Larry L. has called me the “Master of Outreach” and I confess that I liked that sobriquet. I liked being known as a man, a pastor that had a heart for outreach. I have to confess that at council I was under considerable conviction about being the “master of outreach.” I have been passionate about outreach for years, but this year at council I became convicted that I did not have the heart of God when it came to outreach.
For years I have done outreach because I wanted to see the church grow, to see more people engaged in worship, in small groups, in the programs and ministries of the churches I pastored. I wanted to see people saved, I wanted to see prodigals returning to the father, but my motives and God’s were very far apart. At council this year I was deeply convicted about how shallow this was. About how easily outreach could become about me, about our church, about the numbers, our accomplishments.
At council the veil over my eyes was unzipped, the cloud over my heart was lifted and I experienced perhaps for the first time a glimpse of what the heart of God was like for the lost. In those moments of weeping and conviction I believe I became a changed man. My understanding of God’s heart forever changed.
Our great God is not simply carrying out a program, a plan, a strategy to save the world. NO. His heart breaks for lost people. His heart breaks for lost people and He has done, and will do anything to see them saved, including dying on the cross.
How do we understand His passion for the lost, His desire to see them saved. I thought I understood, but God used a message preached by Scott Slocum to renew my eyes. So I invite you on a three-day journey with me as we rediscover the heart of God. Be prepared, you may never be the same.
The heart of the call is discovered in the heart of God.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Understanding the Heart of the Call #1 of 5
I’m sitting in the airport waiting for the arrival of Flight 1770 (two hours delayed) reflecting on my week at General Council in Orlando Florida. There were many high points to the week. Incredible worship services, balanced with hours of strategic planning sessions (a new euphemism for business sessions). I had the privilege of representing the voice of the National Committee on Special Orders and General Legislation in the presentation of major changes in our constitution. In some of the limited free time, Cheryl and I were able to get in some time birding among the Flordia Wetlands. Anhingas, gallinules, Louisiana herons, osprey, little blue herons, cattle egret, great egrets and 6 alligators were among the highlights. As memorable as each of those were while we were away, my lasting memory of Council focuses on the messages delivered at Council.
Today I am reminded once again, that what we do matters, it matters a great deal. It matters above all other endeavors. We are those who stand in gap, work often in the shadow of others for the sake of the call. We serve as soldiers, seeking to please our Heavenly Commander, we compete as athletes seeking a heavenly reward, we labor day after day as farmers that a harvest may be reaped (2 Tim 2). We did not choose this time or even this place, but we have been chosen for such a time as this. In the day when the world deems our message irrelevant, our methods and modes outdate (John 15:16). In a time when spirituality is valued but Jesus is ignored, we few, we the church, we her leaders and prophets in all our weaknesses (2 Cor 4:7) lean upon the infilling of His presence and choose to cross the line, to enter the battle against all odds for the sake of the Call (Matt 28:16).
It has never been about us, about our comfort or about our glory, but it is about Him, His call and His mission. We have only just begun to discover all he has for us, all he calls for us to do, to be. Brothers and sisters, fellow warriors in His kingdom, I come home humbled, broken, weeping, excited, dreaming and yearning. My hand remains on the plow, I do not look back, but now my heart burns to push harder (Luke 9:62).
See you in the fields.
P. Bruce
NAC
Today I am reminded once again, that what we do matters, it matters a great deal. It matters above all other endeavors. We are those who stand in gap, work often in the shadow of others for the sake of the call. We serve as soldiers, seeking to please our Heavenly Commander, we compete as athletes seeking a heavenly reward, we labor day after day as farmers that a harvest may be reaped (2 Tim 2). We did not choose this time or even this place, but we have been chosen for such a time as this. In the day when the world deems our message irrelevant, our methods and modes outdate (John 15:16). In a time when spirituality is valued but Jesus is ignored, we few, we the church, we her leaders and prophets in all our weaknesses (2 Cor 4:7) lean upon the infilling of His presence and choose to cross the line, to enter the battle against all odds for the sake of the Call (Matt 28:16).
It has never been about us, about our comfort or about our glory, but it is about Him, His call and His mission. We have only just begun to discover all he has for us, all he calls for us to do, to be. Brothers and sisters, fellow warriors in His kingdom, I come home humbled, broken, weeping, excited, dreaming and yearning. My hand remains on the plow, I do not look back, but now my heart burns to push harder (Luke 9:62).
See you in the fields.
P. Bruce
NAC
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