A repost from Rob Bell- A Life worth Living

Notes on Creating a Life Worth Living ROB BELL·WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 I once volunteered to give a sermon. I’d never given a sermon. How do you put together a sermon? I had no idea. I took a walk to think about it and had a few ideas, so I wrote them down. A few more thoughts came the next day, so I wrote them down. I read some passages in the Bible, which spurred some more thoughts, so I wrote them down. And then Sunday morning came and I stood up to speak. I clearly remember standing there about to start my talk and knowing that this was what I was going to do with my life. It wasn’t just the speaking part that I loved, it was the preparation and the nerves and arranging the ideas and going over it again and again, trying to make it better—I loved everything leading up to giving that sermon. I loved the whole process. There’s another memory I have of that morning that’s mixed in among the trembling nerves and explosive joy, one that hasn’t left me twenty-five years later. I specifically remember thinking that even if I wasn’t very good at giving sermons, I had found something that would get me out of bed in the morning . . . The Japanese have a word for what gets you out of bed in the morning: they call it your ikigai. Your ikigai is that sense you have when you wake up that this day matters, that there are new experiences to be had, that you have work to do, a contribution to make. Sometimes this is referred to as your calling, other times your vocation, your destiny, your path. Your ikigai is your reason for being. If you’re like a lot of people, the moment the words path and vocation and calling come into the conversation, let alone a new word like ikigai, a thousand questions come to mind. Questions about paychecks and responsibility and passion and what you wish you could do if only you didn’t have those bills to pay . . . Figuring It Out We are always in the endless process of figuring out our ikigai. Your ikigai is a web of work and family and play and how you spend your time, what you give your energies to, what you say “yes” to, what you say “no” to, what new challenges you take on, things that come your way that you never wanted or planned for or know what to do with— your ikigai is a work in progress because you are a work in progress. Knowing your ikigai, then, takes patience, and insight, and courage, and honesty. You try lots of different things. You volunteer, you sign up, you take a class, you do an internship, you get the training, you shadow someone around for a day who does something that intrigues you. You follow your curiosity. You watch for things that grab your attention. this is much easier when you’re younger and have less financial pressure and fewer others depending on you, but it’s true no matter how old you are. You explore the possibilities because you can’t steer a parked car. The one thing that unites the people I know who are on satisfying and meaningful paths is that they kept trying things, kept exploring, kept pursuing new opportunities, kept searching until they discovered their ikigai. And then from there they never stop figuring it out because they understand how absolutely crucial this is in creating a life worth living. Someone Should When you pursue your path, exploring the possibilities as you search for your ikigai, pay careful attention to things that make you angry and get you all riled up and provoke you to say, Someone should do something about that!!! The someone may be you. Some people find their ikigai by asking, What do I love to do? Others find theirs by asking, What makes me angry? What wrongs need to be righted? What injustice needs to be resisted? Listen to your life. Look back on the moments when you felt most connected to the world around you. think about those experiences in which you felt the most comfortable in your own skin. Reflect on when you were most aware of something wrong in the world and your strong response to it. Be honest about your joy. Sometimes our ikigai is jammed way down in our hearts somewhere because we were told early on, You can’t make money doing that, or That isn’t a real job, or That’s a waste of time. Ask yourself: Am I not pursuing my path because of what someone has told me is and isn’t acceptable? Which leads to another truth about your ikigai: It may involve a paycheck and it may not. I once recorded an album that no one cared about. I had written a number of songs so I booked time at a studio near my house, but I didn’t have a band at the time so I had a friend play the drums and I played everything else. I had it mixed and mastered and I made a few copies for friends. Who didn’t say a