I think I've shared this before on this blog, but these are notes I wrote down about 2 1/2 years ago. I was reading through some old stuff today and came across this.
----------
12/30/06 God doesn’t ask me to be “on fire” for Him. God doesn’t ask me to be “radical” for Him. Rather, before I was born again He told me I must die, and then He could come and raise me up to a brand new life and join His life with mine. So the life I now live is not a matter of me being radical or on fire for Him, but rather His radical life expressing itself through me – in whichever way He wills. The life I live in this earthsuit I live by faith. I most certainly don’t live by my own might or power or by my own attempts to live a powerful or radical life, or even a sincere, dedicated life. That sounds “unChristian,” I know! But as I let go of my own attempts at living any part of the Christian life, another Life takes over, with more power and dedication than I could ever come up with.
The gift of God that is in us, which Paul reminds Timothy to “fan into flame” (2 Tim 1:6), isn’t necessarily going to have an outward appearance that’s radical or sensational or impressive to other people, even to other Christians. Understand, I’m writing from the perspective of an introverted person who has tried in the past to live the extroverted, radical, effervescent Christian life, trying to prove to others that I’m “on fire” for God. I had faith – deep faith – and looking back, I can now see that my true faith was expressed in ways that weren’t always noticeable by others. But since I had come into a church culture that seemed to take greater notice of those with more visible and expressive demonstrations of faith, I prayed and tried very hard to have the same passion as others and for the Spirit to manifest Himself in me with the same sort of outward demonstration. Again, I now see that I really did have a deep faith, but at the time I didn’t think that was true. I wondered when the time would ever come that my faith would grow and I could truly be more expressive with my faith. When would I ever truly be “on fire” for God?
Thank God that I finally came to an understanding of who I really was. Or better said, I came to a better understanding of who Christ is in me.
The way that the life of God will be expressed in each of us individually will be different.
You can’t be what you’re not. Be who you are!
Grace Roots Blog
Showing posts with label be yourself. Show all posts
Showing posts with label be yourself. Show all posts
Monday, July 06, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Individually members of one another
The worldwide body of Christ is a body that is made up of many very diverse and unique individuals. Each member of the body is set apart for specific functions within the body. We're not all the same, and we don't all do the same things within the body. This is such a wonderful, beautiful thing to me! No part of Christ's body is unimportant; in fact each part is equally important, even if some parts have higher or lower visibility than others. Each part is gifted in its own way - in exactly the way that God wants it to be gifted. He has set you apart as a very special and important part of His body.
The practical applications that I want to make with all of this are very general. Depending upon who you are, the following will play out in your life in its own unique ways. First off, I think it's very important that you be who you are and that you don't try to be who anyone else is! In my earlier days in the church, I would see various people operating in various spiritual gifts and I so much wanted to be able to do the things I saw them doing. But it wasn't until later on, after I had discovered some of the unique things that God has set me apart to do within His body that I finally began to understand that it's quite all right that I can't and don't do what certain other people are doing. God has given me plenty to do within His body! I finally began enjoying the ways in which He had gifted me and I quit trying to be what I wasn't.
This lesson also taught me to stop trying to get others to be who they're not, but instead to help them find out who they are and to encourage them in who they are. I think there is a lot of manipulative "ministry" going on in the church because people simply aren't content to do what they're called to do and they're also not content when other people aren't doing what they think they should be doing!
Knowing who you are and being who you are is very freeing. When I used to wish I could do what others were doing, I really felt as if I was missing out. But I came to find out that what I was really missing out on was being who I was! Knowing and being who you are is also very beneficial to the body as a whole. God Himself has made you who you are and He has not made you to be someone else. When you are who you are, and everyone else is who they are, then Christ's body works exactly as it's intended to work! "The body is a unit," says the Apostle Paul (or "the body is one"). It's One Body that is made up of countless parts that God has strategically placed throughout the Body. The placement of the parts is God's doing! The functions that you walk in all come from God! He has done well placing you exactly where you are.
You are free to be who you are and not who anyone else thinks you should be. You are free to celebrate what God is doing in your life and in the lives of others, and to not be envious of others or fearful that God has left you out in the cold, even if He's not doing the same thing(s) in your life as He's doing in theirs. You might not be called to have the same type of unique, massive evangelistic call on your life that Billy Graham has had... but Billy Graham also hasn't had the same unique call on his life that you have on your life! You may say, "I'm no Billy Graham..." but on the same token, Billy Graham is no YOU! Whatever God does through individuals is good for the Body as a whole.
