West Cobb Church / Ken Williams Blog

We didn’t have time to get to all the questions that you texted on Sunday, so I’m going to answer some of them here.  I hope everyone reads the answer to the first question.  It’s a key one for us! I’ll answer more questions tomorrow and I’ll get Dima and Alona to answer a few, too.

Q:  How are we suppose to answer God’s prompting to speak to someone?

Whatever way is natural for you.  We all do it differently.  It will take some boldness, but I wouldn’t start with, “God told me to come over here and talk to you.” 

I do think it’s important for us to know how to move a conversation toward spiritual things.  I have a few suggestions:

1.  Be interested in the person. Jesus was interested in ALL aspects of the person.  He talked about more than just spiritual things.

2.  ASK QUESTIONS. People love to talk about themselves – and few people have someone in their life who is genuinely interested in them.  Be one of those people who genuinely cares about others.

Oh… and good questions begin with ‘WHAT’ or ‘HOW’, not ‘Why’. So, ‘What do you believe about the Bible?’ is MUCH better than, ‘Why don’t you believe the Bible.’

3.  Let the person guide the conversation, not you. We usually have a preset agenda for the conversation.  Ask the Holy Spirit to guide the conversation through the other person (not you) and see where it goes.

4.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom in the conversation. You’ll be amazed what He’ll show you if you let HIM guide the conversation.  Don’t feel obligated to bring God in the conversation. God may just want you to encourage someone.  At the same time, don’t be afraid to mention Jesus. He’s a central part of your life.

5.  Practice turning the conversation toward a person’s journey with God. We often talk about everything EXCEPT the spiritual.  Don’t be afraid to ask about someone’s journey with God, just like you ask about their kids, job, trials, and joys.  AND… first try this with your friends. If you can’t turn the conversation toward God with friends, you’ll never do it with strangers.

Remember, QUESTIONS are the key!  You don’t need a speech, or wise words, or a preset agenda.  Just ask questions and trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest…

Q: I have friends from India who are polytheistic and friends from China who are largely atheistic. How do I approach these two groups of people about Christianity?

Be interested in them and spend time with them.  Eat with them, play with them, talk with them.  You must earn some credibility first.   It’s important to know why people become atheists.  Every true atheist I’ve met has experienced disappointment with God or a Follower of Jesus.  You won’t bridge that gap overnight.  (I use the term “true atheist” because many ‘atheists’ from communist countries aren’t true atheists.  They’re just agnostics who use the term atheist.)

As you spend time with people, talk about your faith – AND be genuinely interested in their beliefs.  ASK them about their beliefs.  You don’t have to give an answer to their objections, either.  And if you ask them questions like “What do you believe about the Bible?”  As you get their answers, you may discover that they haven’t researched it themselves.  They just believe what someone else told them to be true.

Last, PRAY!  Pray.  And don’t forget to pray.  You can’t change someone, but God can – and He’ll use you in that process if you’re open to it.

Q: What does it mean to be salt and light?

This question references Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5.  Jesus is teaching his followers that we are to leverage our relationships and influence for God’s Kingdom. (BTW… that’s a great definition of evangelism.  I didn’t come up with it, but I really like it.)  It’s interesting to notice Jesus’ words: we ARE the salt and light.  If believers choose not to be salt and light, then there is no plan B.

I’ll post some more questions tomorrow.  In the meantime, I’d love to see some discussion going about these topics, as well as Dima’s responses on Sunday.  What did you think about his answer for miracles in the United States?

I’m often asked what I think of Joel Osteen and similar teachers. I don’t think they’re false prophets, but I do think they’re little misguided because they ignore key parts of scripture. I read this blog from Donald Miller (one of my top three favorite authors) and Donald summarizes my thoughts about the Osteens of this world better than I can. So, I’ve copied Donald’s blog into my blog below. Read it and let me know you’re thoughts (BUT… don’t slam Joel Osteen and tele-evangelists in your comments – stay on topic and discuss the content).

If you want to read the blog directly from Donald’s blog, click here: http://donmilleris.com/2010/05/21/the-person-god-designed-you-to-be/

Here we go…

I’ve heard this little phrase in Christian circles that says “you can be the person God designed you to be.” The implications of the phrase are:

1. You are not the person God designed you to be and

2. The speaker or writer has some sort of formula that is going to help you become who God intended for you to be.

Now to be sure, every time I’ve heard this the intentions have been terrific. It’s always the nicest (and for that matter, most God fearing God loving better than my cynical self) people who say these things. If the world were more populated with people like them than people like me the world would be a better place, for sure. God knows they mean well, and they mean well for God and for you.

