Joshua Woodlief

Water From The Rock

2011-10-12T12:42:00.000-05:00

Moses was a great leader, and it could be argued that he was the greatest person mentioned in all of the Old Testament. Moses, more than anyone, could look back over the course of his life and see God’s power at work in his life. Moses led a difficult group of people through the most difficult of situations, yet he never got to see the fruit of all of his work. God killed him before he allowed the Israelites to enter the land He had given them. Moses disobeyed God in front of the people, and God killed him before he could see the promise fulfilled.

In Numbers 20 we can read the story of Moses’ downfall. Here’s Numbers 20:1-12 in the Message...

1 In the first month, the entire company of the People of Israel arrived in the Wilderness of Zin. The people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and she was buried. 2 There was no water there for the community, so they ganged up on Moses and Aaron. 3 They attacked Moses: "We wish we'd died when the rest of our brothers died before God. 4 Why did you haul this congregation of God out here into this wilderness to die, people and cattle alike? 5 And why did you take us out of Egypt in the first place, dragging us into this miserable country? No grain, no figs, no grapevines, no pomegranates-and now not even any water!" 6 Moses and Aaron walked from the assembled congregation to the Tent of Meeting and threw themselves facedown on the ground. And they saw the Glory of God. 7 God spoke to Moses: 8 "Take the staff. Assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron. Speak to that rock that's right in front of them and it will give water. You will bring water out of the rock for them; congregation and cattle will both drink." 9 Moses took the staff away from God's presence, as commanded. 10 He and Aaron rounded up the whole congregation in front of the rock. Moses spoke: "Listen, rebels! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?" 11 With that Moses raised his arm and slammed his staff against the rock-once, twice. Water poured out. Congregation and cattle drank. 12 God said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you didn't trust me, didn't treat me with holy reverence in front of the People of Israel, you two aren't going to lead this company into the land that I am giving them."

There are a few things I want to point out that I learned from this passage about leadership. Hopefully these will be beneficial to you.

1- Moses’ response was in reaction to the pressure and complaining of the people he was leading. There are so many times that church leaders can be reactionary, and their decisions end up leading them down a path they never intended to travel. I know from my own life that I struggle with people pleasing. Most people who know me a little think this is untrue because of my demeanor and tattoos, but I assure you I do struggle in this area. I'm not quite the rebel I appear to be! This is my biggest struggle as a leader. The only way I have found to conquer this issue is full reliance on the One who has called me to lead. If we are truly called to lead and doing something significant the enemy will try to distract us. In most occurrences he uses the voices that are closest to us. The key is blocking the voices that are trying to pull us off course.

2- Moses sought the credit for bringing the water out of the rock. Look at verse 10...

He and Aaron rounded up the whole congregation in front of the rock. Moses spoke: "Listen, rebels! Do WE have to bring water out of this rock for you?"

To fully understand what occurs in verse 10 we need to go back to verse 6. It says,

Moses and Aaron walked from the assembled congregation to the Tent of Meeting and threw themselves facedown on the ground. And they saw the Glory of God.

They saw the Glory of God, but they left the place they had just met him in and sought credit for the work that only God could do. I think church leaders do this so often. We seek God’s face for direction, and in the end we were out to gain glory and fame for ourselves. My Father, Jerry, is an amazing judge of character. When I was growing he always told me that people’s true motivations always shine through despite the appearance of good intentions. This is sad, but true in many churches today. This is why it is good for a leader to have proper accountability in his or her life. We need people to constantly test our motives. Most often, I find that if I have to explain my motives to someone I lead, then I should do a gut check and test my heart. These honest moments with ourselves and with our teams keep us humbly following our guide, Jesus.

3- Moses was disobedient, yet he still saw results. Verse 11 says,

With that Moses raised his arm and slammed his staff against the rock-once, twice. Water poured out. Congregation and cattle drank.

As leaders we must be careful to not equate God's blessing with visible results. Obviously, the two can go together, but in some cases we can see the results of our work despite going against the will of God. In the modern American church we tend to base our success on how many people show up on a Sunday, by how many people volunteer for our team, or even how emotional people’s reactions are during worship. David Platt said it best at a conference I attended last week. He said something to the extent of “All we need to have a successful worship gathering is a rocking band, a charismatic leader and some awesome lights.” The thought hit me in that moment that just because people show up or respond in an emotional way doesn’t mean that God is honored. God is honored when we make his fame and glory our only priority. Moses disobeyed God by hitting the rock, yet the rock still spit out water. Moses put his glory before the glory of God. He sought his own fame first. What area(s) of our ministries are we seeing results in despite God not being honored? Are we willing to change to see spiritual growth over the visible, tangible results?

4- God is honored when we trust and fear him. Verse 12,

God said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you didn't trust me, didn't treat me with holy reverence in front of the People of Israel, you two aren't going to lead this company into the land that I am giving them."

Because you didn’t trust me... Those words have been like a kick in the teeth over the past couple of days. How many times have I taken things into my own hands? How many times have I relied on my own abilities? How many times have I ignored the Spirit’s leading because it didn’t seem logical? How about you? Leaders are called to be out front leading a group of people, but many times we forget that we are still following the One who has called and equipped us to lead. God doesn’t reveal the roads we should travel for us to take detours.

you didn’t treat me with holy reverence... Humility is something that goes against our human nature. When we see ourselves as we really are (broken, sinful, helpless and desperate) there is no way we can approach leadership with pride. We see an example of this in the book of Isaiah. Chapters 1-5 are about the wickedness of Israel and God's plans to devastate them. In chapter 6 we see God call Isaiah to warn His people. God didn't call him until he had humbled him. Isaiah was ruined and desperate when he saw the Father because it caused him to look inward and see his own inadequacy. The best leaders I have learned from in the church are the ones who have a humble submission to the leadership of the Father. This was such a huge reminder to me that in my own life and leadership I have to keep my eyes on the One I am following, and not on myself.

Hopefully these have helped you! Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings. Are there any observations you would like to add?

We are Loved (Re-Post)

2011-05-25T14:02:00.000-05:00

Today, I was reading through old blogs that I have written over the past couple years. I noticed that I don't write much, but I usually write way too much when I do! I think it all builds up inside me, and I have to get it all out at once. This blog will prove that. Anyways, I am re-posting this blog from November of 2007. That's a long time ago. I miss the passion I used to write with! I guess back then I didn't care as much what people thought of me... I need to get back there. That's why this blog is important to me.

There I was in the airport, minding my own business, when God decided to open my eyes. It was most unexpected and sudden. As I began to see those around me my heart became heavy and overwhelmed. I began to see people through a spiritual lens. I pray quite often that God will give me spiritual eyes; I did not expect it to happen in the airport.

As I sat there watching, there were many different types of people. Some people were in groups and others were obviously alone. People were rushing to get to their connecting flights. These individuals were rushing around me, making it a struggle for me to focus on anything substantial such as reading or playing solitaire.

These individuals who were scampering about were not the ones who intrigued me, but rather it was the individuals who were standing in their business attire with laptops and PDA's out. As I began to observe their behavior I began to feel awkward watching them. I saw business men and women who wanted to be noticed and appreciated so badly. They desired recognition and applause. I snooped on two individual's conversation about a presentation they were involved in later this week. They were obviously not on the same page. It sounded like two seven year olds fighting over the last lolly pop. Both wanted to be the leader and neither wanted to be the follower. There were also several men standing around in their suits talking on their cell phones. It was as if they were trying to trump the others volume level. They all wanted to be heard, not only by whomever they were speaking to, but also by those of us who were listening to their blabbing as well. Each one desired notoriety from us even though we did not even know their names.

