Don't Try To Prove Yourself To Pilate
Everything I know about pastoring I learned from coaching fourth-grade basketball :) Well, not really. But here is one thing I've learned.
The beginning of each half is typically chaotic. The kids have a hard time figuring out which way they are going. Occasionally the kids will play defense on the offensive side and play offense on the defensive side! It hasn't happened as much this year, but last year we had to yell at the kids, "You're on offense. You've on offense." Because they would be playing defense when they were supposed to be playing offense.
Sometimes I wonder if Jesus is yelling at the church, "You're on offense. You're on Offense."
Jesus commissioned the church in Matthew 16:18: "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail."
Gates are defensive measures. Storming those gates requires an offensive stategy. The church is a battering ram. We're called to play offense.
Anybody else tired of playing defense?
Why is it that the church is known more for what we're against than what we're for?
I'm just not into boycotting. We've got to present better alternatives. Michelangelo said, "Criticize by creating." Let stop cursing the darkness and start lighting candles!
Ponder this: Jesus didn't defend himself in front of Pilate. He refused to become defensive. He refused to play defense.
One of the lessons I've learned in recent years is that I'm not going to be defensive about my leadership style or teaching style. I am who I am. Take it or leave it :) Too many of us live our lives trying to please everybody. I think we've got to know who we are and who we're not. We've got to be ourselves. The greatest freedom is having nothing to prove! Don't spend your energy trying to prove yourself to Pilate. You'll spend all your time and energy playing defense. Focus on what God has called you to do. And let the urim and thummin fall where they may.
I read Organic Church the other night and one thought resonated. Neil Cole says, "We are so defensive that it has become offensive."
The Best Defense is a Great Offense!
Storm the Gates!
The beginning of each half is typically chaotic. The kids have a hard time figuring out which way they are going. Occasionally the kids will play defense on the offensive side and play offense on the defensive side! It hasn't happened as much this year, but last year we had to yell at the kids, "You're on offense. You've on offense." Because they would be playing defense when they were supposed to be playing offense.
Sometimes I wonder if Jesus is yelling at the church, "You're on offense. You're on Offense."
Jesus commissioned the church in Matthew 16:18: "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail."
Gates are defensive measures. Storming those gates requires an offensive stategy. The church is a battering ram. We're called to play offense.
Anybody else tired of playing defense?
Why is it that the church is known more for what we're against than what we're for?
I'm just not into boycotting. We've got to present better alternatives. Michelangelo said, "Criticize by creating." Let stop cursing the darkness and start lighting candles!
Ponder this: Jesus didn't defend himself in front of Pilate. He refused to become defensive. He refused to play defense.
One of the lessons I've learned in recent years is that I'm not going to be defensive about my leadership style or teaching style. I am who I am. Take it or leave it :) Too many of us live our lives trying to please everybody. I think we've got to know who we are and who we're not. We've got to be ourselves. The greatest freedom is having nothing to prove! Don't spend your energy trying to prove yourself to Pilate. You'll spend all your time and energy playing defense. Focus on what God has called you to do. And let the urim and thummin fall where they may.
I read Organic Church the other night and one thought resonated. Neil Cole says, "We are so defensive that it has become offensive."
The Best Defense is a Great Offense!
Storm the Gates!
15 Comments:
I have to admit that I am a Dallas Mavericks (pre-2005/2006 Avery Johnson season) and Phoenix Suns basketball-style kind of fan. I love run-and-gun offense. I love creative scoring.
I'm also prone to be a throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater kind of guy.
What you're saying resounds with me, but is there still a role for defense? Do we need to balance offense and defense in our faith? Or, is this one of those areas where we can let the pendulum swing to the offensive side without hesitation? Did Jesus ever play defense?
I'm trying to think of an example of when Jesus played defense. Hmmm...he seemed to turn the table on the Pharisees. He didn't defend himself when he healed on the sabbath or his disciples didn't wash their hands or he was accussed of being a friend of sinners. He played offense when he turned the Temple upside down.