That said, I take issue with the phrase. I don’t believe you and I are going to be the people God intended for us to be until we get to heaven, until we are reunited with the Trinity. Until then, we are the people God never wanted us to be, that is people who are separated from Him. We have access to Him through Christ, but we won’t be with Him, as it were, until the wedding feast of the lamb, so until then, we are incomplete and that’s the most obvious truth in the world, all you have to do is watch the news, or have a video camera follow you around for an hour.

If you want a good picture of what life would be like if we were the person God created us to be, you just have to look at the book of Genesis. Moses repeats one descriptive phrase over and over, that before the fall, people walked around naked and weren’t ashamed. He really doesn’t explain much else. He just keeps going on about how when people were with God they could walk around naked. It actually makes you start wondering what Uncle Mosie was thinking.

But if you think about it, it’s quite a meaningful way of saying that, in the presence of God, we are hardly self aware. That is, we can walk around completely naked and feel no shame. That’s very hard to believe, you know, because every time I’m naked I am acutely aware of the fact I am naked. Honestly, it never slips my mind. I never find myself at the grocery store, catching a chill in the frozen food section when I suddenly realize I’m in my birthday suit.

What Moses is saying is that we were designed to live in the presence of God, and in His presence, and His presence alone, self awareness fades away, and we are made complete in an exchange of love we can’t possibly imagine. Moses, then, summed it up pretty well: They were naked and felt no shame.

And so when we hear we can be the people God designed us to be by obeying a formula, we are being sold snake oil. If you were the person God designed you to be, you’d walk around naked and not know it. In other words, if you were the person God designed you to be, you’d be in an insane asylum singing Third Day songs only wearing a keytar.

It sounds like a slight thing to contend with, but believing you can become some sort of actualized human being before the wedding feast of the lamb has negative emotional consequences. If you actually believe that, you aren’t going to be happy because you’ll spend your life believing you are missing out on some kind of life that isn’t accessible till you are reunited with God. No formula is going to reverse the affects of the fall of man. You don’t have that kind of power, and neither does a formula. God will bring you to Him when He chooses, and at that point you will be the person He designed you to be, namely, you’ll be with Him, which is what He designed you for.

Instead, Paul repeats over and over that what we have in Christ is hope. HOPE. He says he counts all things rubbish compared to the hope that awaits us in Christ. And he says the hope we have in Christ will not disappoint.

And there’s nothing depressing about that at all. Ever meet a girl who just got engaged? She’s happy. She’s not happy because she’s not married, she’s happy because she knows she’s going to get married. She has hope. In fact, the truth is she’s happier engaged than she ever will be married (booo….bad joke, just kidding. Please don’t tweet me angry, 140 character hate mails.)

What this means for me is that I can learn about God, I can pray to God, I can long for God, I can cry out to God, I can allow God’s principles to guide me in this vapor of a short life, I can enjoy my suffering as a point of reference for His eventual deliverance, but in terms of being an actualized human being, all I’ve got going for me is Christ. I’ve got nothing else. And Christ will reunite me with the Father, and at that point, I will be the person God designed me to be. I’ve got no hope in myself at all, and no hope in formulas. I’ve got all my hope in Christ.

So next time you’re reading a religious book and the author says you can be the person God designed you to be, flip to the back cover and look at the author picture. If said author is wearing clothes, put the book back on the shelf. It’s like my Uncle Mosie told us, Never trust a fella wearing clothes.

Every now and then, a ‘blue day’ sneaks up on me.  Of course, I’d always prefer ‘orange days’ -  bright and cheery.  They make me feel so much more spiritual, but some days just aren’t orange.  When I was younger, I didn’t know how to react to blue days.  Sometimes, I’d work harder (but as I got older, that didn’t work so well).  Then, I’d try to figure out why I’m blue (that just frustrated me).  So then I’d try to figure out what I needed to do to ’snap out of it’ (that just frustrated me even more!).

I’ve had a ‘blue’ week this week.  Just in case you’re a fixer, please don’t send me your suggestions. They frustrate me even more than the ’snap out of it’ platitudes.  It’s kinda funny, but all the little platitudes that I used in my 20’s don’t work anymore.

