Random Thoughts on Tuesday
Occasionally on Tuesdays I give you my thoughts, unfiltered and off the top of my head. Here’s what I’m thinking about this week.
- I ran across Tony Steward’s take on digital & social media usage in 2012 post on Twitter this week. Be sure to check it out…it’s quite brilliant.
- I recently read somewhere: Change is often resisted where it is needed the most. Over the past year, I’ve experienced this to be true…and it’s really sad to me when people who lead organizations don’t see that they are resisting needed change. I want to make sure this never happens to me. What are some things you do to protect yourself from this resistance?
- Creative Missions registrations are open. If you are a creative person and haven’t heard of Creative Missions, you HAVE TO check it out. Here is the link for general info. Here is the link to the registration page. Hurry up, early bird rates end Feb 13!
- I started a Tumblr blog to have a place to post images, write miscellaneous thoughts, etc. It is at stuffchucklikes.com (hat tip to Justin Wise for letting me steal his name idea). My first post was a controversial thought about capitalism, GASP!
- I had a fun conversation on Twitter the other day. Here’s a screen capture of it. I’d love your thoughts on it too. Will you leave a comment?
- Yesterday was my first time serving as a volunteer on the tech team at the Crossing (my first time volunteering for anything at a church in a long time, for that matter). It was incredibly fun and made me remember how much I love doing live production tech. My family is really enjoying our new church!
- This weekend, I hit 1,000 all time video sales on Sermonspice. I like being able to be a part of this great resource for churches.
- Have you seen Tim Schraeder’s coaching group offering? This is an amazing, pay-what-you-can, opportunity. If you want to learn Church Communications from one of the best, follow this link. I think the deadline to apply is tomorrow, so don’t delay!
That’s what’s going on in my world this week…what’s up with you?
A bit of an expanded take:
I think what I was trying to get at – despite the lack of nuance required by a 140-character limit – isn’t so much to say that God flatly doesn’t “care” about elections or game outcomes, etc., but instead that thinking within that frame can sometimes lead us to trouble.
You’re right, of course, when you say that he uses both wins and losses (and in-betweens, for that matter) in all areas of life to continue sanctifying believers. Clearly, this is true, and in that sense he *does* care about outcomes. But where I get nervous – and I’m not saying this was what you were doing – is when we ask ourselves the natural followup question: “Ok, so if God cares about the outcome…who does God want to win?”
To try to answer that question with any degree of certainty – which we all do at times, I think – is to substitute pride and possibly even blasphemy when we should approach such questions with a spirit of immense humility and grace. Plenty of verses warn us against assuming God’s motives. Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” Paul says in Romans 11, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” In reality, we know next to nothing about how God intends to bring about his plan for the world.
So… maybe “God’s athlete” will be the next Joe Montana and maybe “God’s party” will win the next election. Then again, maybe not. Material success is not necessarily a sign of God’s blessing. One of my favorite verses is Genesis 50:20 where Joseph tells his malicious brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good,” which reminds me that even when people I consider enemies of God prosper, I can rest assured that even evil is only a tool that God uses to accomplish his good plans. Praise God for that!
Well stated, Mike. Your analysis here is exactly what I was trying to get at. In my original tweet, I was responding to someone who flippantly said, “God doesn’t care who wins the next election.” I think that God isn’t concerned (worried, freaking out, afraid, etc) about the outcome because, as you eloquently stated, his plans cannot be thwarted – particularly by our human efforts. However, saying that he isn’t worried or isn’t concerned is quite a different thing than saying he doesn’t care. He cares about everything! He does care about who wins. He does care about who loses. Does that mean we should claim Tebow as “God’s quarterback” or Newt as “God’s candidate?” I think not (if he is, God kind of failed to show up for “his team” in the last Broncos game, huh?). Is it up to us to know who God wants to win and lose and how, exactly, he’ll use those circumstances? Nope. But to flippantly say he doesn’t care is to be blasphemous to the other extreme.
One of my favorite quotes is by John Ortberg: “God doesn’t care about your spiritual life…he just cares about you.” Obviously Ortberg isn’t saying that God doesn’t care about how we grow spiritually…he does! But, what Ortberg is getting at is how God uses every circumstance in our life – whether “spiritual” or not – to draw us closer to him.
I know your heart and knew what you were getting at in your tweet…which is why I wanted to post it for everyone to think through! Thanks friend!
Thanks for sharing about my coaching group. Much appreciated. Keep up the great work man!