There is a place here for you.

This was the final week of this series entitled; we were made for a mission. This closing section of Rick Warren’s book deals with the most appropriate purpose: EVANGELISM! With Matthew 28:19-20 in mind, we are reminded of three crucial details:

1. This commission is from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
2. This commission is for all His disciples, not just the eleven standing there (that includes you too), and
3. This commission is not optional.

I’ve heard so many people talk about evangelism as a ministry they were not called to; as if this ministry requires ordination. What we fail to understand is that God has already placed us in a mission field where we can fulfill our mission, which is the Great Commission. Where we work, where we live, where we socialize is the perfect place for us to tell others about Jesus. We need to be aware of our SHAPE in order to be effective, but we must be about God’s business.

One thing Rick did in this section that I love, particularly with sharing our life message is to explain how to prepare our own personal testimony. According to Rick, every testimony should have these four main points:

1. What your life was like before you met Christ,
2. How you came to realize you needed Christ,
3. How you committed your life to Christ, and
4. The difference Christ has made in your life.

When we covered this in our Bible study, I told everyone that they should have one sermon to preach at any time, based on these four points. This is your testimony and a part of your life message. Though I called it a sermon, I am implying to you that this is one message that needs, must, and have to be delivered and the only person anointed to do it is you! Look at what Rick said:

“Actually, your personal testimony is more effective than a sermon, because unbelievers see pastors as professional salesmen, but see you as a “satisfied customer,” so they give you more credibility.

Rick began to close the book with a summation of the five purposes and embodied them in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. Embracing the Great Commandment and the Great Commission requires one to life a life driven by those principles. In keeping with the book, I wrote my own Life Purpose Statement and would like to share it with you.

My life purpose is to glorify God by making Him the CENTER of my life, refining my CHARACTER to be more like Him, making my CONTRIBUTION to serve humanity, COMMUNICATING the Gospel whenever I can, however I can, wherever I can, as much as I can, to whoever I can for as long as I can, and dwelling in close COMMUNITY with other believers connected to the family of God.

I have made a great commitment to obey the Great Commandment and fulfill the Great Commission because I serve a great God who has made a great sacrifice for me to escape a great damnation with a great salvation!

Now that this series is over, I need some time to see where we’ll go from here, so don’t look for new blogs next week, but please stay tuned.

What’s your life purpose statement? Share it with us. Let us see how this study has blessed you. Holler at me!

Last week, we covered the fourth purpose; we were shaped for serving God. This is the section of the book that addressed MINISTRY. Normally, we only associate this word to either the “ordained” ministry or something that is limited to the local church, but we could not be more wrong. In fact, this kind of thinking is what’s crippling the church now. We have a mentality that says, “ministry is something only ordained ministers can do . . . and they’d better do it . . . because that’s what we pay them for.”  With that attitude, no wonder our churches are suffering! In Day 29, Rick said, “today thousands of local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve. They sit on the sidelines as spectators, and the body suffers.”

That’s why I’m glad Rick Warren covered this in the manner that he did. He bluntly tells us SERVICE IS NOT AN OPTION! God has a work for all of us to do and failure to do that work will spell eternal consequences. However, there are many who ask “what IS my ministry?” This is a very excellent question, which Rick takes time to answer. He uses the acronym SHAPE to define the means we can determine what specific work God has for us to do.

S = Spiritual Gifts, which are God-empowered abilities given to us.

H = Heart, which provides the fuel of passion that keeps us doing what we love.

A = Abilities, which is a mix of the natural born talents we were born with and the skills we acquire.

P = Personality, which is our own brand of uniqueness, and

E = Experiences, which is the correlation of everything we’ve been through.

God uses all of this to “shape” us for the ministry He has called us to. Though this entire section deals with being shaped, the heart of this discussion is found in the reading of Day 30 and 31. You will find some excellent questions that can help you determine your shape. Once you know your shape, you will know what God created you to do.

