requires a missional mindset to fulfill it. The challenge we have as believers is we have a perspective of going when God wants us to have a perspective of submitting. The Great Commission does not begin in verse 19. It begins in verse 18. Jesus steps up and holds the scepter in front of our eyes and says “All authority has been given Me in heaven and on earth.”
Wow! Therefore….we go. We don’t go because we have all this power and ability to lend God a hand in His effort to get more people to love Him. We go because (or therefore) we submit to the universal and total authority of Christ. We don’t go because we are told to go. We go because of Who told us to go.
I am bombarded with requests, directions, instructions and expectations from all types of external influences from family to supervisors. I have to prioritize and manage my time and efforts and determine what has the greatest impact on me, my family and others. What does God want me to do? You see, I need to do what God wants me to do, and consequently, I should want to do what God needs me to. More importantly, I should live this Authentic, Intentional and Missional life daily.
A.I.M is really Luke 9:23 put into action. Being Authentic as Christians is “Denying ourselves.” Aren’t we really fake when we hide our Christianity and faith outside the walls of the church?
Being Authentic is denying the temptation to blend into the world and take the path of least resistance.
Being Intentional is deciding to “take up our cross daily.” When do Christians accidently talk to someone about Jesus or accidently pray for someone or accidently perform an act of Christian charity? Being Missional is “follow Me.”
When we submit to His authority, obey Him (Great Commission) and follow Christ in His mission, we are Missional. Jesus told us why He came (Luke 19:10 “…to seek and to save that which was lost”). When we realize we can never follow someone we don’t allow to lead, only then will we truly be Missional.
Here is what that might look like at your church: A Restaurant Outreach Ministry
Order some business cards for prospects, listing service times and types on the back and a matte finish on the front which is easily written on*. Then encourage your people to engage their server when they go out to eat in an Authentic, Intentional and Missional way. You might ask questions like these:
“When we pray over our meal – how can we pray for you?”
“Where are you from?”
“Any kids?”
“We have a great ______ at our church”
“Here is a card with the worship times”
“When you come to church – find us/ask for us”
The “easy math” for a church would assume 100 people/families eat out at least 3 times per week. That is over 1,000 encounters per, month or 12,000+ encounters per year. If 99% of those encounters fail to produce a member, you still grow by at least 120 members and families in one year – just from restaurant outreach. By most people’s definition of failure, your church can grow by more than 120 members per year. Who wouldn’t want that?
That is a very easy way to work on your A.I.M.
*BTW – 5000 business cards cost less than 100.00
by Wade Crews | Nov 9, 2016
In the first blog from this series on our A.I.M. (being Authentic, Intention and Missional), we looked at what it meant to be authentic and why it was important. As you would expect, it is time to glance at what it means to be intentional. One thing we all need to realize is that the difference between a secular worldview and a Christian worldview is a secular worldview never includes Christ. That raises the question for Christians, “What part of my life should reflect a secular worldview?” Umm… how about none?
Let’s look at just a couple of places where the Bible talks about being intentional. Col. 3:17 says, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” One, I would challenge you to read and apply all of Colossians 3 to your daily life; but two, how much wiggle room does “whatever you do in word or deed” give you when it comes to the way we live? This requires intentional living. How dare we blend in with the world when we go about our daily business? Holiness is not reserved for a couple of hours on Sundays.
But what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to accomplish this life of intentionality?
Rom. 12:1-3 says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 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. For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” You see, we are called to be different, not conformed to the world. It is actually God’s will for us (His children) to be and look obviously different.
Why are we to be intentional? Because God is intentional. Christ did not accidently die on the cross for our sins and was not accidently resurrected on the third day to defeat death and hell. No one ever came up to me all excited and said “Hey, guess what? I accidently led someone to the Lord. They got saved because I accidently mentioned something and let it slip out during a conversation that they needed Jesus.”
Here is what it might look like. Your church buys 50 tickets to Affair of the Heart or a gun show and sends out its men or women to have a great time and wonderful fellowship with a purpose. Go – enjoy – have a great time – buy stuff, but everyone intentionally talks to someone about Jesus while they are at the event. “We serve at this church… How can we pray for you? … God blessed me by meeting you today…” It’s not hard, but it does require a paradigm shift from looking and sounding like everyone else (the world) to being a living sacrifice and intentionally introducing people to your Savior. Anybody can look like everyone else. It is the intentional person who looks like Christ.
by Wade Crews | Sep 12, 2016
How is your aim?
One of the first things you learn in any kind of sport or work that involves hitting a target is to have a proper “sight picture” on that target. In other words, your aim has to be precise. Whether putting a golf ball, shooting a free throw, or busting a clay pigeon, you must have steady hands. You must see your target. You should even visualize hitting the target, or making the putt. You must practice. But more importantly, your aim must be accurate, based on your sight picture and how you see the goal.
It is the same in our Christian lives. I have made a simple acronym from the word A.I.M.. As we set our sights on a goal in Kingdom Work, we should always strive to be Authentic, Intentional and Missional. To drive the point home, the opposite of A.I.M. is M.I.A.. We don’t want to be Missing In Action or to be found lacking when it is time to produce for the Lord.
In this first of three blogs, we will look at being authentic.
Authentic:
Most of my ministerial work has been with youth/college age “kids” and with senior adults. I find it interesting that they are the two groups who seem to pick up on a person being phony quicker than anyone. Why is it that between age 25 and 65, people will gravitate to the some of the most unauthentic people and promises on the planet? Why is plastic programmed production value more important than sincere, significant and relational discipleship? We must be authentic throughout a person’s entire life journey. The prodigals will come home if we are authentic and consistent. The key to being authentic is when they come home we (the church) are the same as when they left to chase the world’s definition of success and significance. After all “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
We should be authentic because God is authentic. We should be real because God is real. We should be full of grace and truth because God is grace and truth. God does not do anything by accident. God is the God of structure and organization. We are a holy people and have nothing to be afraid of. We have nothing to back up from, because we are who we are. We are authentic and authentically His.
As Paul put it so well in Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16). But later, Paul went on to tell Timothy, “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know Whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tim. 1:12).
Why are we often afraid to be who we are and more importantly to be who we were called to be? Peer pressure is nothing more than caring more about what men think than what God thinks. I think Paul knew the Old Testament very well and would have us know what is found in Isaiah, “For the Lord GOD helps me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set my face like flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed” (Isa. 50:7).
Wow! What a definition of authenticity. Be authentic today!
by Wade Crews | Sep 1, 2016
The other day, some sweet church members gave me and some other staff members little wire baskets of peaches. My basket had five really big peaches in it. They were so big only three or four fit well in the little basket.
As I was leaving for the night, I stopped by to say goodnight to our cleaning ladies who are always very sweet and encouraging. One of them said “Ooooh – look at those peaches! Where did you get those?” As I was telling her, two of them fell out. After she helped me pick up the fallen fruit, she said “Those are some mighty fine peaches – I wish someone would give me some peaches like that.”
Well, it took me a few times – but I finally got the hint. I said “Do you guys like peaches?” One lady said no but the one who noticed them said “Oh honey child…do I like peaches?” I asked if she wanted one as a huge grin beamed on her face and I handed her a peach.
As I got to my truck, God smacked me in the head and taught me I had just experienced the picture of salvation and leading others to Christ.
We have something that is a gift from Someone Who loves us.
It should be evident and attractive to others.
They should want what we have and ask where we got it.
We should have it in overflowing abundance.
We should offer it up freely because we have more than we need.