Why are we this way? Why do we strive to have others notice us so badly that we are willing to go to the point of looking foolish to grab attention? Does this behavior have deeper spiritual implications? I believe so. At the core of all of us is a pursuit for love and adoration. The revelation that came to me was that I am just like those people many days. I have the desire to be noticed. I desire people's attention. The only difference between me and those men wearing their thousand dollar suits is that I hate suits, ties and dress pants with an enraged passion.

So is their a remedy? Yes! We can see ourselves as pursued by a God that loves us more than our imaginations can even begin to dream. He is actively pursuing us when we care the least about him. I know in my life there are times when I do not feel God at all. Not just a feeling of loneliness; I mean it feels as if He has forgotten me. In these times of perceived abandonment, I tend to pursue the applause of those that surround me. As a worship pastor, this is my great struggle. It is so easy to feed on the applause and attention of an audience on Sunday morning. It is easy to feel superficially loved with the "great job today" and the "man, worship was great", but in the end I am left just as lonely and unsatisfied as ever. David found himself in a major valley when writing Psalm 63. He was running for his life and in a moment of loneliness he cried out to God, the God who satisfies. David proclaims to God that he is thirsty for His presence. Notice that he does not say that he is thirsty for water, food or any external means of sustenance. David was thirsty for the presence of God because only He brings true satisfaction.

This is my struggle and maybe it is your's as well. Are you in the business world and using your position to gain applause? Are you a pastor, like me, who has tried to gain others applause as a cheap substitute for what you truly need? We need to cry out in desperation, much like what David did in Psalm 63. We must tell the father that we desire him more than the applause of others. When we stop trying to get ahead and we fall before the God who loves and pursues us, the applause and recognition of men seems shallow in comparison. May we begin to see ourselves through spiritual eyes. May we drop the act around each other and accept ourselves despite what others think of us. May we throw down our masks and walk free of the opinions of those we are trying to impress. We are loved! We are accepted! May God teach us to put His opinion of us in a higher place than those around us. And lastly, may we stop trying to be so impressive all the time and just be who we are in Christ. I pray that the Father will begin to communicate hope to those places in you that need to feel accepted and loved.

Thanks for Reading...

Questions

2011-02-24T13:33:00.000-06:00

I get a lot of questions from people who ask why I don't write much anymore. It's not that I don't think about it... I just don't seem to be able to get anything out when I sit down to write... here's why.

Have you ever read through several blogs in a day and instead of feeling challenged and encouraged... you just feel deflated? I have that feeling more often than not when reading other people's blogs. I have several great friends who write blogs, and they have some great things to say about culture, church and leadership. I have so much admiration for their thoughts and ideas, but many times it causes a deep insecurity in me because I compare myself to them.

Many times I find myself wanting to be the guy who has discovered 7 steps to better leadership or 11 1/2 ways to motivate people to work more efficiently. No matter how hard I try (and I do) I just can't seem to be that kind of leader. Today's church leader has become stereotyped as the super blogger who is well connected in all aspects of social media. In this age of blogs, twitter, facebook and myspace it is so easy to fall into the trap of competition. In the past I have tried so hard to come up with genius ideas to revolutionize the face of the church, but my motivation was screwed up. I just ended up looking and acting like every other leader out there. I now know, because of those experiences, that when we aren't true to who we were made to be, we end up creating dysfunction. I could write a book on leaders who play games acting like everyone but themselves. They end up being terrible leaders who think they are good leaders because they can speak the lingo and quote all of the catch phrases... the consequences of this are not good. Imagine the possibilities if leaders started leading creatively and instinctively rather than striving to be the next John Maxwell. John Maxwell is only known because he decided to be John Maxwell.

The instincts of a leader make them push toward the front. It is who they are. But how do we do that with humility? How do we lead when we don't have all the answers? Can we embrace a leader who leads out of the natural instincts God gave them even if it is different from our preference? Does there have to be a process and principle for everything? Why do leaders complicate everything, even if the issue has no fix or answer? Those are a few of the questions I have been asking myself the past few days.

Here's a few things I discovered about myself lately...

I am an introvert.
I like quiet.
I like thinking more than speaking.
Incessant noise makes me a touch irritable.
I have always been passionate about worship, but now I see that my real passion isn't just leading people. I am passionate about teaching them to worship on their own.
My passion for worship makes me seem like an extrovert, because on stage I tend to get a bit "energetic."
The world needs someone to be the expert, yet I get annoyed when people think they are experts on any given topic.
I am not an expert and hope I never think that I am.
I think leaders who change their direction based on every complaint they hear aren't really leading, but rather following.
I have more questions than answers.
I am insecure about leadership because I don't seem to fit anyone's pre shaped mold.
Most days I feel like I can't add up to what people want me to be.
I think leadership is more about relationships than principles or whatever the latest leadership book says.
I don't like following people who lack humility.
I lead in a way that is unique to me, but I don't feel like I am a great leader.
Every time I change how I lead to fit a mold... I crash and burn.

So how does an introvert with a ton of questions succeed as a leader in a culture who embraces the expert?

If anyone is reading this... I would love to hear your thoughts.

One Word... Life

2010-02-11T15:35:00.001-06:00

This is a link to the video of my first sermon I have ever preached. I spoke Sunday, January 17th at my church. I spoke on the Christian's role inside and outside the church. It went really long because I was afraid to not have enough content. Looking back, I might have preached two sermons worth of material! Hope you enjoy it!

My Micro Self

2010-02-11T07:39:00.001-06:00

“What defines us?” is the question that has haunted me for quite some time. As I have examined myself I have found that most often I define myself by what I am not. Such definitions could include: I am not as attractive as some guys, I am not as musical as I want to be, I am not as deep as I want to be, I am not organized…not, not, not… After a while the "nots" can overshadow who I truly am.

Most people I know do not know who they are, and the truth is most times I do not know who I am either. Most of us define ourselves by what we lack rather than what we have. It is no wonder that most people have such a twisted perception of their self worth. We judge who we are by our social status, our weight or attractiveness, what we wear or even what we drive. When we truly learn who we are these things, which have defined us for so long, become superficial and insignificant.

In our churches we have overused the statement “God created you to…” and it has, in many ways, lost its significance. This statement has become one of those “religious” things that we say even though we do not understand the depth of its true meaning. Yes, we were all created for a purpose, but how many of us marvel at the fact that we were created and that we are not an accident? You and I were created by a God that loves us above anything else that he made.

Most of us do not realize just how small and trivial our existence is in light of the enormity of the universe. Astronomers estimate that there are 200,000,000,000 galaxies in our universe, and in our galaxy alone there are 100,000,000,000 stars. We are quite literally a speck of dust in this massive expanse that He created. Why would he love us above everything else that he created? There is such creativity and beauty in our universe so why would he care about short, semi-attractive, semi-talented and slightly overweight me?