I know some people who are very grace-based that don't like to hear what I'm about to say, but I think it's simply the truth. All the members of the Body of Christ, while having a super abundance of grace in regards to all that God has called them to do individually, are also limited in the respect that God hasn't enabled them to do what He hasn't called them to do! In a certain context, Paul put it this way: "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?" (1 Cor 12:29-30). Of course not! This goes along with what Paul had just finished saying: "God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body" (1 Cor 12:18-20).
So don't be down on yourself, and don't feel like God has jilted you when you find you're not operating in the same gifts that others are operating in! And don't look down on others when they're not operating in the same gifts as you! "We being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another" (Rom 12:5). I love that phrase! Individually members of one another. The body doesn't work by having everyone doing the same things! It works when the individual members each do their individual things as part of the whole body.
And please don't think that the ways in which individuals are gifted and used by God within the Body are solely found listed in the Bible. Yes, Paul presents us with many of the diverse ways in which God gifts His body, but just think of all the ways in which God has made you a beneficial part of His body that aren't even listed in the scriptures! Your hobbies, your talents, your abilities, your desires, the things you do that give you and others great joy... are all a part of how God has fitted you into His wonderful worldwide body!
Remember too, we're all in this together. It's not as if it's a competition. That would be like saying that when a man is out for a walk, his heart is in competition with his legs. No! The heart and the legs and the lungs and the blood cells and the feet and the sweat glands and... every single part of the body... all work together for the good of the body as a whole, to get it where it's going!
I think we need recognize as well that some parts of the Body never "see" each other and don't even realize what the other members of the Body are doing. But yet each part affects the other parts, even in these unseen ways. I'm pretty sure my hands and fingers don't have a clue what function my liver plays in my body, but yet if my liver wasn't functioning correctly it would seriously affect my ability to sit here and type out this blog post! Christ, the Head of the Body, knows exactly what signals He's sending to each and every part of the Body for proper functioning, and He Himself makes His body work. So just relax and be who you are, and trust that the Head of the Body knows what He's doing with the rest of the Body!
A few related posts:
Let me be
Be yourself - You can't be what you're not
Why I blog - Part 1
The practical applications that I want to make with all of this are very general. Depending upon who you are, the following will play out in your life in its own unique ways. First off, I think it's very important that you be who you are and that you don't try to be who anyone else is! In my earlier days in the church, I would see various people operating in various spiritual gifts and I so much wanted to be able to do the things I saw them doing. But it wasn't until later on, after I had discovered some of the unique things that God has set me apart to do within His body that I finally began to understand that it's quite all right that I can't and don't do what certain other people are doing. God has given me plenty to do within His body! I finally began enjoying the ways in which He had gifted me and I quit trying to be what I wasn't.
This lesson also taught me to stop trying to get others to be who they're not, but instead to help them find out who they are and to encourage them in who they are. I think there is a lot of manipulative "ministry" going on in the church because people simply aren't content to do what they're called to do and they're also not content when other people aren't doing what they think they should be doing!
Knowing who you are and being who you are is very freeing. When I used to wish I could do what others were doing, I really felt as if I was missing out. But I came to find out that what I was really missing out on was being who I was! Knowing and being who you are is also very beneficial to the body as a whole. God Himself has made you who you are and He has not made you to be someone else. When you are who you are, and everyone else is who they are, then Christ's body works exactly as it's intended to work! "The body is a unit," says the Apostle Paul (or "the body is one"). It's One Body that is made up of countless parts that God has strategically placed throughout the Body. The placement of the parts is God's doing! The functions that you walk in all come from God! He has done well placing you exactly where you are.
You are free to be who you are and not who anyone else thinks you should be. You are free to celebrate what God is doing in your life and in the lives of others, and to not be envious of others or fearful that God has left you out in the cold, even if He's not doing the same thing(s) in your life as He's doing in theirs. You might not be called to have the same type of unique, massive evangelistic call on your life that Billy Graham has had... but Billy Graham also hasn't had the same unique call on his life that you have on your life! You may say, "I'm no Billy Graham..." but on the same token, Billy Graham is no YOU! Whatever God does through individuals is good for the Body as a whole.