thing. Literally, I would play them the songs and when each song was done they’d say something like, I heard it’s supposed to rain later this week, or Didn’t you say you had some queso dip you’d made? I’d love to try it . . . Quite quickly I realized that no one cared about my music but me. Which was awkward at first, and then freeing. Some things you do for you. You do them because it gives you great satisfaction and it puts a smile on your face and that’s it. And that’s fine. It’s not just fine, it’s necessary. It makes you a better person, it fills your soul, it opens you up to life in its fullness. So don’t apologize for it, enjoy it. You may love doing or creating or making or organizing something, but that’s different from it being your job. If music was my job, I’d hate it. What often happens is that we love doing a particular thing and so our next thought is, I should do this for my job. Here’s the problem with that impulse: Getting a paycheck for doing that thing you love may actually ruin it. Interests, art forms, talents, hobbies, missions, passions, service projects, and causes all have their proper place in our lives. Some things we do fill us with life so that we can give ourselves to our work in the world with greater love and vitality and passion. Some things we get paid for, some things we don’t. There’s a good chance your ikigai will change over time. Relax, this is normal. You may get trained to do one thing but end up doing something very different. You may get your dream job and then get fired. Or the company may have to lay people off or there’s only one opportunity at the moment in that particular line of work and it’s in New Zealand. Or Bangladesh. Or Ohio. Someone you love may get sick and need you to care for her, you may have a child with special needs whose primary care falls to you, you may become injured and not be able to do that thing that you’ve done all these years. That may happen. And it’s okay. It’s all part of how your ikigai gets worked out over the course of your life. Step Several years ago I was talking with a very wealthy man I know—let’s call him Wayne. Wayne doesn’t have to work another day in his life. that kind of wealth. And yet all he wanted to talk about is how bored he is. It’s the inertia of options: If you don’t have to go anywhere or do anything in the morning, that’s what may happen. You may not go anywhere or do anything. As it’s written in the book of Genesis, we make our way in the world by the sweat of our brow. too much money, not enough money, too many demands, not enough challenge, stressed from all the responsibility, bored and restless and ready for more responsibility— there is a tension at the heart of our humanity that none of us can escape. To be here is to embrace the spiritual challenge of your ikigai, doing the hard work of figuring out who you are and what you have to give the world. This is work we all have to do, because we’re all a piece of work, in the endless process of exploring our ikigai. I get up in the morning and I sit down and start working on my next book or talk or show because it’s the most natural thing to do and yet it regularly takes all of the discipline and focus I can possibly muster to stay here at this desk and keep working. I can’t imagine being anywhere else and yet some days I can’t imagine anything more difficult than. the. next. sentence. Your ikigai is exhausting and exhilarating, draining and invigorating, all at the same time. There are moments when nothing in the world seems more difficult, and yet you can’t imagine doing anything else. There is a paradox to your ikigai because sometimes the easiest thing to do and the hardest thing to do will be the exact same thing. Selling your house, giving away possessions, working multiple jobs for a period of time, going back to school and moving in with friends or relatives, sharing a car with your partner and riding your bike more, investing all your savings in a new venture, living on the other side of the world for a year— your friends may not understand, your co-workers may not get it, your extended family may think you’ve lost your mind— that’s okay. Better to receive some odd looks and have a few people roll their eyes than spend your days wondering, What if I did that . . . ? Take that step. Make that leap. Try that new thing. If it helps clarify your ikigai, if it gets you up in the morning, if it’s good for you and the world, do it. #FacebookFirstReads is a series of exclusive excerpts from soon-to-be released books. Excerpted from How to Be Here by Rob Bell. Copyright ©2016 by WORB, Inc. Published by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Stepping Up part 2- Who God is matters more then who you are not