In the beginning of the story, our story, it is said that we were created in His image! Why us? Why not the animals? Why not the stars? John described God as a radiant, colorful light, so it seems the stars would resemble him more than plain, old me. I do not know why He wanted me to be in His image nor do I know why He chooses to love me, but I do know that it makes me special!

Many of us are creating an image for ourselves that is counterfeit. We buy the newest and best clothes, and in the end we look no different than anyone else. We buy the newest mp3 players and computers only to find that they are out of date a month later. So how do we begin to see ourselves how He sees us? Can we? Do we even care how he sees us?

I truly believe that we care more about what those around us see than what He sees in us. Christians have become so standardized and all we want to do is be like the plastic, cut out Christian beside us because they fit in, and they seem so “Christian”. This is the trap that we have all fallen into. "In the name of Jesus" we let them put the cookie cutter on us, thus conforming us to a man made image which looks nothing like our God given image.

So how do we fix this internal struggle? Can we counter condition ourselves to see our true worth through his creation of us? Yes we can! We must choose what we believe. Most importantly, we must see ourselves, not as our flesh dictates, but as the spirit inside us yearns for us to. Brennan Manning says, “Self deception is the enemy of wholeness because it prevents us from seeing ourselves as we really are”. When we see just how small we are compared to His glory we can only be led into a state of worship because He loves us.

I believe that with a lot of discipline we can begin to love ourselves again because He loves us. I believe that we can begin to see beauty when we walk past our reflection in the mirror because He sees beauty in us. I believe that we can be happy with our individual personality traits because He gave them to us. I believe that we can be healed of the disease of self-hatred because we are adopted and cherished. I believe that through our healing our communities can flourish and grow in to a nourishing environment that people will desire.

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
Your handmade sky-jewelry,
moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second to look our way?
(Psalm 8 The Message)

Jesus, I my cross have taken

2010-02-08T01:37:00.000-06:00

Someone shared this hymn with me today and it is really amazing. Thought I would share.

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

1. Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition,
All I’ve sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition!
God and heaven are still my own.

2. Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like them, untrue.
O while Thou dost smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me,
Show Thy face and all is bright.

3. Man may trouble and distress me,
’Twill but drive me to Thy breast.
Life with trials hard may press me;
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me
While Thy love is left to me;
Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.

4. Go, then, earthly fame and treasure,
Come disaster, scorn and pain
In Thy service, pain is pleasure,
With Thy favor, loss is gain
I have called Thee Abba Father,
I have stayed my heart on Thee
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.

5. Soul, then know thy full salvation
Rise o’er sin and fear and care
Joy to find in every station,
Something still to do or bear.
Think what Spirit dwells within thee,
Think what Father’s smiles are thine,
Think that Jesus died to win thee,
Child of heaven, canst thou repine.

6. Haste thee on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith, and winged by prayer.
Heaven’s eternal days before thee,
God’s own hand shall guide us there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

The Leper...

2009-10-26T09:37:00.001-05:00

I haven't written in such a long time. It's been over a year. There are many reasons for this, but the main one is that I have needed a season to reflect and search myself. This past year has been one of many joys and many heartaches. I got married to the most wonderful woman in the world. She is more of a blessing than I deserve. She has taught me more about myself as a man and taught me more about God than I could have ever imagined one person could have.

Lately God has given me more passion and fire than I have had in years. I don't even know what to type, so bear with me as I stumble through this. I am a pastor here in Clarksville, TN at onechurch.tv and I love my church more than I could ever begin to write in this short space. I am the "Worship Pastor" here and God began a new work in my heart about two months ago. I realized that I had become more passionate about music and leading worship than I was about the God who all of this is supposed to be for. I think it is an easy place to be. When God gives you a gift and a talent it is so easy to function within that gifting and never acknowledge the giver. I write this in public format because I believe that healing can begin when we admit our faults, let go of our pride and let God begin to work. Praise God he has given new passion for Him and his word. I had become distracted by so many things was missing the one thing who could have given life and joy.

See I bought into this stupid sinful idea that Pastors have it all together. Despite knowing the truth, my actions said that I believed in order to lead I had to be strong and give the appearance that I know what I am doing. Because my focus had shifted away from God and onto music, I had become dry and stale. Some of you are probably thinking, "I am glad I don't go to his church. This guy is way off". The truth... I have been off. I think maybe we all need to have more humble moments and stop acting perfect. The real world is in need of genuineness. We all get off. From this point on I refuse to appear OK and perfect, when what I need is Confession and change. I find, on the other side of this year long journey, that I really don't know anything. Apart from God and His grace I am just a big pile of crap. I had been spraying Febreeze on the pile hoping to hide the stink, but as we all know this would only be a temporary fix. God literally tore down my walls two months ago and began to show me that I was so in need of his presence. I was so in need of his life giving Spirit to refresh me.

I read Luke 17:11-19 the other day and God has burned it into my mind and my spirit. Here's what it says...

¹¹While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.

¹²As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him;

¹³and they raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

¹⁴When He saw them, He said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they were going, they were cleansed.

¹⁵Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice,

¹⁶and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they?

¹⁸"Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?"

¹⁹And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."

I have always heard this passage taught with a focus on gratefulness for what God has done in our lives. I think this is a valid teaching, but God showed me this passage in a new light. What if this passage is not so much about what God did, but rather about us missing God. I am sure all the men were grateful. I am sure that they all went and told the story to everyone they knew. i don't think gratefulness was the issue. I think the nine missed God. They got so wrapped up in being clean and free from isolation that they celebrated their freedom and not the God who had given it. The one turned around and fell on his face worshiping Jesus. I think we can learn a lot about worship from this man.

As I was reading I felt God say, "Josh, you are one of those lepers." Most people who say they hear God's audible voice freak me out, so I am not saying I hear him. I think we have all had those moments when we know God is about to kick our butt. When we think about our condition before Jesus saved us, we are all much like the lepers. We were alienated from God's family. We were unclean until, like them, we cried out for mercy and Jesus cleaned us. I feel like is true for so many people, including myself. Many times, we celebrate His salvation, freedom, grace, mercy and love, but we miss him. We worship God for what he does for us... For what he gives us... In the words of Matt Chandler "If you worship God for this or that, then you are after this or that, thus making you an idolater". Ouch... The hard part for me was admitting to myself that most likely I would have been one of the nine. Grateful, but not worshiping. Healed, but not humbled in the presence of God. I am tired of seeking things. I am ready to seek God. How about you?

Here's what I think... I think we need a generation of people who are passionate about Jesus and the word. A generation who seeks God's face and who don't treat him like a genie in a bottle. A generation who knows that without his spirit we are done for. A generation that presses into his presence and doesn't remain satisfied with the status quo or some stupid feeling we get when the band plays the right song. A generation who knows and worships God, not for what he has done, but for who he is. A generation that lives to see his name great on the earth. A generation who seeks to build His eternal kingdom here on earth rather that settling for our castles made of sand that wash away in the tide. A generation that is focused on what matters rather than what is comfortable.

May we all admit that we are one of the lepers. May we all examine which one we are and deal with God about the answer we give. If we sing, dance and do "church" but miss God, what has it all been for? I refuse to miss God any longer. I am desperate for his presence. Without his Spirit I am nothing. I know this has been really random and broken up. Thanks for reading. I am learning and God is changing me. My prayer for you is the same for myself, that God would search us and clean us. And may we not miss him in the process.

Learning,

Joshua Woodlief

The Choice...

