The Three 'As' of a Great Meeting

Our team recently attended a conference.  Upon returning back to our home, someone asked me, "How did it go?"  My response to that question is the principle of the "Three A's".  There are three general ways we monitor conference success.

The first 'A' is attendance.  Who came to the event?  How many people came to the event?  Did the people we want to come to the event attend?  How did our projections compare with reality?

The second 'A' is atmosphere.  How did you feel at the event?  Did the sessions, plenary speaker, and topics relate to your situation?  Did I get adequate time with the people I wanted to interact with?  Did my expectations match with the actual conference?

However, the third 'A' is application.  I think this marker is only monitored at an appropriate distance to the event, at least three months.  Did the participants understand the information and teaching?  Did the participants realize a need for the new information?  Did the information the participants received affect behavior, patterns, or goals?  What concepts and practices were abandoned in favor of new ideas presented?

Each time we host an event, we must remember a critical question, "What if this actually works?"  We must be keenly aware that not only are some listening to what we say, but some may actually follow us and do what we suggest.  Wisdom will suggest discretion and caution before announcing grandiose plans which do nothing for the extension of God's kingdom, but only further our own agendas.

So, in answer to the question - "Yes, all of the presenters were prepared and attendance topped 300.  Yes, the accommodations, speaker, sessions, and discussions were outstanding.  I'll get back to you in a couple of months about the third 'A'.

Time for reflection:

1)  Think back to a recent conference you attended.  Review the notes and do something today as a takeaway from the material presented.

Every time we say 'yes' to God and 'no' to our sin and selfishness, God receives glory and it is for our good.

Missions - Part II
Intentionality

Matthew 9:35  - "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness."

During Jesus' life on the earth, he had a specific purpose and plan.  The focus of his teaching was about the kingdom of God - and that it was good news.  He did not stay only in one place, but moved in an itinerant fashion from place to place.  His home base remained in Caperneum, but he did not limit himself to that one region.

As Jesus went from place to place, he taught in their local meeting places.  He went to the places where people would be and he engaged them in spiritual conversations.  He taught or corrected their previous notions of God and spirituality.  During the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-8, the phrase, "You have heard it said, but I say..." demonstrates a new viewpoint on a commonly held belief.  Jesus not only taught new ideas, but he corrected misunderstandings about God.  Their teachers did not have the authority or intimacy with God like he did and it made a difference in how his listeners responded.

The text of Jesus' message was about the good news of the kingdom.  Forgiveness was not reserved for a special few, but for all who would believe and accept God's offer.  A relationship with God was available for all who would believe and trust in Him - not just for the priests or wealthy.  The kingdom was a present reality, not a future idealistic hope.  The good news was that God was not far off from human experience, but in Jesus he fully understood our pain and suffering.

Jesus also healed the diseases and sicknesses of those he met in each place.  His ministry was one of reconciliation and restoration.  He wanted to return relationships and hearts back to God and to each other.  He not only saw the needs and hurts of those around him, but he actively sought to make their lives better by what he could do.

Jesus focused upon the kingdom of God, the message of that kingdom, and the needs of those in the kingdom.  His words in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost," echo this same ambition.  His words, his actions, and his attitude reflect a desire to share God's message of love and forgiveness with as many as possible.  He did not haphazardly lounge through his life, but made definite choices which reflected his Father's priorities.

It is a sad, but true, epitaph from Zig Ziglar, "If we aim for nothing, we'll hit it every time."  Jesus knew his reason for coming to the earth and he wanted to make the most of every opportunity.  He did not intend to aim for nothing.  He lived every moment to the praise and glory of his father in Heaven.  God did not remain silent at such zeal and obedience, "And a voice from Heaven said, 'This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'"  (Matt. 3:17)

Questions for Reflection:

1)  What part of your day reflects a plan and what parts are you just trying to hold together?  Knowing your purpose and place, helps you prioritize your days.


Every time we act like the Savior, by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is for His glory and our good.

Thank you for reading these thoughts.  I'd love to hear your comments.  Leave a short note to let me know you've been here.

Itinerant Missions

Ministry Moments:

Matthew 9:35-38
Missions Part I - Itinerant Missions


"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness."

The role of the Christian worker is not to settle down.  We can't stay where we are and still be His followers.  If the Master really came from Heaven to earth, then going across the street, to another neighborhood, or to another location should really be no great expectation.

In any leadership situation, I like to follow a principle of "rubber band" theology.  In order to influence others, you must be inside their sphere of relationship.  To take others to the next level, you have to spend time with them and share in their experience.  If you are not that close to people, when you attempt to stretch them, you'll feel a pop.  However, the role of every Christian worker is to stretch the band and challenge others to go further and deeper in their relationship with God.

As a Christian worker, find a place that feeds your soul.  Find a place that worships and glorifies God.  Find a place that allows you to gather as a family.  But don't stop there...  Take your ministry to the next level as you move into new areas which have yet to hear His message of love, hope, and forgiveness.

Questions for Reflection:

1)  How much of my time am I giving to God's kingdom or my own agenda?

2)  How does my schedule reflect an intentionality to share the Gospel broadly?

Every time we follow the example of our Savior it is for our good and His glory.

Too Lightly

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God". (Mark 12:34)

After the children of Israel are exiled, their religious leaders had a lot of time to debate what went wrong in the exile. The prophets had told them that they were too lax on their spiritual life. They took the things of God too lightly. They treated his worship with contempt. They offered sacrifices that were blemished. They gave greater value to the passing things of this life than the wonder and awe of God himself.

