Compliance or Commitment?

 

Is trusting God the essence of our Christian life or is it just an obligation to Christian compliance?

Trusting God can merely be a ritual than a meaningful decision to follow Christ. Mere involvement in Christian activities can give us immense satisfaction without any urge for intentional engagement. To elaborate my point, worship service with good music and singing can attract us and elevate us emotionally, yet remain disconnected in our soul. Unlike Old-Testament age where compliance was the highest priority we are now living in New-Testament age where the focus is on the purity of heart and meeting the demands of a pure conscience. However, as believers we have complacently settled for compliance by regular Church attendance, weekly fasting and paying tithes and offerings without actual engagement with Christ. It's very similar to the days of Jesus where the Pharisees and the scribes rejected the teachings of Jesus for mere adherence to compliance and confronted Him to get His approval and applause. I give below few instances from the Bible that portray this picture. Questions raised by the Pharisees on compliance:

 1. How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast? -Matthew 9:14

2.  Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?  - Matthew 15:3

3.  When the Pharisees, saw this, they said to him “See, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on Sabbath.” Matthew 12:2

4.  Why does he (Jesus) eat with tax collectors and Sinners? - Mark 2:16

5. A doctrinal question from the Pharisee (Matthew 22: 23-28), “In the resurrection, then whose wife will she be of the seven? For all had married to her” They quoted Moses' law (23:24)

To establish our Christian identity, we meet the bare minimum requirements of the Church. The most important truth of finding purpose of life is conveniently overlooked on a daily basis. Apart from this important teaching, every other aspect coupled with encouragement is preached from the pulpit week after week to satisfy the congregation's demand. We too as average Christians have settled to be a good believer and remain faithful to the Church. It ends up in mutual bliss, failing to ask ourselves, is this all Christ demands? Why is that people’s disengagement to Christ's Mission not bothering the Church leadership?

Allow me to present the major purpose of every individual in a crux, as follows:

1. To Know God and to have fellowship with Him.

Jesus' prayer to His Father is profound. John 17:3 “This is eternal life: "that they may know you the only true God, and the one you have sent - Jesus Christ”. Most of us assume knowing God is to have theoretical knowledge of Him and that is sufficient enough to take care of the first purpose of an individual. But we will agree that knowing God is much more than that. It means to make a meaningful decision to commit one’s life to Christ and follow His teaching. This new relationship enables a person to have a fellowship with Him all the time and following His will in one’s life.  In 1 Corinthians 1:9 Paul clarifies, “God is faithful you were called by him into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”. It is the responsibility of the Church leaders to strengthen every member in having a fellowship with Christ.

2. To be a Disciple maker

Jesus always called only to follow Him. He never meant for people to attend His meetings but to follow His mission. Jesus’ call was intense. (Mark 1:17).  He called people to follow Him and surrender to the process of becoming fishers of men, in other words His disciples. Today, Church is that institution, which is the ideal training center to consciously prepare members to be disciple makers. As Pastors let us refrain from giving mere comfort in the four walls of our Churches. God of the Bible condemns unproductive people.  In the parable of the talent, the man with one talent did nothing with it and was rebuked as an “unprofitable servant” (Matthew 25:30). In the Great Commission, Jesus commands all of us to “go and make disciples of all nations...” (Matthew 28:19).

3 To be a carrier of the Gospel.

Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:3 “For I passed on to you as most important what I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.”. The Gospel was never meant to be harbored. As Apostle Paul passed on to us what he received we are also expected to pass on. But the problem is we stagnate. Instead of becoming the 'carriers' of the Gospel we have become 'reservoirs'.

It's time to take a reality check on whether the above mentioned three major purposes are well integrated in our spiritual lives or are we just satisfied with mere attendance to all Church meetings? Dear Church Pastors and leaders, unless we equip our members to these major three goals, our Churches will be stagnant like reservoirs merely depending on biological growth and for 'Church-hoppers'.

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Direction & Goal - Part 2

It is a privilege for me to emphasize and throw some light on two aspects - direction and goal. As we start navigating this year strategically by clarifying our vision and journey map, I believe it is important to dwell on important criterion to accommodate our comprehensive understanding of our approaches and methodologies to include it in our personal and ministry strategy. In the article from Harvard Business Review, Elsbeth Johnson puts this beautifully, "Having time for strategy isn't a luxury it's a necessity. And it's not something you can delegate or outsource. Nor is it something that you should do once in a year. It needs to become part of your weekly schedule.".

Impact evaluation: This is an important concept where social sciences nudges people to move from activities to outcome, where they call it impact since it denotes a longtime positive change. Some quote 1 Corinthians 3:6, where it says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”. Eventually, in this context, many argue that they do not worry about results or analyzing the results because they believe that has to be left to God. I do agree, but what if our interventions are ambiguous and does not integrate the Biblical mandate of Christ? Nevertheless, there will be a celebration but not for the desired outcome connected to the Great Commission.  Remember when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he witnessed a great celebration among people for which Aaron was responsible, but as you all know the celebration was for the wrong reason (Exodus 32). What you celebrate should be Biblically compatible in reference to the Mission given to us.

