The Communications of Jesus

Technology is great, especially when it works.  One of the great things we have at our disposal is the ability to pass information from books, sermons, or quotes to hundreds; if not thousands of people in an instant.
One subject I've noticed that can cause quite a stir in the Twitter, Facebook and Blogger circuit is when postings are made about the church.
Honestly, to me the subject of  The Church can be one of the most confusing topics out there.  I've heard pastors spend 30 minutes in their message talking about how the church is not a building but a people united for Jesus then spend the other 30 minutes encouraging people to be faithful to the building. (haha)

Let me say, I LOVE the Church and it's certainly a topic that can push my buttons. I've grown up in church, I've been hurt by the church, I've been loved by the church, I've attended church planting meetings and met with countless pastors on the subject of "The Church."  With that said, allow me to set a little bit of context;  I know it's human nature to quickly run to either side of the ditch when it comes to any subject.  Righteousness and grace, legalism and freedom, Jesus and church, rebellion and religious and so on.  But what we need to remember, regardless of what side of the ditch we end up on concerning an issue... it's still a ditch.
When it comes to statements like, "I love Jesus just not the church"  or "Jesus would spend more time chasing after the one rather than the other ninety-nine" or even "Jesus wouldn't be in the church today" is my concern to what audience in which these statements are made.  The truth is some people hear these statements and lock on to them as the "gospel" when they are nothing more than simple statements made to "relate" or "sympathize" with a generation who doesn't understand the church. Pastor Timothy Keller said it best in his book, The Prodigal God, "The concept of one loving Jesus but not liking the church is just another way to to hide in self deception"

Perhaps if we understood how Jesus communicated, then we'd be more mindful of what we communicate.  Here are five levels of communication we see Jesus use.
1.) The Multitudes:  Jesus taught them in story form and never explained His messages to them.  He knew the multitudes had come for one primary reason: to find answers for their personal needs.  Jesus didn't give assignments to the multitudes.  Jesus didn't try to disciple the multitudes.  Jesus didn't try to develop personal relationships with the multitudes.  Jesus simply challenged the masses to make greater spiritual commitments.
2.) The 70 Associates:  Jesus chose seventy to go before Him announcing His arrival. Jesus didn't attempt to disciple the seventy, he gave them personal assignments but did not enter into personal relationships with them.  We don't know any of their names, just their number.
3.) The 12 Disciples:  Jesus chose these twelve men personally; each of them is named and identified.  We know more about them than we know about the multitudes or the seventy. This is where Jesus spent the majority of His ministry.  Their learning session were in natural environments.  They walked, talked, ate together, they asked Jesus questions and He responded.  He explained His stories to them in detail.
4.) The Inner Circle:  This was Jesus' core group; Peter, James and John were the three that knew Him best and were closest to Him.  These men received His special assignments.  These were the friends Jesus took with Him when He went to raise the dead.  They saw His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration.  They saw His sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane.  
5.) The Beloved:  Of all Jesus' disciples, only one could say he was the disciple "whom Jesus loved."  John was the only one we know who laid his head on Jesus' chest.  Jesus gave John the responsibility of caring for His aging mother. 


Again let me keep these statements in context to the subject of communication (not salvation or any other subject.)  As I travel I and speak in different churches, I have to be sure to know the audience.  Too often we treat the multitudes as if they are the twelve or the inner circle.
I know I too need to be mindful of who is reading my post on Facebook and encourage all of us as The Church to build one another up in love and remember some things may not need to be repeated, re-posted or re-tweeted because it may cause more harm than good.
In love and unity!

The Enemies of Unity

As I was going through old notes on some subjects concerning leadership.  I ran across a message that Dave Ramsey gave back in 07' on the subject of unity at Catalyst conference.
The five points are his, the sub points are from collective sources I've gathered over the years that I believe go hand it hand to his 5 points regarding the subject. I found them incredibility meaningful to any group or organization who is wanting unity in their group.  Hope you enjoy some good sound wisdom from, Dave, a man who knows his stuff.

The Enemies of Unity


1. Poor Communication
 When speaking to a group, team or staff it's important to repeat often.  No one gets in one time what you've spent months dreaming, planning, making strategies and articulating to present vision for them.  We have all heard the phrase, "we need clear lines of communication."  But what does that mean to your group?
2 People or programs = 2 Lines of Communication
3 People or programs = 6 Lines of Communication
4 People or programs = 12 Lines of Communication
5 People or programs = 20 Lines of Communication
6 People or programs = 30 Lines of Communication
 As the group grows, so do the need to find multiple ways to communicate well.

2.  Gossip
Gossip is simply when a negative is discussed with anyone who can't help solve the problem.

3. Unresolved Disagreements
Unresolved disagreements happen when a leader doesn't know they exist or when that leader avoids confrontation.  The truth is a little confrontation cleanses the wounds of confusion and allows the individuals to move forward in a spirit of unity.  It's also important not to confuse "challenging the process" to be misread as "challenging authority."  These two are completely different.  And a team who is under the authority should have a welcome mat at the door of challenge the process.

4. Lack of Shared Purpose
It's been best said, "anything with two heads is a freak of nature and either needs to be killed or put under glass in a circus."  Because that's what your organization will resemble when players on the team don't share the same purpose, it'll die or look like a circus.

5. Sanctioned Incompetence
"Team members will eventually become demotivated when someone else on the team can't or won't do their job and a leader will not take action."--Dave Ramsey
I believe this is one of the biggest obstacles when dealing with building unity; especially in the faith culture, we want to give grace (as we should) but most the time we're not giving grace, we are simply being enablers.
Grace looks at someone who can't and gives the tools, teaching, mentoring so that person can.
Grace looks at someone who won't and honors them on their way out, either of the group or that area on the team.

When unity is valued in the group culture, the team will also act to keep these enemies at the gate.

United Stage Design

My good friend, Donald Sims, is the pastor of City of Hope Church in Manchester, KY.  He is doing an unbelievable job and their town is truly seeing "city transformation" in the area. 
I had the honor to join in their celebration service as another church in the area merged with them.  Below is the video I did to show the "how to" for the stage design as well as just a glimps of the energy as these two churches partner together as one.
Enjoy.

United Stage Design from Vince Farrell on Vimeo.