We are quickly approaching the end of the book. This Wednesday, we will write life statements and complete an assessment to measure how “purpose driven” we are. In the meantime, tell me which day’s reading in this section impacted your life. For me, it’s Day 35, “God’s Power in Your Weakness.” Why? It was in my weakness that I learned how to depend on God. It was in my weakness that I learned how to be humble and get rid of self-righteousness. It was in my weakness that I learned how to be open and share with others who been where I’m at. It was because of my weakness that I learned how to be compassionate and sympathetic to others. I thank God for my weakness; it gave God room to work His strength in me!

Well, that’s it for now. Holler at me!

This past week, we discussed the third purpose; we were created to become like Christ! This section of the book focuses on discipleship, a much needed aspect of our spiritual journey. We are a combination of our beliefs, attitudes, and experiences and somehow, we must sift through all of that and weed out those that prevent us from becoming like Christ. Rick Warren paraphrased Ephesians 4:22-24, giving us the Apostle Paul’s three responsibilities in becoming like Christ:

1.    First, we must choose to let go of old ways of acting.

2.    Second, we must change the way we think.

3.    Third, we must ‘put on’ the character of Christ by developing new, godly habits.

When we discussed this in Bible study, I used the analogy of the every morning routine: we take off our pajamas, we take a shower, and then we get dressed for the day. Letting go of the old nature is like taking off your pajamas because it is inappropriate to wear them in public. Changing the way you think is like taking a shower; washing away old habits require the use of an agent powerful enough to make you clean. Putting on the character of Christ is like getting dressed for the day; from the outfit that is clean and neatly pressed to the perfectly styled hairdo, we tweak our appearance as we dress to impress. Discipleship requires us to do this routine DAILY. I hope this parallel truth works for you (naturally and spiritually).

Rick Warren articulated the process of our transformation as we strive to become like Christ. He pointed to two elements of our transformation: truth and trouble. Truth deals with the intentional act of reading, processing, and applying God’s word to your life. Trouble, on the other hand, deals with the experiences that force us to view our circumstances in view of the truth we’re processing in order to seek God’s help, will, or plan through prayer. Though I have learned a great deal in my life from what I personally studied in God’s word, the lessons that have cemented my faith in God came through trouble. These were the times I suffered, wondering if God really cared about me, feeling all alone, and having no one to turn to. For me, having days I felt broken were good days because they were mixed with days I felt crushed (somebody out there knows what this feels like). Through it all, God kept me and every time I emerged from the trial, I came out looking a little more like Jesus. Take a look at what Rick wrote:

“A silversmith was asked, ‘How do you know when the silver is pure?’ He replied, ‘When I see my reflection in it.’ When you’ve been refined by trials, people can see Jesus’ reflection in you.”

I learned two things from this in light of Romans 8:28-29: first, that the remaking often follows the breaking and crushing, the two working together, in order to come out being made in Christ’s image, and second, this is not for everyone, only those that love God and are the called according to His master plan. I understand that this passage is exclusive, but the question is do you really want to be a follower of Christ? If so, then this word is for you!

My favorite reading in this section is Day 25. Rick explained Romans 8:28 phrase by phrase to remind us of some fundamental truths; God has a plan that includes our trouble in order to make us more like Him. As Rick said, “When you grasp the eternal consequences of your character development, you’ll pray fewer ‘Comfort me’ prayers (‘Help me feel good’) and more ‘Conform me’ prayers (‘Use this to make me more like you’).” If you’re praying “conform me” prayers, you’re becoming like Christ!

So, what’s your favorite reading? Holler at me!

This past week, we covered the second purpose; we were formed for God’s family! I have to admit, I was tempted to stay on this section for another week (you’d have to be at bible study to understand why). There were so many nuggets to extract from this reading that I am sure the congregation didn’t absorb it, and you probably didn’t either. This is not an insult, but the material was so rich, so potent, so powerful that it required re-reading. Where in the world should I start?

