Tag: Corinthians

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The audience of ONE

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you. Our letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand. I hope someday you will fully understand us, even if you don’t understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.” 
2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:12-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Not everything that is taught is caught, not all motives and understanding are known and received here in our bent and broken world. Have you ever seen light bend? It can and you’ve seen it often in a rainbow. Just like the perception that light is bending, so it is with our understanding of many things we experience while in this fractured world.

Paul makes a clear leadership truth that is hard to accept – not everyone gets you! There are critics, doubters and outright resisters towards your message, your ideas, and your way of thinking. In fact, you may only find the Pareto principle effect with those who “get” you – that’s only 20% on a good day. Paul makes a declaration that is hard for those who like to be liked and want to know that everyone’s on board with every idea that bubble-cloud’s out of our head.

His confidence and clear conscience is before God. Ah, the audience of ONE! Only one to make happy, to be true to, be absolutely 100% straight with – only God. What freedom from public critics and persecution when there is only one to please and one to receive your confidence from.

And, this “God-given” holiness and sincerity is not PRIDE-PUFFED, it’s in complete humility of receiving grace and not depending on our own wisdom. Then, Paul writes, then there will be a “pride-swap” or boasting when Jesus returns. Because it will be about our listening, our obedience and not our own leadership smarts.

A leadership tip I picked up in my forties, “NEVER believe your own press!” Paul told the churches in Rome and Corinth, “pride and knowledge PUFFS up…but love BUILDS up.”

PRAYER:

Dad,
No wonder discouragement runs so closely parallel with leadership! When my focus is not only pleasing people but relying on their feedback of performance, it is a spiraling trap. But when I focus on pleasing you and being responsible for obedience to your call I feel faith rise and encouragement. I so often feel buried by the complications of all the layers of leading. It’s not just the minutia, it’s the multitasked flow of demand of attention, deep thought and the appearance of quick decisions. None of that comes easy to me. I live with the critic in my head that says I’m really bad at multitasking and multiple demands at once! I needed Paul words today to remind me of the audience of one – you!

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Some are just PASSIONATE about special abilities!

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me. And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭14:10-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​The Apostle Paul gets down to some serious Spirit-business! Churches in Corinth, they’re a wild bunch. Smart, savvy, metropolitan, maybe even cool. They were probably wealthier than their sisters and brothers in the other cities. Corinth was a major seaport, and you know those sailors – just kidding. The city was a high concentration not just of proud Greeks, but people from all over the known world. They were there buying and selling goods.

The church there was also bustling. With a mix of backgrounds and former ways of life, people were a bit more celebrative, you know a “happy” group. Paul addressed so many abuses in their theology and behavior that he wrote three or four letters explaining, in detail, a lot of things of the Spirit. There were HIGHS, the love chapter and LOWS, the sexual permissiveness scoldings.

I love how Paul frames the “speaking in tongue’s” conversation – “since you are eager…” Paul uses a word, “zélótés” or zealous. However, the root of that word, “zeloo” is jealous, or “eager to possess.” This church was crazy passionate about spiritual gifts.

Fine, Paul says, let’s just keep this in perspective…use them to STRENGTHEN the whole church – cough, cough, not just yourself! I’m also interested because in the verses that follow Paul instructs them about two different kinds of people that are in the church gathering. Those who are believers, members of Jesus body, the gathering of saints. And… the unbeliever. For if you bless God (eulogeó) in the Spirit, how can the uninformed, the “idiṓtēs”– a person who conspicuously lacks education, status or understanding benefit and join in?

Paul is concerned both for the church folk AND the person who comes in off the street. He gives an illustration of preference in verse 19. In the (ekklésia) assembly, a congregation I would rather speak FIVE intelligent words or instructive words than 10,000 words in tongues. Does Paul believe in speaking in tongues? Absolutely, he does so often, he writes. However, when gathering have some order, have some understanding, READ THE ROOM Corinthians – it’s not just about ME or even US, it’s also about THEM.

Don’t ya just love that the body of Christ is so beautiful, so diverse in color and culture? Yet, we are family. We are “blood” because of Jesus. We may have “denominations” for practical reasons or even preferences, but we are ONE under the lordship of Jesus. Churches in Corinth and Rome may be different in expression, but they are the same in belief!

PRAYER:

​Dad,
I don’t like the fact that there are so many different “denominations,” but I get it. Folks have to be able to free to live and live in ways that make them feel more comfortable.

But still, we should be able to see that these different gatherings are based on preferences, not theology. I get diversity in unity because you made us so different from each other in personality.

But as family, we are the same. As family we are thrilled to gather TOGETHER and celebrate the variations of perspective and opinion. Help us Oh God be one even as you are one!

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Mavericks and spirit-eneurs for the gospel

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy!” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭7:5-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Because these are letters to and from the Apostle Paul and the churches, in Corinth in this case, there is real and raw conversations that are captured. We call the different passages of the Bible, “books,” but most aren’t actual books as we know it. There are several different genres of the 66 collections of writings.

Much of the New Testament are letter form, like this one from Paul. It is believed that Corinthians had three or four such letters. 2 Corinthians may have been a composite of two of them, but the other was never found and thus did not make it into the Bible. It was also thought to be his last of his letters to them. Correspondence like this was common then and Paul was prolific in his letter writing abilities.

As you can see here with this small passage, Paul has become super transparent with his life in this letter. Using words, even here, like “conflict” or “fear,” as well as true joy. In chapters 6 & 11, Paul openly writes about all his conflicts, troubles and actually lists the number of times he was beaten, imprisoned even shipwrecked. Most normal people die in these circumstances, but Paul just kept on living and never stopped preaching, writing and living out the gospel all the way to his death in Rome, where he believed God wanted to give him audience with Caesar himself! Some think the book of Acts of the Apostles was Luke’s written account that Paul used to tell Caesar about Jesus Christ.

I often think about Paul doing what no one had done before, blazing an uncharted trail to bring the gospel to the gentiles. And when I see how God used him, I understand that any leader, every leader will face insurmountable barriers when cutting a path that no one sees or understands. Most of our modern leaders, especially in the church, are not leading out ahead, they’re just following the safer routes that have been cleared by mavericks and spirit-eneurs before them.

We need BOLD and humble leaders today. We need men and women of faith to take the gospel to the unknown as well as the “nones.” The church could not handle a lot of “Pauls” today, but we could sure use a few of them.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Thank you for leaders like Paul! Once a fierce enemy of the gospel, but then multiple times more “dangerous” after meeting you in person on the donkey ride to Damascus. We need more like him today. They are probably out there and I’m just not aware of it. Since leaving Royal Family KIDS, I’m back to more of a local focus of the church. Remember that one guy I met while flying somewhere, the guy I asked about our modern Apostles? That was so amazing. He acted like he knew of some and we had such an interesting conversation. That was such a divine appointment to get to listen to him! I just want to faithful to the task you called me to and remain open to your leading.