I know some people who are very grace-based that don't like to hear what I'm about to say, but I think it's simply the truth. All the members of the Body of Christ, while having a super abundance of grace in regards to all that God has called them to do individually, are also limited in the respect that God hasn't enabled them to do what He hasn't called them to do! In a certain context, Paul put it this way: "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?" (1 Cor 12:29-30). Of course not! This goes along with what Paul had just finished saying: "God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body" (1 Cor 12:18-20).
So don't be down on yourself, and don't feel like God has jilted you when you find you're not operating in the same gifts that others are operating in! And don't look down on others when they're not operating in the same gifts as you! "We being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another" (Rom 12:5). I love that phrase! Individually members of one another. The body doesn't work by having everyone doing the same things! It works when the individual members each do their individual things as part of the whole body.
And please don't think that the ways in which individuals are gifted and used by God within the Body are solely found listed in the Bible. Yes, Paul presents us with many of the diverse ways in which God gifts His body, but just think of all the ways in which God has made you a beneficial part of His body that aren't even listed in the scriptures! Your hobbies, your talents, your abilities, your desires, the things you do that give you and others great joy... are all a part of how God has fitted you into His wonderful worldwide body!
Remember too, we're all in this together. It's not as if it's a competition. That would be like saying that when a man is out for a walk, his heart is in competition with his legs. No! The heart and the legs and the lungs and the blood cells and the feet and the sweat glands and... every single part of the body... all work together for the good of the body as a whole, to get it where it's going!
I think we need recognize as well that some parts of the Body never "see" each other and don't even realize what the other members of the Body are doing. But yet each part affects the other parts, even in these unseen ways. I'm pretty sure my hands and fingers don't have a clue what function my liver plays in my body, but yet if my liver wasn't functioning correctly it would seriously affect my ability to sit here and type out this blog post! Christ, the Head of the Body, knows exactly what signals He's sending to each and every part of the Body for proper functioning, and He Himself makes His body work. So just relax and be who you are, and trust that the Head of the Body knows what He's doing with the rest of the Body!
A few related posts:
Let me be
Be yourself - You can't be what you're not
Why I blog - Part 1
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Yep, be who you are
I'm amazed at the things God does in our lives to confirm His word to us, and to encourage us in it. My last post, "Be yourself - You can't be what you're not," was essentially a matter of me preaching to myself. I needed to be encouraged to be who I am. It's easy for me, as I know it is for others, to slip off into that people-pleasing mode and into the lifeless mode of faking a religious life rather than living by the fullness of the life of the indwelling Christ.
I was browsing through my past personal notes a few minutes ago and I sat there with my eyes wide open and my jaw almost to the floor as I read something I had written over a year ago that soooo relates to all this! I have not read this since that time, as far as I remember. What caught my attention in re-reading this was the very last sentence (see the end of the quoted section below). It's a phrase that's been woven into my life and it has served for many years to keep me focused on who I am and not on who I'm not!
Back to the present. I was watching Joseph Prince on TV last night. He is a great encourager in our identity in Christ and in God's love for us. Watching him, I was tempted to think such thoughts as, "Man, I'd love to get out there and preach like him. He says all the stuff I'd love to say to people and he has such a friendly and outgoing personality that easily draws people in to listen to what he has to say."
But I quickly shook off those thoughts because I am not Joseph Prince. I am not Billy Graham. I am not (fill in the blank). I can't be what I'm not and I don't want to be what I'm not! If I live my life focused on wanting to be like anyone else - which really is nothing less than envy - then I miss out on being who I am. Can I let someone else's personality rub off on me? Sure! Can I learn about myself by watching the "ways" of other people? Definitely! When I was new in radio (14 years ago), I listened to a lot of other DJ's on the radio and in a sense I tried to copy a lot of their styles. But eventually I found out what was "me" and what was not "me" and I developed my own way of communicating with others over the airwaves.
Today I watch other dads interacting with their kids. I watch my coworkers doing their work. I pay attention to the styles of other writers. Many times I glean great things from others by watching them. But in the end... I am what I am and that's all that I am, and you are who you are! And that's good!