I'm certainly a big believer in apologetics--the defense of the faith. But even with apologetics I tend to be offensive. There is more evidence pointing toward faith than away from it. I think we're too "apologetic" in our apologetics. The truth is on our side. Let's boldly proclaim it.
My wheels are turning...
I just wrote a mini paper on Jesus' responses to His critics. What did I find? Out of about 50 separate incidents of criticism (not counting the repeats in the Synoptics), Jesus responded to 25 of them by teaching. He saw teaching opportunities everywhere. I boiled it down to 4 tenets of responding to criticism:
1.Tailor your response to the situation
2. Teach at every possible opportunity
3. Never deny, soften, or "spin" your actions or the facts
4. never allow personal criticism to get in the way of teaching your message.
Jesus never got off-topic. Even when they made fun of His paternity, He just kept teaching (John 8). He never defended His actions; He taught the why behind His actions (Luke 15).
djones - great question...now I'm thinking too but even the classic - "your disciples don't fast" moment, JC turned the tables..
great advice for the church, mark, but horrible advice if your in the NFL.
So - make sure that none of the Redskins staff take this to heart! ha ha ha..
One of the best posts you've done, Mark! Great stuff!
Wow, Elaine. Rock n Roll. That is great stuff.
We have to be offensive-minded. No one ever won a game by the score of 0-0
I don't like people-pleasers. I like GOD-pleasers!
Mark,
great thoughts! I've been thinking a lot about this idea lately.
We talked about the armor of God in Eph. 6 last night at B-study. Armor is used to be a defense against attacks (by Satan). But, in the end Paul tells us to arm ourselves with the most powerful weapon; prayer. Satan knows we can't defeat him by ourselves, but he's scared to death when we pray, because we are calling on the Almighty. No better offense than that!
great post - we're usually turned off by stuff that's offensive :). but if someone's always on the defensive, i feel they're trying to hide something, compensate for some shortcoming, etc.
i'm with you - even when tricked, Jesus tended to answer questions with questions that turned it right back around. "steal, ball going the other way - let's throw it back in your court."
OK dude--you hit the ball out of the flippin' park with this one! AWESOME stuff!
The bottom line is this--there are people out there that will always question your heart and motives...and if we get focused on defending ourselves then we can't do what God called us to do in the first place--reach people who do not know Him.
You guys are rockin' it out! Keep up the great work dude!
Thanks Perry! I think you set the example on this one :)
Mark
Interesting post, but how are we to be on the offensive? considering most of the armor of God we are to carry is defensive, shield, helmet, breastplate, however the one offensive weapon we are to use is the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, so we are to be offensive with the word of God, the "gates of Hell" is most likely not the gates of a defense, The term gates is sometimes used to refer to the influence or power of something, the gates in the OT city were where the influential and powerful people met and made important decisions, created policy.
Pr 31:23
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
So gates is referring to the power and influence and policies that Hell has, that will not prevail against us.
Ian,
I'd recommend Organic Church. Neil Cole has a great section on the gates of hell. It's pages 10-11.
Cole says "No one has ever been held up at gate point" :) Gates are defensive in nature.
Here's the bottom line. Everything belongs to God. But the enemy has stolen. We're part of the redemptive plan to win people back. And that doesn't happen if the church "holds the fort." Too much is at stake.
My two cents.
Mark
Ian, the Greek word used in Matthew 16:18 is "pule," meaning "a door gate, the large foor or entrance of an edifice, city." In this passage, it is certainly referring to the power, plans, and influence of hell, as you mentioned. Those are the defensive measures of Satan.
How does your interpretation change the posture we should have? I still think Jesus has called us to play an offensive game.
He said GO and MAKE disciples. He didn't say, "Hang around inside the four walls of your church and wait until some disciples come to you." He told us to go on offense and be salt in the earth, living lives that make people thirsty for Christ. That's what I want to do. I want to beat up on Satan by helping people grow in Christ.
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