Erwin McManus always rings my bell.
He talked about five things that need to describe us or five transitions we need to make. Man, these don't just resonate. These reverberate.
#1-Uniqueness
McManus said, "We lose our instinct for what's authentic." That's so true. I think authenticity is the postmodern apologetic. You've got to be real. We create Christian clones. We need to move away from standardization to customization.
#2-Creativity
We need to move from utility to creativity. We've got the systems and structures. We plug people in. We need to light them up. We try to create a compelling vision that we call everyone to. We need people to get their own compelling vision. Create an environment where God-sized dreams can be birthed and nurtured.
Erwin McManus said weirdness is a McManus family value. I love that. I think there is a bad weird and a good weird. We need some good weirdos!
We are created to create. How simple is that? But it's true. We're created to create. That's why one of our core convictions is that the church ought to be the most creative place on the planet.
We can't afford just to be relevant. We need to be creators of culture!
This ought to be a movement of dreamers and visionaries, not managers. That's what the prophet Joel said. That's what Peter said. Dreamers hate the status quo. It turns their stomach.
#3-Diversity
We need to move from homogeny to diversity. It reminds me of something Donald Miller said, "We surround ourselves with people who validate our opinions." McManus said, "Our churches are reflections of narcissism. We reach people like us because we like people like us." How do you become diverse? Learn to like and love people who are different than you! Create space for people who are different. For what it's worth, we're politically diverse because we affirm political diversity. Here's the bottom line: the world doesn't revolve around you. Value people and you can't help but celebrate diversity!
#4-Mysticism
Move away from pragmatism toward mysticism. We're good at felt needs. We're good at "how to." We're the most powerful self-help organization on the planet. We need a dose of paradox. We're answering questions no one is asking. We need to ask questions no one can answer!
We know things we shouldn't know. We know things and we don't know how we know them. Why? We have a sixth sense-the Holy Spirit. It's the spiritual gift of discernment. Jesus could read minds and read hearts.
McManus said something that made me think. He said, "I don't teach the Bible. I try to share my life through Scripture."
#5-Compassion
We need to shift from conviction to compassion. Our modus operandi is to "convict them." Romans 2:10 was Jesus modus operandi-kindness leads to repentance. Instead of taking conviction we need to take compassion. The Holy Spirit convicts. Jesus refused to convict. We're a movement of compassion. The world is afraid of us. That shouldn't be! Jesus had a righteousness than wasn't intimidating. It was inviting. It was magnetic!
He talked about five things that need to describe us or five transitions we need to make. Man, these don't just resonate. These reverberate.
#1-Uniqueness
McManus said, "We lose our instinct for what's authentic." That's so true. I think authenticity is the postmodern apologetic. You've got to be real. We create Christian clones. We need to move away from standardization to customization.
#2-Creativity
We need to move from utility to creativity. We've got the systems and structures. We plug people in. We need to light them up. We try to create a compelling vision that we call everyone to. We need people to get their own compelling vision. Create an environment where God-sized dreams can be birthed and nurtured.
Erwin McManus said weirdness is a McManus family value. I love that. I think there is a bad weird and a good weird. We need some good weirdos!
We are created to create. How simple is that? But it's true. We're created to create. That's why one of our core convictions is that the church ought to be the most creative place on the planet.
We can't afford just to be relevant. We need to be creators of culture!
This ought to be a movement of dreamers and visionaries, not managers. That's what the prophet Joel said. That's what Peter said. Dreamers hate the status quo. It turns their stomach.
#3-Diversity
We need to move from homogeny to diversity. It reminds me of something Donald Miller said, "We surround ourselves with people who validate our opinions." McManus said, "Our churches are reflections of narcissism. We reach people like us because we like people like us." How do you become diverse? Learn to like and love people who are different than you! Create space for people who are different. For what it's worth, we're politically diverse because we affirm political diversity. Here's the bottom line: the world doesn't revolve around you. Value people and you can't help but celebrate diversity!
#4-Mysticism
Move away from pragmatism toward mysticism. We're good at felt needs. We're good at "how to." We're the most powerful self-help organization on the planet. We need a dose of paradox. We're answering questions no one is asking. We need to ask questions no one can answer!
We know things we shouldn't know. We know things and we don't know how we know them. Why? We have a sixth sense-the Holy Spirit. It's the spiritual gift of discernment. Jesus could read minds and read hearts.
McManus said something that made me think. He said, "I don't teach the Bible. I try to share my life through Scripture."
#5-Compassion
We need to shift from conviction to compassion. Our modus operandi is to "convict them." Romans 2:10 was Jesus modus operandi-kindness leads to repentance. Instead of taking conviction we need to take compassion. The Holy Spirit convicts. Jesus refused to convict. We're a movement of compassion. The world is afraid of us. That shouldn't be! Jesus had a righteousness than wasn't intimidating. It was inviting. It was magnetic!
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