2008-08-11T15:21:00.000-05:00

In our church this week we sang a song called "Healer" for the first time. It was an awesome moment for our church. I had been praying for our people all week. My prayer was that God would do something special with this song. He did not disappoint me. As I was leading this song, I could begin to see walls break down. I spoke in the middle of the song about how God not only wanted to heal physical wounds, but also those hidden and secret wounds that only we know. God wants to heal the mental and emotional scars from our past, the anguish of adultery, the pain of losing a child, and the addiction to substance. He is here to heal us completely, to make us whole. I saw people let go of their hurt and bondage and worship their God will all of their hearts. It was truly amazing.

I have been thinking through the events of yesterday and it has caused my heart to be heavy. I know that God broke hearts in our service, but what comes after the service when Monday arrives and the pain is still there? I have pondered today how we take the feeling on Sunday and make it reality on Monday. I am not charismatic at all, but if you were to ask me what I felt in the room yesterday I would have told you that the room was filled with Healing. I am not trying to ignore or diminish that feeling, but is the feeling worth it if Monday doesn't change. What does our worship lead to? Hope? Faith? We sing songs about how we believe that he is our healer, but on Monday we worry and soak in misery. I am no different because I am a pastor. I struggle so much. I have a few struggles in my life.

This fact about me has led me to a conclusion. Healing is a choice. It is a choice that sometimes defies logic and feeling. When we truly believe that God heals we will begin to walk in his freedom. I think God is just waiting for us to believe that he delivers. If we do choose healing then our determination will meet his faithfulness. The result will be miraculous.

Have you ever wondered what it would look like to walk in complete freedom? I have wondered this many times and I can honestly say that I have no clue what freedom looks like. So much of who I am is defined by my struggles and pain. To give it up would be like giving up a piece of myself. I know that healing is God will, but I continue to walk in bondage. So what is the answer. We choose. We choose the Healer and his healing, and then we choose to walk in freedom. Life boils down to choices. May we choose to walk away from pain and suffering and to walk in the healing that God is providing.

Kryptonite

2008-07-02T17:26:00.002-05:00

By: Joshua Woodlief

The number twelve changed the world. A movement was started with twelve. Twelve changed my life. Jesus used twelve ordinary men, who weren't the most scholarly to change the world (this gives me hope). It was a movement of ordinaries. A movement of people who doubted themselves and whom the world doubted as well. Jesus could have started this thing we call the church or Christianity any way he wanted, but he chose twelve. Jesus could have shown up and demanded that the world turn to him and we would have had no choice, but this was a different kind of kingdom he was building. This kingdom had humble beginnings.

We will focus on the kingdom in future writings, but for today we will focus on twelve. Jesus started the church with twelve. Those twelve multiplied very quickly on the day of Pentecost, by 3000 people. This was an incredible day in the history of the church, well I guess it was the first day of it all... so yeah, that's big. So it all started with twelve, and here we are today, a couple thousand years later.

I mentioned in the beginning of this blog what twelve had changed, now let me tell you what it hasn't changed. Pastors. Pastors in the modern American church are like superheros. They never grow weary and they can do everything by themselves. They stretch themselves thin, but they never rip because that is one of their superpowers, they are very stretchy. I used to love comic books when I was a kid. One of my favorite superheros was Superman. The first real comic book that I owned was a Superman comic that my brother bought me. This guy kicked butt and took names. He was the guy that would kick your teeth in and was also the guy who the ladies thought was sexy. He had it all! Superman did have one weakness though. He was great until you threw Kryptonite at him... I believe that a pastor's Kryptonite is discipleship. Because they think that they are superheros they honestly believe that they have to be available to everyone at all times. They think that discipleship is their responsibility and theirs alone, and just like Superman, this Kryptonite has sucked from them of all of their strength.

This is not what Jesus did. Jesus spoke to the masses, but time and time again we see Jesus explaining what he taught to his twelve. They were the ones he did life with. They were the ones who he knew best. They were the ones who were taught the deep secrets of the kingdom. Of those twelve, Jesus had three that were his closest, his best friends if you will. These were the ones that really got to see his heart. Jesus modeled community to us and few of us take this concept of twelve literally. When we as pastors think that we can do it all and disciple everyone we slowly begin to lose our effectiveness. We slowly get tired and burnt out. When we wake up to the Kryptonite in our lives it is too late. We have stripped ourselves of our joy and like some superheros we lose our desire to save lives. I have seen this countless times and I don't want it to happen to me. It can't let it.

I would love to see what would happen if leaders and pastors started teaching their people this principle. The pastors of our churches would not have to kill themselves for the church, but rather the church would grow because of true discipleship. This is how the people of a church minister. It isn't just the pastor's job. Imagine if a person decided that they were going to pour their lives into 12 people. They would teach them everything they know and live life together. Now imagine if that twelve went and got twelve for themselves. That makes 144... Now imagine if that 144 went and got 12 a piece. That's 1,728 people. If that 1,728 people were taught to truly disciple 12 for themselves then the number would reach an amazing 20,736. This many people could be true disciples of Jesus Christ because one person sought out twelve and taught them to go get twelve. We like to make things so complicated in Christianity. I think that this example Jesus gave us is so simple that we just don't believe it will work.

This is not just a conversation for pastors though. As Christians we should be in a constant process of being discipled and discipling. This is not your pastor’s responsibility alone. A pastor should be a leader to those in his/her sphere of influence, but being a pastor doesn't mean that we are responsible for everyone that walks through the door. This is another reason pastors get burnt. No one steps up to help and all of a sudden the pastor is in superhero mode. As a pastor, the cry of my heart would be to ask people to step up and join this process. We can't do it alone. I truly believe that we can raise up a people who are devoted and obsessed with their Savior if we will only find twelve who will go find twelve who will go find twelve...

It costs me nothing...

2008-06-30T12:30:00.000-05:00

By: Joshua Woodlief

It costs me nothing. Nothing. This worship that I offer up to my Savior, it costs me nothing. My worship is convenient and comfortable. My worship happens when and where I want it to. I only press in when I want to, when convenience affords itself. David says "I will not offer up sacrifices that cost me nothing", but I say "I will offer up sacrifices that won't hurt to much and make me feel good". As a church we have said to our Holy God that we will worship and love him when it is convenient. I am sick to death of convenience.

Am i the only one that is drowning in comfort? Am I the only one who sees that worship should be so much more?

I am a firm believer that we should welcome everyone into our churches. We want people to get involved and begin to pursue Christ. I believe that people are drawn to friendly and engaging environments. When it comes to worship though, I just don't see how to water it down and make it comfortable anymore. Instead of watering down our worship for the comfort of someone, maybe we should challenge that someone to go deeper in worship. We serve and worship a God that is not comfortable. Why then should we pursue his heart comfortably? Why is it that we come to these buildings every Sunday and worship, but on Monday we forget about Jesus. Sunday worship is great and I believe that it can be a true celebration, but there has to be more. I am craving more!

Part of our problem is that we are selfish worshipers. We make comments about how we "felt" during worship or how we "enjoyed" the song list. That's great and all, but when did worship start being about us. I'm fairly certain that God has exclusive rights to our praise. If this is true then why do we make comments like this on a consistent basis? When worship on Sunday becomes selfish then worship on Monday-Saturday can only follow suit. Worship based on feeling and not on our reaction to the love of God will only end up in a mess. Yes I said it. It's a bunch of crap. When we constantly respond only when we "feel" God and not in the valleys of life our worship is not real. God can move us to an emotional response in worship, but if we base the validity of our worship on whether or not we "feel" it, we will be disappointed more often than not.