I was browsing through my past personal notes a few minutes ago and I sat there with my eyes wide open and my jaw almost to the floor as I read something I had written over a year ago that soooo relates to all this! I have not read this since that time, as far as I remember. What caught my attention in re-reading this was the very last sentence (see the end of the quoted section below). It's a phrase that's been woven into my life and it has served for many years to keep me focused on who I am and not on who I'm not!
12/30/06
"God doesn’t ask me to be “on fire” for Him. God doesn’t ask me to be “radical” for Him. Rather, before I was born again He told me I must die, and then He could come and raise me up to a brand new life and join His life with mine. So the life I now live is not a matter of me being radical or on fire for Him, but rather His radical life expressing itself through me – in whichever way He wills. The life I live in this earthsuit I live by faith. I most certainly don’t live by my own might or power or by my own attempts to live a powerful or radical life, or even a sincere, dedicated life. That sounds “unChristian” to many people, I know! But as I let go of my own attempts at living any part of the Christian life, another Life takes over, with more power and dedication than I could ever come up with.
The gift of God that is in us, which Paul reminds Timothy to “fan into flame” (2 Tim 1:6), isn’t necessarily going to have an outward appearance that’s radical or sensational or impressive to other people, even to other Christians. Understand, I’m writing from the perspective of an introverted person who has tried in the past to live the extroverted, radical, effervescent Christian life, trying to prove to others that I’m “on fire” for God. I had faith – deep faith – and looking back, I can now see that my true faith was expressed in ways that weren’t always noticeable by others.
But since I had come into a church culture that seemed to take greater notice of those with more visible and expressive demonstrations of faith, I prayed and tried very hard to have the same passion as others and for the Spirit to manifest Himself in me with the same sort of outward demonstration. Again, I now see that I really did have a deep faith, but at the time I didn’t think that was true. I wondered when the time would ever come that my faith would grow and I could truly be more expressive with my faith. When would I ever truly be “on fire” for God?
Thank God that I finally came to an understanding of who I really was. Or better said, I came to a better understanding of who Christ is in me.
The way that the life of God will be expressed in each of us individually will be different.
You can’t be what you’re not."
Back to the present. I was watching Joseph Prince on TV last night. He is a great encourager in our identity in Christ and in God's love for us. Watching him, I was tempted to think such thoughts as, "Man, I'd love to get out there and preach like him. He says all the stuff I'd love to say to people and he has such a friendly and outgoing personality that easily draws people in to listen to what he has to say."
But I quickly shook off those thoughts because I am not Joseph Prince. I am not Billy Graham. I am not (fill in the blank). I can't be what I'm not and I don't want to be what I'm not! If I live my life focused on wanting to be like anyone else - which really is nothing less than envy - then I miss out on being who I am. Can I let someone else's personality rub off on me? Sure! Can I learn about myself by watching the "ways" of other people? Definitely! When I was new in radio (14 years ago), I listened to a lot of other DJ's on the radio and in a sense I tried to copy a lot of their styles. But eventually I found out what was "me" and what was not "me" and I developed my own way of communicating with others over the airwaves.
Today I watch other dads interacting with their kids. I watch my coworkers doing their work. I pay attention to the styles of other writers. Many times I glean great things from others by watching them. But in the end... I am what I am and that's all that I am, and you are who you are! And that's good!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Be yourself - You can't be what you're not
Last night we had student-led Parent-Teacher conferences with both our kids. The teachers helped the students prepare the materials, and each student then sat down with their teacher and parents and led the individual conferences. During our conference with our 4th grade son, Jared, he read a story to us that he'd written during class. His teacher pointed out to us how the entire story developed from Jared's own personality and imagination. He told us that he encourages Jared to write about:
1) What he cares about
2) What he knows about
3) What he understands.
He motioned towards all the books in the room and he said that each author doesn't sit down and decide to write just for the purpose of making money, but they write because it is stuff that they care about, know about and understand.
If I were to condense this concept into a simple phrase, it would be "be yourself." Write about what you are passionate about and don't force yourself to write about things that don't interest you. Other interests and passions may develop as you write about what is naturally on your heart and mind, but don't try to be what you're not.