But here’s what I do when I get blue…

1.  Don’t Try to ‘Snap Out of It’. I don’t make these times come and I can’t make them go away.  I used to see them as bad… unspiritual, but I don’t anymore.  I see them as a gift from God.

2.  Slow Down. When I’m having a blue day (or week), I cancel some appointments and slow up my schedule.  I can’t cancel everything, but I can reschedule some.  God instructed Elijah to slow down when he was ‘blue’.  So, I figure that’s some pretty good advice.

3.  Pray More. My best prayer times are when I’m blue.  (For the record… orange days should also include great prayer times; but for me, they rarely do.)  As I pray, I try not to let my prayers digress into a pity party.  Instead, I spend time thanking God for the blessings he has given me.  This time of gratitude doesn’t make the clouds go away.  But it’s very good for my soul.

4.  Exercise & Sleep. We miss the importance of exercise and sleep in the Bible.  It was a NATURAL part of their DAILY routine.  They didn’t have cars, TV’s, or electricity to light the house at night.  They slept and exercised WAY MORE more than we do.

5.  Spend Time in Activities That Connect Me With God. In my last blog, I talked about how we connect with God.  For me, it’s nature and relationships.  When I’m blue, I try to increase these times.  I have some friends who listen so well.  I call them when I’m blue. Platitudes never flow from their mouths.  They’re gifts from God.  As for nature… The 10 on the Mellish Meter yesterday and today was a gift from God, just for little ole me… 

In the end, the ‘blue’ times go away.  They’re a phase.  But they’re a phase I enjoy and benefit from, rather than dread and ignore.

Join the discussion… What do you do when you have a blue day/week/month? btw… if you include any Christian platitudes in your comment, I may reach through the computer and strangle you.  (I’m more feisty when I’m blue.  LOL)

How do you best connect with God?  For me, it’s through His Creation.  I loved the prayer time at our church last Thursday because the organizers gave us two options… 1) pray in the worship center; or 2) take a prayer walk through the woods.  It didn’t take me two seconds to decide which option was for me.  Praying while I walk through nature energizes me.  Sunrises inspire me.  Ocean waves calm me.  Yet, when I pray while I’m sitting inside a room, I’m easily distracted (sorry God!).

We each have one or two primary ways of connecting with God, sensing His presence and experiencing spiritual growth.  Sometimes we think that we are inferior to others because we don’t have their pathway.  Other times, we feel superior, wondering why more people don’t connect with God the way we do.

John Ortberg – one of my absolute favorite writers – gives a great list of Spiritual Pathways.  Here they are:

1. Intellectual Pathway: “… draw closer to God as they learn more about Him.”
2. Relational Pathway: “… have a deep sense of God’s presence when they’re involved in significant relationships.”
3. Serving Pathway: “… God’s presence seems most tangible when they’re involved in helping others.”
4. Worship Pathway: “… have a natural gift for expression and celebration.”
5. Activist Pathway: “You have a passion to act.”
6. Contemplative Pathway: “God is most present to you when distractions and noises are removed.”
7. Creation Pathway: “… have a passionate ability to connect with God when they are experiencing the world He made.”

What’s your pathway?  When it’s left unchecked, do you feel it’s inferior or superior to others?  Can you share a recent time when God made His presence very real to you through your pathway?  I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts, so join the discussion and comment on this post.

I loved the discussion this week.  I want people to comment more – even reply to comments and get some good discussion going in the threads.  This week really moved us toward that.  I’m trying to post less, to give you more time to comment and learn from each other.

Great work this week!  Looking forward to next week.  We’ll finish up the Sermon on the Mount in our daily reading with Matthew 7.

Let’s continue the discussion that a couple of Bloggers mentioned in their comments to ‘Picture Perfect.’  Authenticity is a struggle among Americans, even followers of Jesus.  What keeps us from removing the mask and being authentic with people?  What can we do to change these bad habits?

I can’t wait to read your comments…

Have you ever seen a photo of a shirtless father holding his naked newborn child?  There are several hanging in Phipps Plaza.  Skin against skin.  Very cool shots.  My friend, Bryan, has a three week old son and wanted to have a similar picture made with his son.  The day came for the shoot and all was going well.  Garrett, his son, was in a great mood.  Everyone was having a great time and the photographer was capturing some picture perfect moments.  Then, in the middle of the shoot, Garrett started having a bowel movement all over Bryan.  Bryan quickly picked Garrett up, saving the day, only to have Garrett start peeing into Bryan’s mouth.  Gross!  The shoot went from picture perfect to picture awful.