How do we teach and help others understand that true worship is living a life of sacrifice and obedience and not just showing up on a Sunday and singing some songs? How can we continue to call what we do worship when in reality all it is, at it's best, is comfort and convenience?

I believe that God has to be sick of us showing up weekly to these worship services and leaving the same way we came in. We remain unchanged. We remain complacent. When we worship on Sundays it should move us toward the heart of God. When we move toward his heart and we begin to live an obedient life, this is worship, real everyday worship.

I like what Isaiah says on this topic. This is Isaiah 1:13-17 in the Message. God gives him this to say, "Quit your worship charades. I can't stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings. Meetings, meetings, meetings, I can't stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out! I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I'll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I'll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you've been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody. Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don't have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless."

God doesn't want more services he wants our lives. He wants our obedience. He wants us clean. This is the heart of true worship. Obedience is Worship. Worship formed from obedience leads to Justice. Justice leads to a changed world. We can have services every day of the week and no one will be better for it. But if we live lives of obedience then we can literally see the world change. This type of worship will require sacrifice.

How he loves...

2008-06-25T15:18:00.000-05:00

By: Joshua Woodlief

Today I was listening to this song. I've heard it before. In fact I've heard it many times in the past month. Today I am convicted. I am a worship pastor who's job is to lead others into worship. Today my eyes were opened to he phrase that I have said many times- "Our worship begins with him loving us and us responding to his love". Today I am convicted because way to often I make worship about the lights and rocking sound when I should be focusing on the fact that we are loved. Eventually the lights and sound just don't seem to satisfy. All of a sudden the things that superficially spark and sustain our worship become insignificant. Something happens in our life that we don't understand and we don't know how to worship because the lights are gone. There isn't a media presentation. There isn't a guy with cool jeans up front singing. Something seems wrong. Where are the lights?

Way to often we focus on all of the crap and the hardship in our lives. It is so easy to actually start to believe that we don't have a reason to worship. We are taught... sorry, I have taught people to worship in the high moments of life. I have taught people to worship with the bright lights. When darkness seems to surround everything in our lives and the high moment is gone, what then? The reality is this; even if everything else was terrible in or lives, his love is where our worship's foundation is laid. When all else falls apart, his love remains. When trials come, his love remains. When everyone else forsakes us, his love remains. May we stop focusing on our temporary struggles and focus on the fact that we are loved. This is where worship begins. Today I am convicted. Tomorrow I want to change.

Your map is upside down...

2008-06-16T13:09:00.000-05:00

By: Joshua Woodlief

I am starting to understand what the real issue is with Christians and churches in America. We have a really messed up view of Jesus. We don't have a high view of God, but rather we act so flippant when we approach Him. Our false perception of God creates apathy in our lives and in our pursuit of him. This halfhearted pursuit is called "lukewarmness". When Christians are lukewarm about Jesus, then the product is lukewarm, powerless churches. I have been praying lately that Jesus would help me to love him more. The key to not being lukewarm is to love Jesus and others more. I love my fiance so much that I show her tangible signs of my love. I don't say "I love you and I hope that you feel it some day". I have to show her that I love her with my actions, not just my insincere words. It is not enough to say, I have to show (see 1 Cor 4:20). Jesus says "If you love Me then keep my commands". It's pretty simple, If we love Jesus we do what he says. He also goes on to say... The one who says, "I have come to know Him," without keeping His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him... If we were truly honest with ourselves we would say that most days our lives do not show Jesus that we love him.

So, what's the solution? We can't do it on our own! He has to help us love him more than the things that surround us. He has to remind us that to love God is to keep his commands. He has to remind us to love him everyday. No matter how hard we try, without the Spirit's help and power, we can't love God. I think I am at that point in my prayer life that I can say "I don't love you as much as I should" and for him to see that my desire is to love him. This honesty with myself and the admission that I need help has begun to bring new life into my relationship with him.

Lately I have been studying what it truly means to follow Jesus. It is different from what I was taught growing up in church. It is hard to follow Jesus. If anyone tells you that following this way is easy then he is a liar. It is the hardest thing a person can attempt to do. This is why He says that the road is narrow and hard to find. I have a good feeling that American churches are giving people directions to a road that doesn't exist. We have been reading the right map, but come to discover that it was upside down the whole time. Can we get good directions please?

Following Jesus is a huge sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice that is so worth the pain. I love the parable that talks about the man finding a treasure in a field that goes and sells everything he owns to get it. That is such a beautiful picture of what it means to follow Jesus. It is also a scary one. The sacrifice is everything... I want to be like that man. I want to say "all of this stuff is waste and I am willing to give it all up for this greater treasure". I want to be like this man who sees this great treasure and his only response is "I've got to have that". This goes back to the inaccurate view of God. We teach people that they can have a bit of this and a bit of that and still love Jesus just enough to be on the right road one day. But Jesus says the kingdom is like the man that gives up everything to buy this great treasure. We don't believe that Jesus is worth everything though. We may not say this, but many times our actions prove this to be true. He gets the easiest parts to give away, but we rarely say like David "I will not offer a sacrifice that costs me nothing." Jesus has become the fix for our sin, but not the love of our hearts. I'm not saying that I have to go sell everything, but I have to be willing to do whatever it takes to have Jesus. In our churches we have a "do the bare minimum" attitude. I'm scared to say that I believe that Jesus requires more of us who are so called Christians.

I heard a sermon the other day and it pretty much wrecked my life... Jesus said that it is hard for a rich man to enter heaven. I have always thought this to mean the wealthiest of the world (people who have more than I), but how do we define rich? When 1/2 of the worlds population lives on less than $2 a day, I think that I fall into the rich category. If make $35,000 a year, it is more than half the world will see in 48 years. If I were to make $35,000 for 48 years I would have made $1,680,000. Francis Chan's sermon brought so much conviction to me, because like the rich man, many times my possessions own me. I live a safe comfortable life and Jesus wants all of me. He wants not only my heart, but also for me to be willing to give up everything for the kingdom. Most days I love things and security more than I love Jesus. this is why I desperately need his help! He knows my struggle and I have confessed it, but I want to live differently from other Christians.

I am sure that when our lives begin to look more like the man in the field people are going to think that we are crazy. In the words of Francis Chan "We say that this kind of living is over the top and for those who take it too far, but this is what Jesus expected from all of his followers." This journey from lukewarm to obsessed is one that will not come quickly. When we are honest with ourselves about the fact that Jesus is not the object of our affection, then He will begin to change our hearts. We can be healed of the disease called apathy if we will only confess it to Jesus who already knows. We can begin to see our lives and our churches radically change if we would only turn the map right side up...

Following Him,

Josh

We Are Loved

2008-05-10T11:28:00.000-05:00

By: Joshua Woodlief

There I was in the airport, minding my own business, when God decides to open my spiritual eyes. It was most unexpected and sudden. As I began to see those around me my heart became heavy and overwhelmed. I began to see people, not as white, black, tall, short or any other physical attribute, but rather I saw them through a spiritual lens. I pray quite often that God will give me spiritual eyes; I did not expect it to happen in the airport.

