What Church Planters Can Learn From Taylor Swift

Dear Church Planter,

You will face opposition. The enemy will try to stop you. People are going to oppose you. Sometimes those people will even be church people, or at least religious folks. That shouldn't shock you. Because the same thing happened to church planters in the early church. 

Go read Acts 13. Paul and Barnabas are in the midst of planting the church and they begin to face opposition. Who starts it? The religious leaders of the day. Read it for yourself:

But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. - Acts 13:50-52.

But notice how Paul and Barnabas react to the opposition the religious leaders incited against them? 

They went all Taylor Swift on the naysayers. Verse 51 says "So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them" and then they moved on.

God's given you a vision for your city. He's calling you to make an impact for His Kingdom in your community and beyond. He's placed in your heart big dreams of changed lives, healed homes, and better cities. 

Don't be shocked when the opposition comes. Just be prepared. Go all Taylor Swift on the naysayers. Shake it off.

Math In God's Kingdom

Here's a thought: Too many times when it comes to our lives, our callings, and our legacies, we use the wrong math.

We look at our life and see the obstacles and the realities and the road blocks and begin to think of all the different reasons why God couldn't use us and why we don't measure up to make an impact for His Kingdom.

But we're doing the math wrong.

Here's the Math of God's Kingdom:

God > My Reality

God > The Obstacles I Face

God> My Limits

God's Grace > My Past

God's Vision > My Vision

God's Plan > My Plan

So go live your life with the confidence of God's Math and make an impact for His Kingdom.

How To Be Part Of The Solution

Dear American Christian,

If you have strong opinions on race relations, Baltimore, Ferguson, and the like but haven't shared a meal or deep conversation with a friend of another ethnicity this week, you're part of the problem...not the solution.

If you've used social media to share with others all the reasons why another faith group is wrong and evil, but you don't actually have relationships with people from that faith group, you're part of the problem...not the solution.

If you can lament endlessly about why a Christian baker shouldn't have to bake a cake for a gay wedding, but don't have one openly gay friend, you're part of the problem...not the solution.

If you pick your political candidate simply on his or her position on welfare reform, yet you don't give of your personal resources to care for the poor, you're part of the problem...not the solution.

If you've hopped from church to church to church, attending a new church every year because it better fits "your needs" you're part of the problem...not the solution.

Jesus said this in Luke 6: 27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

What if we just started acting like Jesus and doing what He said? Let's be honest. It's hard and uncomfortable at times to be part of the solution. But Jesus calls us to it...so it's worth it.