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Brothers and Sisters,

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Adopting a Spiritual Vocabulary - Part 3

A different type of relationship

The relationship we develop with our students must be a spiritual relationship. We reap what we sow. If 100% of our conversations with a person are about sports, then that person will only feel comfortable discussing sports with us. If 100% of our conversations are about fashion, then our discussions will never go beyond the superficial.

The different kind of relationship I am talking about doesn't mean to omit sports, or politics, or news, or the world from conversations. It means that our vocabulary must reflect a new cultural mind set of the Kingdom of God.

It means praying for someone immediately, with your hand on their shoulder, instead of saying, "I'll pray for you," and walking away to remember or forget.

It means talking openly about the good things that Jesus has done in our lives (that's our testimony, friends), instead of commenting on how lucky we are.

It means going beyond saying, "I am blessed," to saying how good God really is.

It means cultivating a culture in your gatherings that is one of love; using the word "love."

It means seeing opportunities to speak truth into peoples' lives and making the most of those opportunities, no matter how small.

It means directing conversations back to things that are God-honoring, and explaining why we do that.

It means we stop talking about "going to church" and we start talking about "being the church."

It means continuing to discuss sin honestly, but also elevating the discussion of God's glory and salvation.

It means making the culture of our gatherings and our relationships founded on scripture and Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit so that we are creating a blatantly different "normal." And it means teaching those things to our leaders. And it means teaching those things to our students so that we have a new culture (which is really an old culture). This culture is spiritual and it is Kingdom-focused.

To be continued...

Adopting a Spiritual Vocabulary - Part 1

Let's talk about talking. Let's talk about your vocabulary. What is "normal" and what is "weird"?

What is normal?

Normal, right now, is to avoid talking about the spiritual, the Holy, and the Godly. It is one that seeks to avoid offense. This "normal" is our culture, and it's missing the mark. We must not be offended on account of Jesus (Luke 7:23). We must boldly and in the power of the Holy Spirit (and not our own power) testify to God's greatness. Our testimony is our story. It is what we relate about who God is to us. If we are ashamed or afraid to tell what God has done, and we use whispers to relay this information, we are not living in God's fullness and freedom. Let me be clear that I am talking to Americans who have freedom of speech, but who fail to take advantage of that.

"Normal" is the language of our culture. So, we must ask ourselves, what is our culture?

To be continued...

A Challenge to Students Called to Ministry (especially college students)

It was my second semester at North Central University, and I was a junior. I had transferred in from Winona State University, leaving a year after the startling conviction from God that I had chosen a school based on mathematics and not obedience. I found myself lacking direction, even then. I had no mentor. I had not allowed anyone who was older to speak truth into my life, nor developed relationships with godly men who could offer advice.