John Ortberg at the Global Summiton AIDS and The Church
John Ortberg started off the evening session on Day 1 of the Global Summit on AIDS and the Church, hosted by Rick and Kay Warren.John taught on the topic of why the church needs to be the leader in the HIV AIDs efforts across the world. His teaching came from the parable in Mark 5 of the demon possessed man. Here are some bullet points from his teaching:
- Just as Jesus took the disciples across the lake to the Canaanite people, as we follow him he will always take us to people who are “on the other side”. Those we are not comfortable with, and that we even find offensive.
- The possessed man was alone, rejected and suffering. Jesus always goes to the rejected, alone and suffering.
- The possessed man doesn’t expect help from Jesus. What does that say about what people will expect from the people of the church when they come to help?
- One the people came and saw the man healed and his dignity - they were not excited for him, but rather scared by the contribution and power of Jesus. He was not one of them, and even though he had helped the man in a powerful way - they weren’t sure of his credibility. They asked him to leave.
- Jesus always wanted people to follow him, but he told the man to stay. He was best equipped to share with those people, and to hear about Jesus from him.
- If we are going to follow Jesus we are going to have to follow him to “the other side” where people are different, suffering, uncomfortable and even offensive to our traditions or senses.
- What the world need is the power of the Holy Spirit - which is why the church must lead.
- There is no power like the healing power of Jesus and his Holy Spirit on earth.
- If you follow Jesus, apathy on AIDs is not an option.
Man, just writing that out reminds me of the challenge and cost of being a disciple of Jesus - and how I am a couch potato disciple. How about you? I think we all need a reminder of the cost of discipleship - especially in regards to social status. And if our ministries are going to reflect disciples living at the cost of their lives to reach the rejected, alone and suffering around us and around the world - it MUST start with us.
It was always so easy as a youth pastor to teach my students to sacrifice and makes steps of faith, while through the week I was usually comfortable in my church office. It has to be the other way - in fact - I would say you should be teaching something unless you have the conviction of your own life to show as evidence. That is a pretty high bar - but don’t you think there is enough apathy in the American church that it is time for a different approach? This Summit and it’s challenge to be an influence for those suffering with HIV AIDS extends in the challenge to be a true disciple, and for a lot of us a Teaching Disciple of Jesus.
Three Legged Stool - the foundation to combat AIDS
During the opening session at the Global Summit on AIDS and the Church pastor Rick Warren spoke about the “Three Legged Stool” foundation he believes it will take to address the major issue of AIDS.
The three legs of the Stool are:
1. The Public Sector: Government and NGOs
2. The Private Sector: Businesses and Corporations
3. The Faith Sector: Churches and Faith Based Organizations
This is the same structure that the Summit has been facilitated in regards to the speakers, seminars and topics presented here.
This is why there are church leaders, business leaders and top level politicians like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama coming together here at the Summit.
Five Traits of Real Leaders: Rick & Kay Warren - Global Summit on AIDS & the Church
This is the first day of the Global Summit on AIDS & The Church here at Saddelback Church. Here are my notes from the first session. The first session was centered on what it takes to have the “Traits of a Real Leader.” Both Rick and Kay Warren spoke during the session, but my favorite section was when Kay spoke on what it means to be a Leader and an Advocate.
Here are a couple notes from that point:
Real Leaders are Advocates
- “God does hear the cries of the needy.” - Kay Warren
- There are nearly 40 Million people who have AIDS.
- There are 12 Million children who have been orphaned because of AIDS.
- You are going to be faced with a moment when you are going to decided to be an advocate or not - whether the information and new reality you see will stir you to take action.
- You are either in or you are out. You will either use the influence you have to be a voice and support on behalf of people suffering from the AIDS pandemic, or you won’t.
- You do have influence, You do have freedom, You do have a voice, and you can lift it on behalf of the sick, the poor, and the orphan.
- Your advocacy will lead you to be an Activist!
- Intentional Action to bring about change.
- Your emotions must translate into action.
The Global Summit on AIDS & The Church at Saddleback Church, is hosted by Rick and Kay Warren. I will be live blogging and video blogging my experience here at the Summit over the next couple of days.
Off the Map Live - Hear Connect Listen
Strategic Spirituality - Todd Hunter
The tag line of the Off the Map Live conference this week is Hear, Listen, Connect. Todd Hunter just came and lead a session speaking on how a strategy of listening or being “missional” must not be disconnected from a personal and corporate lifestyle of spiritual formation.