All of this applies to much more than writing, obviously! Whoever you are, whatever you do... be who you are. In Christ, you have become a new person. You are free to be who that person is! I'm reminded of a line from a song that hugely impacted me back in my early Christian life when I was very confused about who I was and what I was to do with my life. The band's name was Fighter* and they had a song called Your Hand. The chorus went like this:
Your hand is on me
Wherever I go I just look around and know
Your hand is on me
Through the rich times
And through uncertainty...
And the line from the song that absolutely melted my heart one day and began the process of clearing up a lot of my confusion went like this:
You use the things God gave you
You can't be what you're not.
I remember crying unrestrained tears of release and a sense of overflowing joy on the day when those words came alive to me. I had been confused by a lot of preaching (as well-intentioned as the preachers may have been) that told me I was supposed to do this and I was supposed to do that, and that a good Christian should do this act of service and should do that act of worship. My own mind was consumed with pondering all the things I should be doing as a Christian, and I was simply overwhelmed.
But I can't be what I'm not! However, I can be what I am! Put another way, I can do nothing apart from Christ, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That doesn't mean I can do "everything." It just means that I can be and do, through Christ, whatever it is that God has made for me to be and to do. He has placed all of this inside me in the form of desires and passions, gifts and abilities, and ultimately His very life in me. It's not up to me to force myself to have certain spiritual desires and passions, nor to do every spiritual-looking work that I can think of.
Here's a tiny example of what I mean, from my own life. During the more intense time in my life in which I was "discovering" who I was in Christ, I had a sincere desire to help people. I thought perhaps if I became a nurse, I would really have an opportunity to help lots of people. In order to "test the waters" of the nursing field I took a month-long nursing assistant course and I went to work in a nursing home (for only a week). I then worked with a quadriplegic man in his home for a couple of months and then I finally ended up working as a nursing assistant at a hospital. It didn't take long for me to discover that I hated this type of work! I had lots of compassion for the patients, but yet I did not like that type of hands-on work and there's no way I could do that type of work for the rest of my life! I can't be what I'm not.
Since that time, I've had plenty of other experiences in which I've dabbled in "good" things that aren't "me," and over a period of time I've discovered who I really am in Christ, and I continue to learn who I am, and to live it out. I'm not talking about living a purpose driven life. I'm talking about an intimate Spirit-led life. I'm talking about not going with the "flow" of the rest of the church if who you are isn't what they think you are or want you to be. I've "done my time" in various church settings in which I've served in capacities that simply are not "me." That is, Christ-in-me. They've certainly been things that have looked good to man, and have even been beneficial to others at times, but in reality are not the works that God created for me to walk in. They are works that man has created for me to walk in. In the church today, there are plenty of these man-made works!
I'm sure you've heard the old church saying that goes something like, "10% of the people in the church are doing 90% of the work." Could the reason perhaps be because so much of the work that is created by the church is man-made work and not Spirit-led work? What if the church would stop... and simply trust that Jesus is building His Church (not a church or churches), and would stop coming up with programs and activities that, while having a nice spiritual appearance, are really keeping people from walking in the works that God has prepared beforehand for them to walk in (Eph 2:10).
And so my continuous encouragement to myself (and to others) is, "be yourself." I'll be completely honest with you. I'm one of the 90% who is not going along with all of the busy work that others in the church are complaining about having to do alone! And no, I'm not a rebel! I mean, my reason for not going along with them is not because I have a rebellious attitude against the spiritual-looking work they would have me do. My reason is simply because those things are not ME!
I am "being" who I am, not what others think I should be. Sometimes people look down on me because "myself" is not what they want out of me. Other times, people look up to me because "myself" looks very good to them. But either way, I don't care what others think of me! I'm not out to please them, nor to fulfill their agendas. I'm not even out to fulfill my own agenda. I'm simply out for a long walk with my Father!
"I am what I am and that's all that I am."
- Popeye
----------
*Fighter was a local Christian band that influenced me in my young 20's. They no longer exist as a band, and the members have each gone on to other things. Amy Wolter, one of the lead singers, is one of my myspace friends. Anyway, the band had an excellent album called Bang the Drum, and last July 4th I posted the lyrics to the title song in a post called Bang the Drum - Let your freedom ring! The previous July, I had also written an article about the song. This is a knock-out song that pulls no punches against legalism and legalists!
