Method to My Madness!!

Yes there is a method to my madness, if anyone is wondering. I often cause a little bit of confusion in some people because some of the things I do are unexpected. One example is, I recently started doing a "Your Mom" slam of the day on twitter that also gets posted on my facebook. What in the world could I be thinking??? I'm a pastor after all! :) (the idea by the way came from ABC News anchor Dan Harris in some conversations we had...blame him!)

Well here's what I am thinking. Recently I became aware of yet another person who had been used by the Lord with great impact in reaching those not yet in relationship with the Lord, who has now become so (some word I need to think of) that they are living critical judgmental lives. Their effectiveness? Gone. They have no impact on the lost whatsoever...except for the delusional "good example" that they are living in front of the world.

I am fighting in my life to not only grow closer to the Lord, but also to never lose the ability to connect with the unchurched. Think about this! In the name of "sanctification" (a word the unchurched get a funky look on their face when hearing it), we cut off all contact, learn a new language and become altogether "respectable." Don't get me wrong here. There is much that must change as we become more like Jesus. There is growing in holiness and wisdom as we draw close to the Lord. But think about Jesus, our standard for what holiness means in this world. Where did He spend his time in ministry? Who did He hang out with? What type of language did He use? (I'm not suggesting by the way that Jesus went around ripping on people's moms!)

What is with the disconnect though in the life of the Christian? Does growing in holiness mean growing ineffective in evangelism? If we were to look at the life of the average seasoned Christian, then the answer in a lot of cases would be "yes." It doesn't have to be that way. I can think of several seasoned Christians that are witnessing their little tails off for the Lord and I love it! Listen! We can do everything better in Heaven except reach the lost. We will worship better, pray better, BE better. But what we cannot do is reach people for Jesus...that must happen NOW.

Resist the pressure to be "bland" for Jesus. I live my ministry life by mission. I live to glorify Jesus, equip others to: minister, grow, and "do the work of an evangelist" and live healthy Christ-centered lives; and try my best to be a connection point for people with God. Sometimes these priorities clash with others expectations of what I should or should not do. I'm not saying I don't make mistakes or sometimes take it to far sometimes, but it flows from a desire to always be able to connect on a real level with someone utterly unreligious...just like Jesus did.

So...what are you doing? Have you allowed people, circumstances, a misguided sense of holiness to shave off all the unique things that God has put in you so that you are just some amorphous blob of blandness? Start a revolution! Welcome the Kingdom of God into your life in a radical new way! Challenge the world's expectaions! Do something!