Therefore, the teachers of the Law decided to enact barriers around the Law in order to serve as warning signs of impending danger. The indictments in Matthew 23 against hypocrisy, titles, artificial tithing, greed, self-indulgence, self-righteousness, and spiritual disconnectivity arose from a warped understanding of God’s laws and standards. Their additions to the laws of Moses so obscured the original laws that the teachers effectively nullified and made irrelevant God’s teaching. The fundamental principle of all the Pharisees, a common factor with all modern orthodox Jews, is that by the side of the written law was an oral law to complete and to explain the written law.

The written law was regarded as a summary of the principles and general laws of the Hebrew people given to Moses on Mount Sinai and transmitted by him by word of mouth. The first portion of the Talmud, called the Mishna or "second law," contains this oral law. It is a digest of the Jewish traditions and a compendium of the whole ritual law, and it came at length to be esteemed far above the sacred text.

For Reflection:

1) How close am I to God's original intention for my life?

2) How much do I discount my own sin when wrong?

3) What barriers do I have in my life to protect me from sin and separation?

Thank you for listening and learning together,

Boyd

For Our Good - Foul Posts

The Old Testament is a striking reminder of our most basic problem – the human attempt to meet all of our needs apart from God’s presence. The Law was not meant to restrict us, to limit us, or to cause us to miss some of life’s greatest joys. The Law was meant to extend privilege to all people without my rights extending to yours. The Law provides the foul posts in which legitimate and sanctioned activity can take place for the benefit of all persons involved. When I begin to include actions and activities that are outside the limits, I not only harm myself, but others as well.

Jesus said, “The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus said the motivation, wellspring, and encouragement to love others begins from a love for a God we cannot see. No wonder, God started with commandments one and two, in the order He did. When our relationship with God is in the right order, the rest of our relationships will begin to line up.

Idolatry moves then much closer to home than the voodoo doctors in West Africa or the Buddhist monks in Nepal or the strange Baal gods of the Old Testament. It moves right into the living room when anything that competes for my allegiance with God becomes an idol. Any time I attempt to manipulate the spiritual realms in order to satisfy a desire for power, security, comfort, or pleasure, I have placed another god before Him.

For reflection and review,

1) Remember your best baseball memory - food, sun, winning game, the company.

2) When have you strayed outside the foul posts of God's design, with regret and shame your only souvenirs?

3) In what area of your life do you need to draw back and live within parameters, self-control, and discipline? For your good and His glory?

Thank you for listening

For My Good - Ten Commandments

There are some unique qualities about the Ten Commandments that set them apart from other Near Eastern social and law codes. In the Old Testament, social and religious behaviors are intertwined. God makes it clear that my relationship to Him will affect every area of my life.

It will affect how I spend my money. My relationship with God will affect what I do in my free time. My relationship with God will affect how I parent my children. All Ten Commandments, whether the four initial spiritual or the remaining six with human relationships, all are interrelated.

Although the commandments appear prohibitive, they are not negative. They offer the boundaries and parameters of expressing true love. How many volumes would have been required to state every non-loving act? Some lawyers and law students are still discovering that fact. Rather, the Ten Commandments told us that love could never include taking someone else’s belongings, their life, their wife, their reputation, or their future. They told us that abuse of the physical life or the sexual life, and the desire for the possessions of those around us, violates our covenant relationship with God.

In the English language, the Ten Commandments are just a little more than fifty words, but they speak immeasurably about the character of the God who crafted them. They also speak about the worth of individuals at all stages of life. To God, the boundaries around each one of us are sacred. Each one of us is a unique combination of physical life, sexual identity, possessions and reputation.

The laws also make a statement about man’s dependence upon God. God created us in a way that we would need him in order to feel and truly be complete. Apart from God, our lives are shortsighted and less than He intended. People, who set themselves up as the center of their universe, have already broken the first two commandments. As we understand that we are not the suppliers of every need, we become able to respond to God at a different and more profound level.

Reflection:

1) Think of a time when someone invaded your personal space and violated your boundary.

2) Consider the importance of boundaries and lines of separation for relationships, peace, and stability.

3) Are there any relationships you need to restore as a result of honoring God's principles?

Thank you for reading, reflecting, and revising your life

Boyd

For my Good - It's all about you

Even in Deuteronomy 5:9-10, God reminded his people,

“You shall not bow down to them (idols) or worship them, for I the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of their fathers to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

The law is a reminder of the unique relationship God has with His creation. We are His creation. The intent of laws, regulations, and limits was not to prevent personal enjoyment, but to enhance it. The law provides the clear demarcation beyond which safe and prudent action will not occur. God reminded us through Moses, like the speed limit sign reminds us on the highway, excessive and reckless disregard for limitations is not freeing, but restricting.

God told Moses He would punish the sins of fathers and sons to the third and fourth generation. At first glance, it appears strong, caustic, and unmerciful. Yet, we forget the reminder His love reaches to a THOUSAND GENERATIONS for those who love Him. The law is meant to preserve our life, heritage, and legacy, long beyond our great-great-grand-children. It is meant to extend into the next millennium. The difference between self-serving, self-interest, and ego-tripping pharisaism, is that the laws which God prescribed were given in the context of covenant. Since God has given me the prescriptions for a well-lived life, it is in my best interest to seek Him, to know Him, and to follow Him completely. Christian obedience is not about what will advance my self-interests, but about maintaining my all-important relationship with God. It is all about you. It is all about me.