more ponderings...

I'm still processing what we heard at Catalyst, and wanted to share a few more of my notes & thoughts...this time on Rob Bell's message - Is Bigger Better?

He opened with the story of the widow's mite:
- Jesus had to confront some misconceptions during His ministry, and sometimes the crowd thinned when they heard what they had to say. This begs the question, is it okay sometimes when people leave? (worded another way: Is growth always better?)

Then he talked about the idea of eucharist:
- eucharist = "good" + "grace/gift" - a holy, sacred thing
- Jesus is the eucharist, a gift to us from God
- We, the church, are the eucharist to the world around us - broken and poured out in humility to a larger agenda

We looked at Jesus as our example, and then drew some conclusions:
- Jesus only did what the Father did - He didn't bring his own plans to earth.
- When we're doing as the Father does, our actions are more focused and intentional. Even though the task may be difficult, it won't be a burden if it's coming from the Father.
- God longs to give us joy in the task at hand, no matter how important or small that may be. It's not about size, accomplishment or importance - it's about being faithful to the work given to us. When we are anxious about being more, that robs us of the joy God longs to give us.
- When you get to heaven, God won't ask you why you weren't more like Moses - He's going to ask you why you weren't more like yourself.

He closed with a discussion on thinking long term:
- Do we run all the time, or do we take time to rest and feed our own souls? Have you considered taking a Sabbath day - no email, church related phone calls, etc?
- As the people proclaiming a gospel of peace & life, we should be living examples of these principles in our core relationships - otherwise we're inviting people into something that's not real.
- Does your spouse / family get the very best of you, or what's left over? The church can't be doing well if you're family is not well - the two are linked.
- We need a sustainable pace that won't wear us down as time passes - we should enjoy the work more as time goes on, rather than losing passion because we're exhausted.


*image by BriolePhotography via The Pioneer Woman