"Who God is matters more than who you’re not. Who are you? Have you ever thought about how you’d answer that question? A long time ago people were known by a label that went with their name. Alexander the Great. Richard the Lion Heart. Winnie the Pooh. So when you’re asking yourself that question— who you really are—you’re essentially asking yourself what adjective goes in your blank. Who do you think you are? Because who you think you are directly impacts everything about your attitude and performance in the face of challenge. Unfortunately for a lot of us, we tend to focus less on who we are and more on who we are not. Joshua experienced this same thing in Joshua 1" xp3 Students Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6-9 NLT). Joshua finds himself unsure of who he is and needs to be reminded by the Lord that it is not so much about his identity and purpose but of God's. God says "I am with you and I am faithful." God gives Joshua a pep talk of sorts that not only helps him discover who he is but, more importantly, whose he is. Sometimes in order for us to step up in our lives we need to be reminded of whose we are and because of whose we are we can be BOLD in our life. May we live a life of BOLdness because we know whose we are.

9 traits of a church bully

Traits of Church Bullies By Thom Rainer “Church bullying is epidemic in many of our congregations.” Church bullies are common in many churches. They wreak havoc and create dissension. They typically must have an “enemy” in the church, because they aren’t happy unless they are fighting a battle. They tend to maneuver to get an official leadership position in the church, such as chairman of the elders or deacons or treasurer. But they may have bully power without any official position. Church bullies have always been around. But they seem to be doing their work more furiously today than in recent history. Perhaps this look at nine traits of church bullies can help us recognize them before they do too much damage. 1. They do not recognize themselves as bullies. To the contrary, they see themselves as necessary heroes sent to save the church from her own self. 2. They have personal and self-serving agendas. They have determined what “their” church should look like. Any person or ministry or program that is contrary to their perceived ideal church must be eliminated. 3. They seek to form power alliances with weak members in the church. They will pester and convince groups, committees and persons to be their allies in their cause. Weaker church staff members and church members will succumb to their forceful personalities. 4. They tend to have intense and emotional personalities. These bullies use the intensity of their personalities to get their way. 5. They are famous for saying “people are saying.” They love to gather tidbits of information and shape it to their own agendas. See my previous post on this one item. 6. They find their greatest opportunities in low-expectation churches. Many of the church members have an entitlement view of church membership. They seek to get their own needs and preferences fulfilled. They, therefore, won’t trouble themselves to confront and deal with church bullies. That leads to the next issue, which is a consequence of this point 7. They are allowed to bully because church members will not stand up to them. I have spoken with pastors and church staff who have been attacked by church bullies. While the bully brings them great pain, they have even greater hurt because most of the church members stood silent and let it happen. 8. They create chaos and wreak havoc. A church bully always has his next mission. While he or she may take a brief break from one bullying mission to the next, they are not content unless they are exerting the full force of their manipulative behavior. 9. They often move to other churches after they have done their damage. Whether they are forced out or simply get bored, they will move to other churches with the same bullying mission. Some bullies have wreaked havoc in three or more churches. Church bullying is epidemic in many of our congregations. They must be stopped. In my article on Wednesday, I deal with the topic of preventing church bullying. In the meantime, let me hear from you. Thom Rainer Thom S. Rainer is the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources (LifeWay.com). Among his greatest joys are his family: his wife Nellie Jo; three sons, Sam, Art, and Jess; and six grandchildren. He was founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His many books include Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, The Unexpected Journey, and Breakout Churches. More from Thom Rainer or visit Thom at http://www.thomrainer.com

Stepping Up

Used from xp3 Students Stepping Up Stepping up = seeing God in your situation. What makes you nervous? Is it speaking in front of people? Starting on the basketball team? Asking someone on a date? Whatever it is, there’s a pretty good chance that it has to do with one thing: failure. We’re all afraid we’ll mess up, fail, and look foolish. In fact, that fear is the very reason that most of us step back from challenges in moments where we could step up. That was certainly the case for a group of guys in the Bible that were sent to check out the Promised Land. For most of them, the report was simple: don’t do it. Don’t go there. Step Back. Almost all of them agreed that the new land was too scary, too dangerous, and that failure was too much of a possibility. Along with his friend, one of the men had something different in his report. And as we follow along with how Joshua learned to step up and out of fear, we’ll see how God can help us do the same. And that is just it, when we see God in the situation with us we are able to step boldly in faith. So often though our vision is clouded and we forget that God is indeed the God who is with us and the God who is for us. In those moments we remember that we are able to do radical things for the Kingdom. May we have the faith of Joshua and step boldly knowing that God is with us.

Waiting on a prayer..