Once everyone got cleaned up, the photographer wrapped up the morning with some great shots of Bryan and Garrett.  But the events of that morning are etched into Bryan’s memory.

It’s easy to admire photographs and not see the behind the scenes turmoil that it takes to make them happen.   The same is true of our lives.  We present cleaned up pictures and don’t show people what’s going on behind the scenes.  That’s why Jesus begins Matthew 6 by reminding us not to be fake.  He knows the danger of presenting a picture perfect life.   He warns us not to give, pray, or fast to be seen by men.  If you’re like me, it’s easy to slip into ‘Picture Perfect Mode,’ letting people see our successes without pointing out our struggles and messes.

Jesus’ teachings remind me to show my flaws and messes as much (or more) than my successes.  It keeps me ‘authentic’ to others.  So how about making this commitment for the week… the next time the world messes on you, be careful to tell the whole story to others.  Don’t let them only see the picture perfect moment at the end.

Have you ever encountered someone who was genuine and authentic, sharing their mess, as well as their success?  Post a comment about how s/he affected you.

“It’s all in the delivery.” That’s what Kenn Kington – a talented, local comedian – told me when I asked him why his version of the same joke was funnier than mine.  Humor is amazingly powerful.  When we laugh, our hearts open to hear the truth.

Jesus was a funny teacher.  (Maybe not as funny as Kenn Kington, but still funny.)  In today’s reading, Jesus is being humorous when he says we should cut off a hand or gouge out an eye.  Sitting around Jesus, his audience would have chuckled, listening to him.  But they would have also gotten the point… sin harms us, so treat it like a horrible infection.  Do everything we can to rid ourselves of it.

How about sharing some humor from your life that illustrates a truth about life and/or God?  I can’t wait to hear what you write…

“I don’t know how I ever lived without these applications!”  Those were the words of a fellow iPhone user.  We were talking about how iPhone applications have become an integral part of our lives.

I’m like this iPhone user, I depend on my apps, but let me tell you about my favorite one… RunPee.  It’s especially designed for small bladder-ed people like me.  (I know… TMI!)  I always have trouble in movies because I go to the bathroom at the most inopportune times.  I have a knack for choosing critical scenes and missing important developments in the plot.  But that issue is gone with RunPee.  I open the app, choose a movie, tell my phone when the movie starts, and the app cues me when I can head to the bathroom without missing important information.  (It even tells me how long I have.)  Amazing!

Now jump to today’s reading.  As I SOAP the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12), I notice how important these verses are to my life.  Every verse is counter cultural and God uses words like, “blessed are the meek… the merciful… the pure in heart,” to reset my thinking.  They keep me from missing the life that God has designed for me.  In fact, they’re like my own little app.  I could call them, RunToGod.  They help me get in sync with God’s design for our world.

I read the Beatitudes – my RunToGod app – often.  I even memorized the verses several years ago.  And even though RunPee app occasionally gets it wrong.  (The timing’s off or the movie information isn’t quite right.)  Not so with God.  He’s right on the mark every time.

I’d love to hear about the Bible verse(s) that God uses to reset your thinking.  Join the discussion and share them with the rest of us…

The Hawks are dominating the Bucks tonight and I’m watching it from club seats a few rows from the floor. They are sweet seats! Great view. Padded leather. Unbelievable food (especially the dessert bar). And best of all… no waiting in the women’s bathroom. (Shawna added that comment.)

I didn’t do anything to get these seats. They cost $135 each, but I didn’t pay a dime. I just showed up, told them my name and they gave me the tickets.

A member of our church got us the seats. He offered. He chose the seats. He lined it all up. All I had to do was say ‘yes’ and show up.

Tonight, I’m enjoying grace… undeserved favor. There’s a part of me that feels guilty, like I need to repay the guy who got me the tickets. I guess that’s my baggage, huh??? It’s hard for me to receive grace, but what can I do to repay him? Give him a special audience with me??? Not.

I’m sure you see the parallels between tonight and our journey with Jesus. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it

And yes, I’m writing my blog during the game. It’s a nerd thing…

- Posted from My iPhone

Location:Andrew Young International Blvd NE,Atlanta,United States