As I sat there watching, there were many different types of people. Some people were in groups and others were obviously alone. People were rushing to get to their connecting flights. These individuals were rushing around making it a struggle for me to focus on anything substantial such as reading or playing solitaire. I know what you are thinking, "solitaire?". Solitaire in my opinion might be the greatest invention since the Chia pet and the much more popular Chia head. Anyways, back to the subject matter.

The individuals who were scampering about were not the ones who intrigued me, but rather it was the individuals who were standing and sitting in their business attire with laptops and PDA's out. As I began to observe their behavior I began to feel awkward. I saw business men and women who wanted to be noticed and appreciated so badly. They desired recognition and applause. I snooped on two individual's conversation about a presentation they were involved in later this week. They were obviously not on the same page. It sounded like two seven year olds fighting over the last lolly pop. Both wanted to be the chief and neither wanted to be the Indian. There were several men standing around in their suits talking on their cell phones. It was as if they were trying to trump the others volume level. They all wanted to be heard, not only by whomever they were speaking to, but those of us who were listening to their blabbing as well. Each one desired notoriety from us even though we did not even know their names.

Why are we this way? Why do we strive to have others notice us so badly that we are willing to go to the point of looking foolish to grab attention? Does this behavior have deeper spiritual implications? I believe so. At the core of all of us is a pursuit for love and adoration. The amazing revelation that came to me was that I am just like those people many days. I have the desire to be noticed. I desire people's attention. The only difference between me and those men wearing their thousand dollar suits is that I hate suits, ties and dress pants with a bitter, enraged passion. Sorry, I needed to vent for a moment.

So is their a remedy? Yes! We can see ourselves as pursued by a God that loves us more than our imaginations can even begin to dream. He is actively pursuing us when we care the least about him. I know in my life there are times when I do not feel God at all. Not just a feeling of loneliness; I mean it feels as if He has forgotten me. In these valleys, these times of perceived abandonment, I tend to pursue the applause of those that surround me. As a worship pastor, this is my great struggle. It is easy to feed on the applause and attention of an audience on Sunday morning. It is easy to feel superficially loved with the "great job today" and the "man, worship was great", but in the end I am left just as lonely and unsatisfied as ever. David found himself in a major valley when writing Psalm 63. He was running for his life and in a moment of loneliness he cried out to God, the God who satisfies. David proclaims to God that he is thirsty for His presence. Notice that he does not say that he is thirsty for water, food or any external means of sustenance. David was thirsty for the presence of God because only He brings true satisfaction.

This is my struggle and maybe yours as well. Are you in the business world and using your position to gain applause? Are you a pastor, like me, who is trying to gain others applause as a cheap substitute for what you truly need? We need to cry out in desperation, much like what David did in his lamenting Psalm 63. We must tell the father that we desire him more than the applause of others. When we stop trying to get ahead and we fall before the God who loves and pursues us, the applause and recognition of men seems shallow in comparison. May we see ourselves through spiritual eyes. May we drop the act around each other and accept ourselves despite what others think of us. Throw down your mask and walk free of the opinions of those who you try to impress. You are loved! You are accepted! May God teach us to put his opinion of us in a higher place than the opinions of those around us. And lastly, may we stop trying to be so impressive all the time and just be who we are in Christ. I pray that our God will begin to communicate hope to those places in you that need to feel accepted and loved.

Thoughts on the Church

2008-05-10T11:05:00.000-05:00

By: Joshua Woodlief

This is written with much concern and care. I am frustrated. You will sense this as you read. I think that there are others that feel this way as well. I believe that for change and reformation to occur, people must rise up and share concern. I am going to try to remain sensitive, while conveying some very non-sensitive truths. I will come across very harshly when you first read this. I ask only that you see that I am passionate to see my generation reached with the teachings of Jesus, not religion. We as the church have so much untapped potential. I am very appalled at the current condition of the church. I am going to tell you why thousands of people my age are running from organized religion. You may not agree with what I say in this blog, but count on this; if the perceptions of my generation are not addressed, the church will cease to exist when this traditional generation of Christians dies. All of these opinions are not mine, but I do share most of them.

People respect Jesus. People, however, hate the church. I have talked with many people from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds. They all respect and love the teachings of Jesus. They all hate organized religion or as we call it, church.

While most churches are forming committees and making processes my generation is seeking something different. I am disgusted that we still do church the way my grandfather did it. We get so caught up with following rules and forming systems that we do nothing. Do these rules bring life? Do they lead others into life? Do we even know why we follow these rules? Are we not bored yet with the same stuff that the church has been feeding us for years? One thing is for sure though; these rules and regulations do not reach emerging generations.

My main frustration is with this thing we call ministry. When did it become so easy to be a pastor? There are some, even many pastors that do it right, but where did the work ethic go? These "pastors" that teach on evangelism and discipleship don't lift a finger to reach those who need the teachings of Jesus. Are the people that we so "desperately" want to reach sitting there in our offices and churches as well? No! They are out living life alone and broken. So why do we not reach them? This is why. We have Christian meetings with Christians about Christian things that only Christians understand. We spend all of our time with Christians! What has it gained us? Who have we reached with our lack of initiative? Are you not sick of talking Christians into being Christians? I refuse to sit in one more meeting trying to convince a Christian to do something to reach the world around them. You see, we talk a lot, but we act very little. We do not even stop to ask hard questions about the culture that we live in so that we might know how to engage people. Christians are still doing outreach the same way my grandfather did in the 60's. These forms of evangelism for the most part do not work with my generation. There are hurting people out there, and it should shame us that they are asking where we are. We have forgotten those who need us the most.

I think we are still clinging to hopes that we are a Christian nation. We have clueless TV preachers that tell us that a great revival is coming and God is about to bring us prosperity. I have news for church leaders and religious people, America is no longer a Christian nation. We are post Christian. Everyone sees it but the Christians. We are blind to the fact that Christianity is not respected the way it once was. Emerging people think of Jesus and they have respect, but when they think of "Christian" they give a completely different response. We are to busy standing in our prestigious pulpits talking about how this country needs to return to its "Christian Roots" to see that this country is far from Christian. We are not returning.

We, the church, have become nothing more than a corporation in the eyes of the world; a republican supporting, homosexual hating, fundamentalist, rule following corporation. People no longer come to church and believe what the pastor says; in fact they doubt it because they see the powerless lives that most Christians live. They want to know why the Bible contains truth. We make blanket statements from our pulpits and in our conversations and throw in a couple of verses. That doesn't work anymore. Long gone are the days when the pastor says something and people just accept it.

We, the church, look nothing like Jesus. That is a definite "we". I am included in this bunch. I am appalled by my own hypocrisy most days. Gandhi once said, "I like your Jesus, but I do not like you Christians. Your Christians look nothing like your Christ." He also said one of the most profound statements that I have ever heard. It is "become the change you seek". This is why people are leaving church by the droves. They do not see people becoming the change that they preach about. You see, my generation knows that Jesus was about love, but Christians judge and belittle the "world" and do not show love even for other Christians. We do not know how to engage this new, free thinking generation because we do not care enough to stop and figure out how to. We just want them to think like us. They should conform. We will keep doing things how we have always done them. Who cares about the lost? We may not say this, but by our actions we validate the world's perception of us.