1) What he cares about
2) What he knows about
3) What he understands.
He motioned towards all the books in the room and he said that each author doesn't sit down and decide to write just for the purpose of making money, but they write because it is stuff that they care about, know about and understand.
If I were to condense this concept into a simple phrase, it would be "be yourself." Write about what you are passionate about and don't force yourself to write about things that don't interest you. Other interests and passions may develop as you write about what is naturally on your heart and mind, but don't try to be what you're not.
All of this applies to much more than writing, obviously! Whoever you are, whatever you do... be who you are. In Christ, you have become a new person. You are free to be who that person is! I'm reminded of a line from a song that hugely impacted me back in my early Christian life when I was very confused about who I was and what I was to do with my life. The band's name was Fighter* and they had a song called Your Hand. The chorus went like this:
Your hand is on me
Wherever I go I just look around and know
Your hand is on me
Through the rich times
And through uncertainty...
And the line from the song that absolutely melted my heart one day and began the process of clearing up a lot of my confusion went like this:
You use the things God gave you
You can't be what you're not.
I remember crying unrestrained tears of release and a sense of overflowing joy on the day when those words came alive to me. I had been confused by a lot of preaching (as well-intentioned as the preachers may have been) that told me I was supposed to do this and I was supposed to do that, and that a good Christian should do this act of service and should do that act of worship. My own mind was consumed with pondering all the things I should be doing as a Christian, and I was simply overwhelmed.
But I can't be what I'm not! However, I can be what I am! Put another way, I can do nothing apart from Christ, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That doesn't mean I can do "everything." It just means that I can be and do, through Christ, whatever it is that God has made for me to be and to do. He has placed all of this inside me in the form of desires and passions, gifts and abilities, and ultimately His very life in me. It's not up to me to force myself to have certain spiritual desires and passions, nor to do every spiritual-looking work that I can think of.
Here's a tiny example of what I mean, from my own life. During the more intense time in my life in which I was "discovering" who I was in Christ, I had a sincere desire to help people. I thought perhaps if I became a nurse, I would really have an opportunity to help lots of people. In order to "test the waters" of the nursing field I took a month-long nursing assistant course and I went to work in a nursing home (for only a week). I then worked with a quadriplegic man in his home for a couple of months and then I finally ended up working as a nursing assistant at a hospital. It didn't take long for me to discover that I hated this type of work! I had lots of compassion for the patients, but yet I did not like that type of hands-on work and there's no way I could do that type of work for the rest of my life! I can't be what I'm not.
Since that time, I've had plenty of other experiences in which I've dabbled in "good" things that aren't "me," and over a period of time I've discovered who I really am in Christ, and I continue to learn who I am, and to live it out. I'm not talking about living a purpose driven life. I'm talking about an intimate Spirit-led life. I'm talking about not going with the "flow" of the rest of the church if who you are isn't what they think you are or want you to be. I've "done my time" in various church settings in which I've served in capacities that simply are not "me." That is, Christ-in-me. They've certainly been things that have looked good to man, and have even been beneficial to others at times, but in reality are not the works that God created for me to walk in. They are works that man has created for me to walk in. In the church today, there are plenty of these man-made works!
I'm sure you've heard the old church saying that goes something like, "10% of the people in the church are doing 90% of the work." Could the reason perhaps be because so much of the work that is created by the church is man-made work and not Spirit-led work? What if the church would stop... and simply trust that Jesus is building His Church (not a church or churches), and would stop coming up with programs and activities that, while having a nice spiritual appearance, are really keeping people from walking in the works that God has prepared beforehand for them to walk in (Eph 2:10).
And so my continuous encouragement to myself (and to others) is, "be yourself." I'll be completely honest with you. I'm one of the 90% who is not going along with all of the busy work that others in the church are complaining about having to do alone! And no, I'm not a rebel! I mean, my reason for not going along with them is not because I have a rebellious attitude against the spiritual-looking work they would have me do. My reason is simply because those things are not ME!
I am "being" who I am, not what others think I should be. Sometimes people look down on me because "myself" is not what they want out of me. Other times, people look up to me because "myself" looks very good to them. But either way, I don't care what others think of me! I'm not out to please them, nor to fulfill their agendas. I'm not even out to fulfill my own agenda. I'm simply out for a long walk with my Father!
