This evening, watching the DNC, I was reminded of a statement Barack Obama has made throughout his campaign. It’s a powerful statement that would work well in a church setting.
When talking about making this nation what it can and should be, he talks about the necessity of “ordinary people doing extrordinary things.” This idea is what the church is all about when we’re doing what we’re called to do…We’re simply “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
That’s all.
I just finished watching Bill Clinton deliver his speech at the Democratic National Convetion.
Like him or not, the man is a gifted communicator.
Being in an occupation where communication is key, I’m always studying, listening, and watching great communicators. Normally, these studies fall into religious categories. However, in a presidential election year, there are numerous opportunities to hear gifted communicators. Whether or not I always agree with the message, I am blown away by the gift some people have for effective communication.
This evening, Clinton demonstrated great communication skills.
Who do you enjoy listening to?
In today’s political arena, I enjoy listening to Obama and Richard Lugar (my Grandpa Burris would be proud). I have a great respect for both of them (though they come from much different lines of thought) and have always thought both of them are excellent at communicating their agendas. In the religious arena, I enjoy listening to Rob Bell, T.D. Jakes (don’t always agree with his theology, but am amazed at his ability to make a point), Mark Driscoll (I used to be on the same page, but the guy has gone off the deep end…but, I appreciate his passion and determination), and Mark Beeson (again, I don’t always line up with him…but the man is very effective). In the comedic arena, I enjoy Chris Rock, David Cross, Norm McDonald, Jerry Seinfeld, and Bill Cosby (all hilarious)!
So, again, I ask you to share who you enjoy listening to? I’d love to take a listen to some folks out there who have the gift of effective communication.
Leadership Journal, a branch of Christianity Today, has an on-line quiz about church and politics. I fell into the “radical reformer” area on the quiz. Where do you fall?
Click HERE to take the quiz.
As I’ve been preparing for a message on the importance of developing a passion for pursuing a deeper relationship with Christ through studying His words, I’ve been reminded and awe-filled by how dangerous the Bible truly is.
It’s amazing what we can do with it. We can let it inspire, change, challenge, renew, and restore us. And, at the same time, we can use it to push our selfish agendas, to breed hate, or to attempt to elect political candidates. We can use it to build up and encourage others. We can also twist its words to tear down and belittle others. We can use it to talk about love, peace, humility, mercy and forgiveness. We can also use it to promote wars and outrageous excesses.
This thing is dangerous. However, I think the Bible would be at its most dangerous if the people who claim to believe its words actually lived them out. What would our world look like if Bible-believing Christ followers all around the globe actually loved God, loved others (including our enemies), served others, cared for the needs of all, forgave those who wronged them, turned the other cheek, etc.? How dangerously radical would the Christian movement be if we actually lived out the things we proclaim to believe?
I’m telling you, the Bible is dangerous…and has a lot more potential for danger than we give it credit for.
This Sunday, I’ll be speaking on the importance of Bible study. And, it won’t be about simply going through routine motions of reading the Scripture. The idea will be to encourage us to gain a deeper knowledge, understand, and passion for the Scriptures. It boils down to this, if we’re truly “studying” the Scriptures, it should produce some kind of tangible life-change within us. It should impact the way we live. In other words, it’s one thing to know the Scriptures, it’s an entirely different things to let them permeate into our heart and soul and live them out. I’ll probably share more about this whole concept as the week goes on.
But, to kick things off, I’m going to have a little true and false Bible trivia game. I’ll be taking and making up some strange facts from the Scriptures and ask the congregation if the various statements are true and false. I’ll have stuff like, “Noah liked to get naked when he was drunk” and “Even in Biblical times, people fell asleep in church.” Of course, with that last one, I’ll point out that the young man who fell asleep during the message fell to his death (later to be raised from the dead). It should be fun.
So, my question for you is this: do you have any funny and/or interesting Bible trivia question suggestions? Please share!