We, as Christians, are all about growing our "Christian bubble". What do I mean by the bubble? I mean Christian subculture. You know who I mean. It's the person who has only Christian friends, listens only to Christian music, wears neatly marketed Christian t-shirts that cheapen our beliefs, and has a Christian fish on their car beside the bumper sticker that reads "In case of rapture this car will be unmanned". They use cute little Christian sayings and clichés such as backsliding, prayer warrior, traveling mercies, and quiet time; none of which are anywhere in the Bible. They tell their children to only have Christian friends because the world might bring them down. Can you sense my disgust? If Jesus were here he would not spend time with any of these people. So why do we? Have we forsaken the teachings and life of Jesus and gone with our own methodologies? I think so. It is not about changed lives anymore. It is about growing our Christian bubble. Jesus would be with the prostitutes, homeless, widows, alcoholics and Muslims. He would forsake all of the self righteous people that we fill our churches with. But see, we expect emerging generations to come to us. We want them to conform to the way we are instead of conforming to them. I think Paul said something like "I become all things to all people that I might win the lost". Will we forever remain in our Christian bubble, or will we do what it takes to reach the lost? I can not take the lack of initiative anymore. I am sick of what they have fed me. I am full.

I want to assure you that it is not too late. We can reach this generation. We must make changes to do it. It is time for young leaders to rise up and voice their hearts cry. I only hope to be a part of this reformation. Our world is changing and I want to change with it. I want to be uncomfortable with standing still. My prayer for myself is the same that I will offer for you; that our God will break your heart for the hurting, oppressed and marginalized. I pray that you loose sleep as I have done when reflecting on the church. Let us all, young and old, stretch our minds and break out of our comfortable, safe lives and reach those who like Jesus, but hate the church.

Thoughts on Spirituality

2008-04-29T15:20:00.000-05:00

By: Joshua Woodlief

We talk a lot! We debate. We lecture. We discuss. In the end, what does it all matter? Is our talking getting us anywhere? Have we reduced this life we live to mere words? Have we not all heard that actions speak louder than words? Do they really mean more or is it just the thought that counts? Do we even hear ourselves speak? What are we talking about? I am learning that although our intentions most times are good, none of us do anything that we intend. Not only has this pattern affected our world, but it has also become the prevailing philosophy in our churches. We talk a lot, but we never do!

I want something real! I am so tired of plastic Christianity! I am tired of my own façade! Are we not drowning in our own apathy? I am! Our well intended churches are starving themselves to death! Action is the sustenance we need, but we feed ourselves with our own meaningless words! We are malnourished! The church was meant to be active and living! I do not believe that any of us would argue that our churches are impotent when it comes to living what we say we are!

1 Corinthians 4:20 says "The kingdom of God is not found in a bunch of useless speech, but in an empowered life". How many of us live this way? How many of us talk about how spiritual we are? How many of us would admit in a moment of transparency that we are living a lie and in the process call it Christianity?

Jesus lived what he said. He knew it was not enough to talk about love, he had to live it! It was not enough to see hurt. He had to reach out and heal it! Why have we not followed this example of living? Is it complacency, or do we actually think that this is what our churches were intended to be! I think that many of us see hurt and pain, but in our laziness we continue to talk about what needs to be done. What are we here for? I do not think our purpose as Jesus followers is to talk but never do anything.

I think a lot of churches adopt an "I'll pray for you mentality", and in the process wait for God to do what we are called to do. Now yes, we should pray, and I do want to be careful that I am not misunderstood. Prayer is critical to our lives as Christians, but we all know that we use it in a counterproductive way! We say "I will pray for you", but I think God is telling us to get busy! We want God to swoop down in all of his glory and correct every wrong, but unfortunately that is most often not how he works. If my friend needs money do I help him how I can or say that I will pray? As a Jesus follower I should do what I can! We live in a world of opportunity, opportunity to reach others, yet we do nothing. We all know what is wrong with the world, but how many of us work to solve those problems? It is as easy as impacting those that we come in contact with everyday.

In the early church they understood this concept of true community. No one was in need because they helped each other. They knew it was not enough to say well meaning things. They had to act! The world knew they were Christians by their love for one another! We have lost this somewhere! We have to act! We can not sit back any longer! We desperately need to stop talking and do something! Could it be that our world would say, "Where is the church"?

Community and Hypocrites

2008-04-28T16:44:00.000-05:00

By: Joshua Woodlief

The more I learn about community, the more I realize that we have a daunting task ahead of us if we are to make the necessary changes in our churches. I believe we are starved in our churches for true community. We have a systematic approach for everything!

Could it be that we as a body are putting more effort into our systems and forsaking the community to which we are called? Let me explain. I agree that the church has purposes, but how many of you think that the early church sat down and said, "Man guys, we have got to work on these purposes today or we will never be effective"? No! They just lived every day and the purposes, although not planned, flowed out of their lives. You see, what the spirit used to do, we have now replaced with programs and strategies. We as a church desperately need to stop doing and doing, and let Him flow through us!

Let me dive further into community and one of its greatest issues, the hypocrite. The whole world is sick of hypocrites, right? Even we as Christians cant stand the thought of spending time with someone who is hypocritical. I have been struggling with my own hypocrisy lately, and it has led me to wonder about the cause of hypocrisy in our lives and in our churches. I truly do believe that hypocrisy is caused by a lack of community.

In James 5:16 we read, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed..." Healed? I thought only confession to Christ brought true healing and change. Why would James state that confession to one another would bring healing? In Galatians 6:2 it tells us to bear one another"s burdens.

Could it be that Christ had community in mind all along? This is drastically different from what we see in our churches today. In true community confession to one another brings change! We are supposed to walk with one another, not forsake each other in acts of religious piety.

In our so called "righteousness" we have taken away the freedom to be honest about our struggles. We always condemn the actions of the Pharisees, but take a look at our similarities! We condemn the sinner but miss the sin in our own lives! Amazing! In Matthew 7:3-5, Jesus tells us to get the log out of our own eye before we try to get the speck out of our brothers eye. What we have is a vision problem! I do not know about you, but when I get something in my eye all I want to do is get it out! Have we gotten used to the pain in our eye? Yes, we have become accustomed to the sin in our lives; therefore we do not remove it. We ignore it! In 1 John 1:8 it says, "If you claim to be without sin, you deceive yourself and the truth is not in you." We have become churches and people who are deceived about our own depravity. We are not only deceived, but we lie according to 1 John. We pretend to have it all together when in reality we stink at life just like everyone else. The most disturbing thing is that we promote ourselves and our churches as "people who care", but in reality we are judgmental and really do not care.

My dream is to be in a community that welcomes the alcoholic, drug abuser and the homosexual. I love the fact that Jesus never categorized sin. He saw it all the same! From pride to homosexuality there was no difference. We promote the idea that there is sin, but then there are those sins. I can only imagine what would happen in a church if a Christian who was struggling with homosexuality stood up and asked for help. A Christian who knew nothing of the love of Christ and who had recently arrived would probably try to lead him down the Romans road rather than accept his confession and pray for him like James suggested.