In the parable of the sower Jesus explains about the seeds falling on good ground and He adds a measurement metrics too. Follow the verse in Matthew 13:8, “still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what it was sown.”. Jesus did not just blanket and generalise the results but He distinguishes them. Jesus concluded the parable by adding an emphasis in the following verse 9 of the same chapter which says, “Let anyone who has ears listen.” The results are invariably measured. Let us be reminded of the fact, “What gets measured gets improved.”. I urge you to seriously consider your ministry journey map and align all parameters for greater impact in your Church and in your community.

Quality Assurance: Bible talks about “Quality assurance”. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:13 warns us by stating, “each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, the fire will test the quality of each one’s work.”. God does not use a blanket approval just because we do ministry. The quality of our work will be gauged. This means that our interventions and works will need specifications and details. Remember, we worship a God of specifications, be it Noah’s ark or the tabernacle or Solomon’s temple. Specifications were given in terms of design and outcomes. So why do you intend to run  haywire and be all over the page failing to create a meaningful impact. You may be having an independent ministry or a Church ministry or an organization. Regardless of what you have, it is time to spend your energy to set your direction right to bring about measurable results. Do not forget, at the end, your work will be tested by fire.

In this New Year 2021, I urge you both lay people as well as those in the ministry to dream big, to define your dream and vision, list goals and outcomes, work out milestones, identify the risk factors, articulate the ministry plan and develop a ministry blueprint. Mission is concerned with nothing less than the completion of all that God has begun to do in the creation of the world and of humankind. Its concern is not sectional but total, holistic and universal. May God use you and your ministry to impact the community and the nation. 

You may check Direction & Goal - part 1 for getting clarity and continuity.

Wishing you a blessed New Year 2021!!!!

I am glad God gave me this unique ministry, (SHEFA MINISTRIES) in India to help Churches find their vision, goal and develop a ministry Blueprint, strategy document and most importantly a detailed roadmap to follow. I had an opportunity to help many Churches of different denominations to have their 5 year or 10-year ministry plan as requested by them, enlisting definite measurable outcomes. You may connect with me to get support in designing your ministry blueprint, trainings and seminars on Church Holism, Holistic Approach and other concepts dealt in this blog.

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Direction & Goal -Part 1

At the outset, I want to wish you all a great 2021 year ahead! Moving towards the right direction and moving towards the fixed goal matters. Paul in Philippians 3:14 claims, “So I run straight towards the goal in order to win the prize which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.”. (GNB). We learn so much from Paul about goal, direction, confidence and trust. It is not our beginning alone that matters but the whole course and most importantly the ‘means’ and the ‘end’. Albert Einstein warns, “If you want to be happy tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”. Would it be possible to retrospect all your undertakings in 2020? 

Pandemic gave us the opportunity to do things differently. But then, did you give some thought to understand what did not work well? Do you seriously wish to contemplate making a course correction this new year? Or, are you content with your present activities because it kept you comfortable, happy and secure?   

As we all begin this new year, I would like to highlight important criterion, which will ensure direction, focus, and results. It will be important that we put our ministry and Church in proper perspective. If you happened to read my past blogs you would notice that I have always reiterated on this aspect of defining your dreams, personal vision, ministry vision and articulate the strategy with proper roadmap. You can check my blog on this, Mission Strategy Model. This is exactly the vision of my ministry (SHEFA Ministries). You cannot have a great ministry plan in your mind without clarifying your journey roadmap. Is it Biblical? Yes. 100%. As you start considering to articulate your ministry plan, I would like to clarify few crucial areas of focus in my next two blogs to emphasize integration in the interventions and create an impact by transforming lives and communities for Christ.

Of my three criterion, the first criteria I would like to deal with in this blog is Holistic Approach.

Holistic Approach: The terms Holism is the integration of physical and spiritual. Jesus' mission statement in Luke 4:18-19, talks about it. The Biblical mandate; The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and the last words of Jesus “you shall be my witnesses” (Acts1:8) which serves as a supplement and append to the call. Then there is the Great Commandment (to Love others) is equally crucial that demands our commitment and our obedience. It is of paramount importance that we meet the spiritual need and the physical need of the people you cannot draw the importance one over another. Bryant L Myers in his book Walking with the poor gives a word of caution by putting this beautifully, “When we separate the spiritual from the physical, not only do we separate evangelism from development, but we separate gospel-as-word from the gospel-as-deed, and provide no home for gospel-as-sign.”.  You may check on my blog Holistic Mission to get more information. 

To be continued....

