Over Thanksgiving I finished reading Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win by William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre. I loved this book because it pushed me to think - really, really think about being different. In a world of churches that all look exactly the same, and is often more interested in copying other churches, how can we stand apart and do only what God is calling us to do at Charter Oak Church? What would happen if we started thinking differently about how we fulfill the call God has placed on our hearts? What if we believed - really believed - the transformational truth of Jesus Christ was to be made available to all people no matter what? What if that call burned passionately within us to the point that it was the only thing we could think about?
These are the questions that began to form in me as I read this book. Good stuff.
Monday, November 26, 2007
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2 comments:
Chris -
Good thoughts. It's amazing how much the "comparison factor" gets into my mind (and probably the minds of others on this blogroll). We focus on what everyone else is doing that we're not...rather than distinguishing ourselves and our individual giftedness, and just allowing God to shine through that.
Thanks for the reminder that different is good!
Jeff
Jeff,
For me, it even goes beyond being different. I think that many get so caught up in looking the same that they stop thinking creatively and even worse, they stop being obedient to what God is calling them to do.
I don't want to be different just for the sake of being different. Instead I want to be so in tune with the Holy Spirit that I am open to what the Holy Spirit is doing and not what some other church is doing.
The critical part comes when we are challenged to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit and we look around and we see that no one else is out there - what we do in those moments define us as pastors and as a church.
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