Fellowship is the main theme here. If we would improve on this purpose alone, we would have more effective ministries and solve most of the world’s problems. We fail to understand the importance of the second part of the “great command”, which is to love our neighbor as ourselves. God formed us to fellowship with one another and He uses it to mature us, making us more effective for the kingdom. You should understand that when we talk about God’s family, we’re talking about His church!

Rick Warren tackled one of the churches toughest issues . . . membership! It’s clear the majority of so-called believers fail to understand what it is to be a member. He drew the line between being a church goer and a member. From the reading on Day 17, he said, “the difference between being a church attender and a church member is commitment. Attenders are spectators from the sidelines; members get involved in the ministry. Attenders are consumers; members are contributors. Attenders want the benefits of a church without sharing the responsibility. They are like couples who want to live together without committing to a marriage.” Somehow, we have grown comfortable with calling church goers members while they do not function as members.

The purpose of the church’s existence is to challenge you to grow into being a part of the family of God. In this family, you have responsibilities and roles you must carry out so the family can thrive. The role you play involves learning how to live with other people in a mutually respectful way. You learn how to love by dealing with someone who is hard to love. You learn to have mercy when you deal with someone who needs mercy. You learn how to forgive when you know what it is to be forgiven. The church is the organism (I didn’t say organization) that God has called to foster a community through which His love can flow. Unless we commit ourselves to the church, we do not become a part of God’s family, regardless of how long our name has been on the church’s roll.

One more thing, we need to learn how to live together peaceably. That means learning how to resolve conflict and restoring your brother. It also involves protecting your family (your local family which is your local church) and those that are working to keep it together. Learn how to focus on the things that brings common unity. After all, that’s what community really is!

Clearly Day 17 is the reading the spoke loudest to me. Day 21 comes in at a close second. I know this post is late, but I still want to hear from you. If you still dare to complete this journey with us and the material hasn’t completely crushed (convicted) you, holler at me!

This week, we discovered the first of the five purposes for being here on earth; we were created to worship God! Rick called it “bringing pleasure to God.” Worshipping God extends far beyond the public experience we have on Sunday mornings at church. In fact, the heart of worship is a lifestyle of pleasing God, especially on Monday through Saturday.

I always wondered why some Christians do not become worshippers. Rick lifted three barriers that stop Christians from bringing God pleasure: fear, pride, and confusion. In Day 10, he took that apart, giving an antidote to each one. For fear, he gave trust, meaning as long as fear keeps us from surrendering to God, we will not surrender until we can trust Him; we cannot trust Him until we know Him and to know Him is to love Him because love drives out fear (1 John 4:18). For pride, he gave “accepting our limitations”, meaning we have to realize that we are not God; He is in charge! When we try to be God, we are most like Satan, and that is dangerous. For confusion, Rick gave obedience. Many people want to know everything before they do anything. We need to learn to trust God with the unknown while we obey; this will build faith!

The true art of worship is embodied in two specific encounters: through constant conversation (prayer) and through continual meditation (study of God’s word). In the bible study, much time was spent on learning how to pray. Many Christians feel intimidated because they think they have to pray as eloquent as their pastor in order for God to hear them. Learning to pray involve an awareness of His presence and a willingness to be real with Him (much more can be said on this topic). This is balance by meditation on God’s word. Check out what Rick had to say about meditation:

“If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate! You just need to switch your attention from your problems to Bible verses. The more you meditate on God’s Word, the less you will have to worry about.”

Seems easy? Think again! When you try to focus your attention onto God’s word, you’ll find that Satan will not let you go without a fight. You’ll notice all the little temptations that are designed to steal your focus and side-track you. When you meditate on God’s word with practice (that means to do it again and again and again), you will gain strength over your temptations and word of God will take root in you!

Here we are again! Consider the reading for this past week (Day 8 through Day 14), and tell me which daily reading resonated with you the most. For me, I’ll have to say Day 14 because the dark times in my life is where I learned what worship “really is” and that day’s reading spoke loudest to me. Holler at me!