I am glad God gave me this unique ministry, (SHEFA MINISTRIES) in India to help Churches find their vision, goal and develop a ministry Blueprint, strategy document and most importantly a detailed roadmap to follow. I had an opportunity to help many Churches of different denominations to have their 5 year or 10-year ministry plan as requested by them, enlisting definite measurable outcomes. You may connect with me to get support in designing your ministry blueprint, trainings and seminars on Church Holism, Holistic Approach and other concepts dealt in this blog.

Once again, Have a Blessed new Year 2021!!!

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God's primary purpose for your life

Myles in his book 'Reclaiming God's original Purpose for Your Life' talks about the misunderstanding of God's intent. He puts it this way, "Misunderstanding intent guarantees a waste of time, talent, energy, gifts, and resources. Unless we know what God intended, everything we do will be a waste of time. That is the problem with religion. Religion, at best, is humankind’s best guess at God’s original intent. Most religions focus on trying to get God’s attention, which is the wrong approach. We already have God’s attention. The key to life and purpose, however, is to get God’s intention.".  

God’s original intent—and His continuing purpose—was and is to extend His invisible heavenly Kingdom to the Earth, to influence Earth from Heaven through the rulership of His earthly children created in His image.

Now what do you think is the primary purpose for every individual who submit to His rulership?  One clear mandate is the great commission for all. But how many of us are able to influence others with this mandate. You need to, and that's your responsibility. Apostle Paul in his book to Timothy says, "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season. .'2 Timothy 4:2 CSB. Is your heart burning with the desire to take the gospel everywhere?

Now let me narrow down the primary purpose of every individual which is found in Genesis where God articulates the primary mission for Abraham. It says, "For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what he promised him.” Genesis 18:19 CSB.

Hold on! Did you get it right? This should be such an eye opener for all of us. Your primary responsibility is raising your family in godliness, to help every member in your family do what is just and right. If you build your family in godliness you are actually making way for the Lord to sweep the nation with the gospel of redemption. In building your family you actually build a community. The Lord's greater vision depends upon the individual submission to influence, inspire and lead one's own family first. Your family knows who you are and if they see you holy, godly and Christ-like, then your message outside will definitely create an impact. Do not reverse the process. It should start with you and with your family first.

Blessings

They will run and not get tired……

We have reached a point where everything can be acquired in less time; we force to increase our pace beyond our comprehension. The enormous knowledge boom is unimaginable. Huge erosion in the Value system and in the ethics is noticed during the race to win. In the corporate world you are expected to be faster than your friend or colleague, in order to be noticed and able to make your livelihood.   

Talk to anyone the chorus is “Sorry Sir, I am very busy”, talk to friends and people in mission they wish if they day were protracted. If we have to  pause, and see whether we have Jesus in our run or in a hurry have left him behind, then sadly most of the time the latter is convincible, to be true. Yes I do understand that we need to catch up with the enormous demands of life, and work in our times, but with that, are we able to practice our spiritual devotion in all the walks of our life? Or does it become a stand alone? A meaningful relationship is what the Lord expects. Daniel 12:4 “Many will run to and fro, and knowledge will increase”

The work demand is so high that we, in the influence of coercion strive to accomplish at the cost of our relationship, primarily with God and then comes family, children, environment, etc, etc. Most of the times end up with disappointment. How can we in the midst of our unyielding schedule also keep our relationship with Him Intact? It is necessary that we practice Physical discipline primarily that will lead to spiritual regulation. The bible tells us in 1 Cor 9:27 “Disciplining my body and make it my slave” Remember, this body needs continue discipline on a daily basis. Paul in  2Tim 2:3-6 compares us to  a Soldier, Hard-working Farmer & Athlete. And as you agree, that all the 3 areas, requires enormous amount of discipline to be successful. Sadly most of the time we force our self to this standard, primarily to manage in adhering to the standard set in our work  place and in the arena of our commitments for living, but fail to live up to the expectation of God, His word and  to our inner voice.  

Yes, I do agree that with the limited strength we are weary and exhausted physically and psychologically. But if you notice what the Bible tells in Isaiah 41:31 “…….they will run and not get tired they will walk and not become weary”, Don’t you think this is the greatest promise to the all the runners in this time? Yes, we have to understand in not getting tired and weary, you are required not only to be refueled, but to be plugged into the relationship with the most High. Do not also forget that this definitely promises that we will be pressed to run, but to remain unexhausted demands that you wait on the Lord. At any point you feel that you are drained and likely to be fragmented then remember the promise in Isaiah 42:3 “A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: ….” He is concerned about you my friend, and He longs to be Gracious to you as said in Is 30:18. But how much you prioritize Him without any compromises, matters a lot.

Be sensitive to His feelings and keep yourself blameless in the sight of God. Prov 11:5 says “The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way” I wish and pray that the Lord will continue to keep you safe, blameless and you run with full vigor. I would like to leave with this last challenging question from Jer 12:6  “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and  if in the land of peace,  wherein thou trustedst,  they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan.” There are long way to go, so be motivated for He cares for you.

Blessings

David Raj