"I am what I am and that's all that I am."
- Popeye
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*Fighter was a local Christian band that influenced me in my young 20's. They no longer exist as a band, and the members have each gone on to other things. Amy Wolter, one of the lead singers, is one of my myspace friends. Anyway, the band had an excellent album called Bang the Drum, and last July 4th I posted the lyrics to the title song in a post called Bang the Drum - Let your freedom ring! The previous July, I had also written an article about the song. This is a knock-out song that pulls no punches against legalism and legalists!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Joy Williams - "Hide" and "We"
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Zerox Machine
I know something about you! I may not even know you personally but I know that I know at least one thing about you.
You are unique.
Nobody else is you and you are nobody else. And that's good.
What I have to say really isn't all that deep or complex. It's just something that I know I need a reminder of now and then, and I would think most of us do too.
I am who I am. I don't need to try to be anybody else. I can sure glean a lot from others, and I can learn a lot from others, but my personality, my character, my talents and abilities, my gifts, my looks, my thoughts, my learning curve, my experiences, my ways, my tastes, my likes and dislikes, my prayer life, my Bible reading, my way of assembling with other saints, my... whatever... is uniquely mine and I don't have to be like anyone else! Sure, I want to get along with as many people as I can and I want to work well with others, and I can most certainly be flexible. But my uniqueness doesn't have to be breakable.
--------------------
The following video may or may not be your taste of music, and the lyrics may not strike you in the way they have struck me, but it's really the main reason I started this blog entry. There's so much I could say about my thoughts of Adam Ant being a musical and lyrical genius. And while I'll use the same disclaimer as I used for the Extreme video I posted the other day (that is, I definitely wouldn't look to Adam and the Ants as a source of great spiritual enlightenment!), I can truly say that once in a while I find a "message" that I can relate to in the lyrics.
There's so much I draw out of this one song. I'll just say that there have always been "copycats" in the music industry. Artists copying other styles, etc. Just think, when you turn on your radio you instantly know the "era" of the very song you are listening to, whether or not you know that particular song. Some examples, of countless many: You know if it's a song from the 50's. You have your 80's pop music and "hair metal." You have the "boy band" era. You get the point. Each song from each era is different, but yet has many of the same elements. Adam Ant didn't seem to want to ever conform to the styles of his day and he was very vocal about all of this through the use of clever sarcasm and brilliant imagery in his art
Well, the song "Zerox" (funny how it's spelled "Xerox" in the video) is right to the point throughout the whole song. Executives in the music business - you might as well "lock up your brain" because we'll just get together and collect up the ideas and simply duplicate whatever else may be hot right now. Make sure you "keep your ears to the ground" to make sure you've got the next hit record. We'll steal the chords from another hit song and make sure this song is equally as successful.
You get the idea. And you perhaps know where I'm going with this. Many in the church today seem to be more focused on having the best programs and having the sermons and worship services that attract the most people. Let's see what's "working" in other churches and start applying it in our church. It's often about "church growth. Unfortunately, it's about how the people can make the church grow, rather than how the people can help the other people grow, if you know what I mean. It's about making sure the people's brains are locked into "our" vision. The pastor and other leaders sure do have huge smiles and they sure do give "inspiring" and "convicting" sermons. But are they being real, or are they simply putting on a show to try to attract people, or even to manipulate them into conforming to their program or into being just like them?
Which leads me to my favorite line from the song:
"I may look happy, healthy and clean
A dark brown voice and a suit pristine
But behind the smile there is a Zerox Machine..."
Can't anyone just be real anymore? Can't we just meet together with no false pretenses and with no hierarchies. Can't we just be who we are, and not try to be what that other church down the street is? Can't we simply base our identities upon who we are in Christ rather than being concerned about how we appear to each other and to the community? Can't we stop trying to reproduce people to be just like us, conforming into our image, and instead work to help them walk in their own uniqueness and for the purposes for which they were created?
adam and the ants :zerox machine
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A different version of the video with better audio quality is here. (It wouldn't allow embedding).
Lock up your brain
'Cause I'm here again
I'm never bored, I steal your chords
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
Give me a line
Or a middle eight
I've got the best so I want the rest
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
Let's get together before its too late
Collect up the ideas, and duplicate
Filling out the forms, send them off tonight
And you'll be the owner of the copyright
Of the copyright, of the copyright
Time's of the essence get your ears to the ground
However else can the hits be found?
