Just a thought or two: Spiritual narcissism, and other things...

Just had a conversation with Dan Rockwell, he writes one of the blogs that I follow regularly, called Leadership Freak. We have never met in person, but the beauty and the upside of social media is the ability to connect with people who are interested in the same things you are, people who are wiser or have more experience than you. Or, as in my case, connect with someone to talk about organizational issues who is  not mired down in it. I'd like to give him a shout-out and thank him for personally reaching out.

As seem to be the way God moves, this comes on the heels of stumbling across across a short blog by John Bishop about his new book, Dangerous Church (I haven't read the book, yet). Bishop's piece gives such a wonderful definition of what it means to be narcissistic, that I think you should read it context for yourself. Like reading the Bible, I think it is always important to read things I context. Anyway, the quote is this:

Entitlement in the simplest form is spiritual narcissism. A person who struggles with being narcissistic is someone who is essentially all about themselves. When leaders are all about themselves, they will eventually realize they are all by themselves.

I love this definition:

Narcissists hold unreasonable expectations of particularly favorable treatment and automatic compliance because they consider themselves special. Failure to comply is considered an attack on their superiority, and the perpetrator is considered an "awkward" or "difficult" person.

What kind of churches have we made for ourselves? Yes, for ourselves, because we certainly have not made them to honor and worship God. When did what we do everyday become more important that what Jesus has done for us?

I am prayerful and anxious to see our churches alive with passion for fulfilling the "Great Commission" again. How do we accomplish our calling when we are being inundated with meeting after meeting, followed by power struggles between the powerful and the insignificant, pushing and pulling us down a path to nowhere? Aren't we supposed to be building up the body of Christ, searching for and saving the lost? Are we doing our job?

How do we overcome our spiritual narcissism?

So, what's a church to do? Change or die.

What's a member to do? The Apostle Paul might say, stay and fight the good fight....Or go?

Maybe it's just me. Thoughts, Comments, Suggestions?

Exodus 37-38:31; Matthew 28:1-20; Psalm 34:11-22; Proverbs 9:9-10 (New Living Translation)

Old Testament

1. More information about building the Ark, the Mercy seat, the Tent of the meeting.

2. Some thing I have never noticed before, Bezalel is from the tribe of Judah. Remember the tribes? Well, gues who else are members of this tribe? King David for one. And, Jesus is referred to as "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah." Coincidence?

- On a more secular note, remember the lion in the "Chronicles of Narnia", well guess who that is supposed to represent? See, it's all around us, but we don't look, or maybe we just don't see.

3. There are also now 603,550 men over the age of 20 in the nation of Israel. Look back at Genesis. When Jacob and the boys joined Joseph, their total number was 78. See what this "remnant" has become. What a mighty God!

New Testamet

4. I didn't spend a lot of time on the Passion of Christ yesterday, but every time we read it or hear it it should give us pause. Think what an amazing sacrifice Jesus made to bring us back into relationship with God, the Father. He was beaten, scourged, mocked, hung on a cross, and died for us. There is no other gift like this.

5. Jesus did all this of His own free will to redeem us.

6. The angel of the Lord rolled the stone away, asssures the women that Jesus will meet them in Galilee.

7. The women come to visit the tomb, while the men are hiding back in town.

8. The guards are given a large bribe to perpetuate the lie that Jesus' body was stolen by the disciples.

9. The Great Commission- Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

- Let's really look at these verses.

- Jesus has been given all authority, and He bestows it on us. This is our mandate. To take that authority and try to elimnate, tell evryboby the Good News of Jesus Christ, teach all nations to do all the things that Christ commanded. And the best part..."I will never leave you"

- It says to take authority and tell everyone. It doesn't say go out and make little Baptists or Methodists or Pentacostals or Unitarian. I am using these as examples only. There is nothing wrong with being any of these.

- But, but, but...What are the great commandments? There are only two...

- Love God above all else. Put no thing and no person before or above Him.

- Love your neighbor as yourself. Do you? Or maybe you don't think so well of yourself. Well you should work on that. God made us just the way we are...and as they say on TV, "God doesn't make junk." Anyway, Love your neighbor...

10. And, teach these new disciple...

11. "...And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Be absolutely 100% sure of this, He is always with us.

12. And, back to the disciples. They saw Him and still doubted, even though they worshiped. I'm having a little trouble here...maybe someone out there can help me. How do you douby and worship at the same time?

Psalm

13. "Search for peace, and work to maintain it."

14. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." The Lord is after our hearts, not just our minds...Christ came to redeem the broken-hearted, to recue the sin-sick soul.

Proverbs

15. "Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more."

16. "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment."

- That's what this site is all about. Get some knowlege of the Holy One for yourself...read your bible. Don't just take at face value what people say is in the bible.


Almost forgot, Happy Valentine's Day...

"My children, the three acts of faith, hope, and charity contain all the happiness of man on earth." - John Vianney

See you next post...