Recently I have been thinking a lot about Joseph, you know Joseph coat of many colors Joseph. So his dad gives him this great coat, Joseph has a great vision and we are set for incredible things to begin to happen. But as the story goes , Joseph gets thrown into a pit , traded into slavery, works his way up the ladder , falls down because of a woman and finds himself in jail trapped again. So if you do the math from the time he first has his vision /dream /gets a cool coat/ and ends up in jail years go by. Can you imagine waiting years to go by waiting for an answer to a prayer. Honestly I do not like to wait 5 seconds for God to answer my payers but to wait years. Or like Abraham and Sarah or Zacharia and Elizabeth, the scriptures are full of people who wait. Me on the other hand short change the system and when the answer is not right in front of me, I answer my own prayer. By the way this never works out well. So often in life we settle for good when God wants to give us great. Really waiting on the answer to a prayer is the core of what it means to have faith in God. Putting our trust in the knowledge that God wants what is best for us and that God's love for us never stops. It is the living out of Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. And maybe that is why it is so difficult to be patient, being patient requires trust. So as you are waiting remember that God is faithful and trust that what God has in store for you is a future Hope. Happy Waiting !

You ever wonder what is next ?

I am not real sure why I am thinking of this now but do you ever wonder what is next in your life ? Or maybe not even that big of a question but thinking while you are eating lunch , wonder what we will have for dinner? Not sure about you but I feel like I spend a lot of time asking the question what is next. And not just asking the question but actively seeking an answer or actively making up an answer. If I am honest a lot of my time is spent thinking of the future or at least what I would like the future to be and maybe it is pointless. Perhaps the real point is the waiting, perhaps the real point is sitting and being present in the now. But that is really difficult for me to do because I just want the answers. When I was in middle school I was not a huge fan of Algebra so when it came time to do my homework I did what any 8th grader would do, I turned to the back of the book to find the answers. It worked out great, I did really well in Algebra 1 and made it past 8th grade. Well it worked really well until I got to Algebra 2 and the answers were not in the back of the book anymore. Needless to say I struggled with Algebra 2 a lot , in fact I loved it so much I did it twice. The point being had I have really taken the time to learn Algebra 1 , Algebra 2 would not have been so difficult but I wanted to get to what was next. Once I got there I only found that it was not so great because I missed the stuff that would have made the next great , better, easier. As we leave the Advent season , the season of waiting I have realized I have missed the point, I just wanted Jesus to hurry up and get here and I missed all of the lessons you learn while you are just waiting, persevering and learning what you need to learn in a particular season. I am at next and missed the things that would have made it great. I do not want to wonder what is next and miss what is here now. So that is my prayer. Lord help me to be present today , help me to see you where you show up today, lead me by the still water today, teach me what I need to know just for today. May your next be filled with waiting today.

What is real worship ...

As you may know I lead worship for our students, staff and Senior Adult at UMFS (United Methodist Family Services) www.umfs.org, once every month. This is a time where we gather with everyone to share in what God is doing in our lives and pray for one another. We sing a few songs, hear and respond to the Word and spend time together in prayer. Nothing fancy but I feel as if I experience more of what the church is supposed to be there then I do anywhere else. Yesterday for example we sang," Lord I lift your name on High" and I know before you judge me on the song choice or lack of Spiritual depth of the song consider this. The young lady who was helping me lead this song has bounced around from foster family, to treatment center to foster family most of her life. She has substance abuse issues, family issues and issue issues. She is a mess. But yesterday in singing this song something happened in this broken mess of a person singing, God was doing a transforming work in her life. She sang that song loud and out of tune but it was beautiful because it was real. Out of the depth of her brokenness she was singing a new song, it was amazing. As she sang ' Lord I lift your name on high, Lord I love to sing your praises, I’m so glad you’re in my life, I’m so glad you came to save us" It became her prayer. In response one of the senior adults from Guardian Place stood and said this is what church is to look like " a gathering of the beautiful broken lifting the Lords name on high". She was right. It is not about the song choice or cool video or what prayer we pray or not. If we use the lectionary or a sermon series, the point is the beautiful broken lifting their hearts together to the one that brings order out of chaos and new creation out of death. This is why we worship. At the close of worship this same girl who sang Lord I lift your name on high closed with the Jason Mraz song I want give up. She sang When I look into your eyes It's like watching the night sky Or a beautiful sunrise Well, there's so much they hold And just like them old stars I see that you've come so far To be right where you are How old is your soul? Well, I won't give up on us Even if the skies get rough I'm giving you all my love I'm still looking up Maybe it is just a song or perhaps it is a sacred prayer of how God's love if for us, regardless I left our time together yesterday knowing that God was and is at work in our world and every now and again we are aware enough to notice.