I may look happy, healthy and clean
A dark brown voice and suit pristine
But behind the smile there is a Zerox Machine
I'm a Zerox Machine...
You are unique.
Nobody else is you and you are nobody else. And that's good.
What I have to say really isn't all that deep or complex. It's just something that I know I need a reminder of now and then, and I would think most of us do too.
I am who I am. I don't need to try to be anybody else. I can sure glean a lot from others, and I can learn a lot from others, but my personality, my character, my talents and abilities, my gifts, my looks, my thoughts, my learning curve, my experiences, my ways, my tastes, my likes and dislikes, my prayer life, my Bible reading, my way of assembling with other saints, my... whatever... is uniquely mine and I don't have to be like anyone else! Sure, I want to get along with as many people as I can and I want to work well with others, and I can most certainly be flexible. But my uniqueness doesn't have to be breakable.
--------------------
The following video may or may not be your taste of music, and the lyrics may not strike you in the way they have struck me, but it's really the main reason I started this blog entry. There's so much I could say about my thoughts of Adam Ant being a musical and lyrical genius. And while I'll use the same disclaimer as I used for the Extreme video I posted the other day (that is, I definitely wouldn't look to Adam and the Ants as a source of great spiritual enlightenment!), I can truly say that once in a while I find a "message" that I can relate to in the lyrics.
There's so much I draw out of this one song. I'll just say that there have always been "copycats" in the music industry. Artists copying other styles, etc. Just think, when you turn on your radio you instantly know the "era" of the very song you are listening to, whether or not you know that particular song. Some examples, of countless many: You know if it's a song from the 50's. You have your 80's pop music and "hair metal." You have the "boy band" era. You get the point. Each song from each era is different, but yet has many of the same elements. Adam Ant didn't seem to want to ever conform to the styles of his day and he was very vocal about all of this through the use of clever sarcasm and brilliant imagery in his art
Well, the song "Zerox" (funny how it's spelled "Xerox" in the video) is right to the point throughout the whole song. Executives in the music business - you might as well "lock up your brain" because we'll just get together and collect up the ideas and simply duplicate whatever else may be hot right now. Make sure you "keep your ears to the ground" to make sure you've got the next hit record. We'll steal the chords from another hit song and make sure this song is equally as successful.
You get the idea. And you perhaps know where I'm going with this. Many in the church today seem to be more focused on having the best programs and having the sermons and worship services that attract the most people. Let's see what's "working" in other churches and start applying it in our church. It's often about "church growth. Unfortunately, it's about how the people can make the church grow, rather than how the people can help the other people grow, if you know what I mean. It's about making sure the people's brains are locked into "our" vision. The pastor and other leaders sure do have huge smiles and they sure do give "inspiring" and "convicting" sermons. But are they being real, or are they simply putting on a show to try to attract people, or even to manipulate them into conforming to their program or into being just like them?
Which leads me to my favorite line from the song:
"I may look happy, healthy and clean
A dark brown voice and a suit pristine
But behind the smile there is a Zerox Machine..."
Can't anyone just be real anymore? Can't we just meet together with no false pretenses and with no hierarchies. Can't we just be who we are, and not try to be what that other church down the street is? Can't we simply base our identities upon who we are in Christ rather than being concerned about how we appear to each other and to the community? Can't we stop trying to reproduce people to be just like us, conforming into our image, and instead work to help them walk in their own uniqueness and for the purposes for which they were created?
adam and the ants :zerox machine
Add to My Profile | More Videos
A different version of the video with better audio quality is here. (It wouldn't allow embedding).
Lock up your brain
'Cause I'm here again
I'm never bored, I steal your chords
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
Give me a line
Or a middle eight
I've got the best so I want the rest
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
Let's get together before its too late
Collect up the ideas, and duplicate
Filling out the forms, send them off tonight
And you'll be the owner of the copyright
Of the copyright, of the copyright
Time's of the essence get your ears to the ground
However else can the hits be found?
I may look happy, healthy and clean
A dark brown voice and suit pristine
But behind the smile there is a Zerox Machine
I'm a Zerox Machine...
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