We all have our issues, but because of our lack of community no one talks about it. This is why the world and younger generations of Christians hate church. Church is not community anymore! Its a masquerade and we are competing for who has the prettiest mask! Let us strip ourselves of the costumes which we are hiding behind and reveal our true selves! If we want to reach a world that longs for realness and hates plastic people then we have to bring our issues to one another and build community. Only then will we be healed of the sin that controls our life. Only then will we have something the world will desire!

My Micro Self

2008-04-28T16:38:00.001-05:00

By: Joshua Woodlief

"What defines us?" This question has haunted me for a while now. As I have peered into my soul I have found that most often I define myself by what I am not. Such definitions could include: I am not as attractive as some guys, I am not as musical as I want to be, I am not as deep as I want to be, I am not organized...not, not, not... After a while the nots can overshadow what I truly am.

Most people I know do not know who they are. The truth is, most times I do not know who I am either. Most of us define ourselves by what we lack rather than what we have. It is no wonder that most people have such a twisted perception of their self worth. We judge who we are by our social status, our weight or attractiveness, what we wear or even what we drive. When we truly learn who we are these things, which have defined us for so long, become superficial and insignificant.

In our churches we have overused the statement "God created you to..." and it truly has lost its significance. This statement has become one of those "religious" things that we say even though we do not understand the depth of its true meaning. Yes, we were all created for a purpose, but how many of us marvel at the fact that we were created. You were created. I was created. We were all created by a God that loves us above anything else that he made.

Most of us do not realize just how small and trivial our existence is. Astronomers estimate that there are 350,000,000,000 galaxies in our universe. In our galaxy there are 100,000,000,000 stars. We are quite literally a speck of dust in this massive expanse that He created. Why would he love us above everything else that he created? There is such creativity and beauty in our universe so why would he care about short, semi-attractive, and slightly overweight me?

In the beginning of the story, our story, it is said that we were created in His image! Why us? Why not the animals? Why not the stars? Did not John describe God as a radiant, colorful light? It seems the stars would resemble him more than plain, old me. I do not know why He wanted me to be in His image, but I do know that it makes me special! He took time when creating man. He breathed His life into us.

Many of us are creating an image for ourselves that is counterfeit. We buy the newest and best clothes, and in the end we look no different than anyone else. We buy the newest mp3 players and the newest computers only to find out that they are out of date a month later. So how do we begin to see ourselves how He sees us? Can we? Do we even care how he sees us?

I truly believe that we care more about what those around us see than what He sees us as. Christians have become so standardized that all we want to do is be like the plastic, cut out Christian beside us. They fit in, and they seem so "Christian". Why would we not want to be like that? This is the trap that we have all fallen into. In the name of Jesus we let them put the cookie cutter on us, thus conforming us to a man made image that looks nothing like our God given image.

So how do we fix this internal struggle? Can we counter condition ourselves to see our true worth through his creation of us? Yes we can! We must choose what we believe. Most importantly, we must see ourselves, not as our flesh dictates, but as the spirit inside us yearns for us to. Brennan Manning says, "Self deception is the enemy of wholeness because it prevents us from seeing ourselves as we really are".

I believe that with a lot of discipline we can begin to love ourselves again. I believe that we can begin to see beauty when we walk past our reflection in the mirror. I believe that we can be happy with our individual personality traits. I believe that we can be healed of the disease of self-hatred. I believe that through this healing our communities can flourish and grow in to a nourishing environment that people will desire.

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
Your handmade sky-jewelry,
moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second to look our way?

(Psalm 8)

Come One, Come All

2008-04-28T16:35:00.000-05:00

By: Joshua Woodlief

There we were, all dressed up and appropriately suited. A large crowd was gathered. The music was playing. The lights were bright and glowing. Faces were radiant.

Everyone was just like me and I like them. Everyone dressed and acting the same. We truly did fit together. We all seemed to be anxious for the show to begin! It would not be long now. Anticipating a great performance, we had all packed in to find our favorite seats beside the people we knew best!

The curtain fell and the show began. How captivated we were seeing the actors play their parts with such magnificence. Speaking with such eloquence, they mesmerized us and rendered us awestruck at their performance. There was much applause and joyful outburst from those of us who looked on.

There were many actors on this stage, most of which had played parts for many years. Those who had acted the longest had passed along their skills to the next generation of actors. They were mirror images of their teachers. Most young actors even maintained the same gestures and language.

In this moment I looked and saw one of the lead actors trip and fall. Upon looking closer I saw that this actor had been wearing a mask. His mask was shattered! I had not even realized that it was a mask for it looked so real. Picking up the pieces of his former disguise he revealed his true face. Unlike the happy façade that his mask created, his face was weary and worn. He looked as if he was not pleased about loosing his mask. It seemed as if his security was in the character he was playing. After the actor had lost his mask, he demanded that they get him a new mask that would not break so easily. After all, the show must go on.

No more than a few minutes later a young actress forgot her lines. All the practicing to be perfect had not helped her. It was performance time and she could not perform. Those of us watching were angered that someone could mess up this masterpiece so greatly. The crowd began to scoff and belittle the actress who had not fit the part that she was placed in. In such a perfect place with such perfect actors this was unacceptable. As she was being mocked she quietly took off her mask and revealed her hurting face. The young actress never acted again. In fact she dropped out of performing all together.

I began to have a feeling of disgust in my soul. Something was wrong. I did not know what it was or why I was having these feelings. I just knew this was not how it was supposed to be. How could it be that the actors could treat two of their own this way? Could the level of perfection that they expected be attained? And why the masks? Could not the actors use their own faces and personalities to make this performance creative and real? Why was the actor who had fallen been so afraid of loosing his mask? Was he told to hide or did he choose it for himself? Who was the director of this masquerade? Was he or she masked as well? Was one mistake worth all the ridicule that the well meaning young actress had received? And why had she taken off her mask before leaving the stage? Had she hidden long enough? So many questions with no answer seeming to do justice. Suddenly the performance had lost its appeal.

In a moment of reflection I came to a startling realization. I had become so enthralled by the perfection and charisma of the performance that I myself had put on a mask. Not only had I joined this sickening masquerade, but all of the others had as well! The picture had now become clear. I came to see a performance, but it was a trick. These lead actors had swindled us in to performing for them! We were the show and none of us had known it!

These leaders had made us into their image and had stepped back and watched their masterpiece come together. They had made their art manipulation and control. They had perfected this art through restriction and regulation. They had made us wear masks because they were ashamed of their true selves. They maintained a façade of perfection and made it an unrealistic expectation. They could only control what they knew. Instead of personality and creativity they had advocated conformity with masks and costumes.

I sat in disbelief and utter antipathy for the remainder of this presentation. I felt as though I was the only one who had such an aversion to their behavior. At the conclusion of the act the lead had returned to the stage for one last speech. He proceeded to invite those who so desired to come forward and join the act. There were other actors in front that were assigned to assist those who came forward with new masks and costumes. To make things worse people actually responded to this invitation. They flocked forward and received a manual, mask and costume. All they were asked to contribute was a weekly donation to the cause. Their contribution would be used to make the show bigger and better each week.

At the conclusion of the act I tried to tell as many as I could what I had learned. Not only did they not listen, they also told me that I was out of my mind. They were so caught up in this routine that they could not notice. They had always come to this show and they would continue to come. It would remain static and never veer to far from what it was.

As I was leaving this great performance hall an usher approached me and stated, "We hope you enjoyed the show today, and we look forward to seeing you in church next week…