Here is a quote:
“Spiritual Formation is not something you just add to an already busy and overwhelmed life. Spiritual Formation is a way of rethinking your life that brings meaning and mission to your life.”
I think what he is saying is that we can’t just let the new realizations of how we as Christians need to interact with our world be a strategy, trend or method. We must realize the changes that these new realizations require of us need to be applied to our person and being.
Instead of employing a “listening tactic” with an unbelieving friend, I need to become a good listener. Instead of organizing programs to be more “missional”, I need to personally allow myself to be “sent” out to the people in MY life and the community I live in.
Off the Map Live - First Taste
Kerry and I talk about our “first taste” from the Off the Map Live conference here in Seattle.
Off the Map Live - Tony Steward and Kerry Mackey “Arrival”
A Vision of Students | How do we connect?
This is a great video that was passed on to me by Tom. It is about how Students are interacting, and learning with today’s techonology and how that has shaped how they learn and interact. What advantages and challenges does the information presented in this video present the young leader in ministry and/or the youth pastor?
Character, Context and Who we Be
I have been reading a very interesting book called “The Tipping Point” over the past couple of days. Many things have peaked my interest from the book but in particular is the section that talks about character. In the book the author speaks of tests that have been done to see how much students would cheat. The tested all sorts of parameters with different kinds of tests, different stress levels and different levels of difficulty in actually cheating.
The results are very interesting because it points to the power of context over our behavior. No student was found to be a “cheater” all the time, and no one condition or stimulus could producing a cheating result - except a particular context for each individual student. I am still up in the air on my thinking with this, but their argument from the results is that character is shaped much more by the context then of “who we are” - or a much more volatile combination of the two than we usually like to admit.
Students definitely cheated, but in patterns that weren’t patterns at all - it was completely random. If a certain student cheated on a spelling test it didn’t mean they were more likely to cheat on a math test, it depended up too many factors to accurately predict with any sort of formula or generalizations. But the way it is easiest for people to think about it is that either the student was a cheater or he wasn’t. We are much more comfortable explaining character as a part of personality (and as absolute), than as a result of the influence of context, because it is just easier - and more convenient.
Have you ever lied? Of course you have, does that make you a “liar?” Have you ever had an inappropriate sexual thought about someone of the opposite sex? Well, you are breathing so I will guess you have, but does that make you a” sexual predator”, or an “adulterer?’ How does who you “are” find peace with what you do, especially when you are in a context that leads you to a decision that is “out of character?”
What I am getting at is that who we “are” is a much more complex question that the total sum of what we have “done.” The book goes on to speak that those of us who have a consistent character have achieved it from setting ourselves up to succeed by providing the right context. This leads to the reality that most of us (and Jesus points to this with the “eye plucking” verse) that continually fall into the same sin, are probably more intentional about it than we realize, because we know the context that will lead us to that point - but we haven’t avoided it.
This also changes how I love and connect with other people - especially the ones who have wronged me. Do I describe in my heart “who they are” by “what they did” to me in a certain context? I am not sure, but I think there is a level of wisdom and maturity that takes more into account than just the convenient world of absolutes we often paint people with. Is everyone a hypocrite and to be chastised - or is hypocrisy part of the human condition that most accurately defines us as we move from one context in our lives to the next? I don’t suggest we embrace personal hypocrisy, but I would bet our disdain for it comes from our own struggles with wanting to “be” a certain person, but finding that we “do” differently more than we would like. Paul speaks to this in the familiar verse in Romans where he speaks to doing what he hates to do. Jesus also said to his followers, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Complex for sure, and I figure there are those with the answers, but the question is what is most compelling for me - and the challenge it presents to my maturity and acceptance when I interact with others.
World Wide Open
I had a friend point me to a really interesting website / idea. It is called World Wide Open, and it is a group of Christians who want to connect the gifts and passions of the body of Christ with the needs of the world. They also want to create a shared space for the expertise of the body of Christ to further enable the ability to meet needs and spread the gospel.
It is really and incredible idea, and the more I think on it the more it seems so possible. Especially if there was a universal web space that the body of Christ shared. The challenge is to spread not only the vision but the use of the tool as well. That will be difficult because it is hard to build momentum with out using a “brand”, but brands are divisive as well.
And it can’t just be another Christian Social Network, because the way social networks have been built their goal is to keep you online for ad sales. The purpose of this site would need to be connection, empowerment, and then prompts and tools for actual action offline. Like a combination of Facebook and Meetup, with a strong Wikipedia element and a dose of Pownce.
What a daunting task! But man would I ever be excited to see this come about, I would sign up for sure!!!
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