Approval, Pt.2

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Gal 1:10 NIV)

Here is a really fun story: I just wrapped up a series of blogs on TITHING (that’s right, I believe in the OT principle of tithing, which started before Moses and was later codified in the Law; and I love the New Testament principle of giving cheerfully, regularly, and sacrificially – the practice and art of tithing is only a floor, it is a starting point, not a destination). What is amazing is that we have had more traffic and comments posted to the blog during this series than any other blog series I have done. WHY? Because people like to comment on what they are passionate about; people like to defend what they are passionate about: and PEOPLE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR MONEY & POSSESSIONS.

Here is where it gets even better: I have deleted most of the critical comments. I know what some of you are thinking, “THE DIALOGUE CHURCH IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT CONVERSATION.” Let me share a couple of things that I am learning from the Jesus of Scripture:

1. I don’t care (and neither does God) what YOU think The Dialogue Church should be. I only care about what JESUS WANTS THE DC TO BE.
2. I am not fighting for the approval of men, but FOCUSING ON THE APPROVAL OF JESUS. It’s not that I don’t care about the people involved, I just care more about the INVOLVEMENT OF JESUS. It is great that we have a place to lift up our voices and opinions, but I (and our church) have been called to LIFT UP JESUS with our voices.
3. Imagine if pastors in America stopped spending so much time answering their critics and spent more time with Jesus and communicating the vision that Jesus has put on their hearts!!
4. I want to be a church that is known for what we ARE FOR, and not simply what we are against.
5. Lifting up Jesus is not a popularity contest. There are many principles of action that Jesus calls us to that are simply not popular, they are simply not fun, and they are simply not convenient. Whenever we start looking for a Jesus that will make us popular, have more fun, or give us greater convenience we will end up missing the only Jesus that can save our souls and transform us through the application of the Cross.

One more thing, Check out my pastor friend Josh Gagnon’s latest blog post on the VISION OF A LEADER – http://joshuagagnon.com. It is called Mountain Top Leadership, Pt.4.