Understanding Our Why | Patrick Intro to the UC CR Monthly Leadership Meeting
I want to share a little story, and a short video at the end, that I used to kick off the UC CR leaders at our monthly leadership meeting this past Saturday. I hope you find something in it, too...
John Ortberg, in his book “Steps”…yep, those Steps…he’s a recovery guy, who in fact has spoken at CR Summit in the past…in his book Steps John Ortberg tells a story of speaking with the great Pastor Dallas Willard about a lack of traction he was experiencing in leading his church. According to Ortberg, “I asked him what I needed to do to help our church experience greater levels of spiritual growth.”
Long pause .
. .Willard says, "You must arrange your days so that you’re experiencing
deep contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday life with God."
Huh?
"No,"
I corrected him. "I wasn't asking
about me. I was asking about other
people. I was wondering what I need to
make the church do. I was thinking about
a book everyone should read, or a program everyone should go through, or a
prayer system everyone should commit to."
"Yes, I
heard what you said John," he said with great patience and care. "I know you were thinking of these things. But that's not what they need most. The main thing you will give your
congregation - just like the main thing you will give God - is the person you
become. If your soul is unhealthy, you
can't help anybody. You don't send a
doctor with pneumonia to care for patients with immune disorders. You, and nobody else, are responsible for the
well-being of your own soul."
"I'm
trying," I said. "I learned
long ago about the importance of having a quiet time when I read the Bible and
do daily devotions; I do my best to start each day that way."
"I
didn't say anything about having a quiet time" Willard gently corrected
again. "People in churches -
including pastors - have been crushed with guilt over their failure at having a
regular quiet time or daily devotions.
And then, even when they do, they find it doesn’t actually lead to a
healthy soul. Your problem isn’t the
first fifteen minutes of the day. It's the next twenty-three hours and
forty-five minutes. You must arrange
your days so that you’re experiencing total contentment, joy, and confidence in
your everyday life with God."
"But
how can I have total contentment,
joy, and confidence?" Ortberg responded.
"My work isn't going nearly well enough. Lots of people are not happy with me. I’m inadequate as a pastor, husband, and
father. Every week I carry the burden of
delivering a sermon and knowing I'll have to feel the pain if it doesn't go
well."
To which
Willard replied, "I didn't say you should experience contentment, joy, and
confidence in the remarkable adequacy of
your competence or the amazingly successful circumstances of your life. It's total contentment, joy, and confidence
in your everyday experience of God. This
alone is what makes a soul healthy. This
is not your wife's job. It's not your
elder's job. It's not your children's
job. It's not your friend's job. It's your job."
Whoa….What I’m hearing in this story is something that Pastor Craig has now taught on twice in the last week, and I keep hearing it in other devotionals, sermons, and discussions as well. And that’s the importance of understanding our “Why”.
Most of us are pretty good at understanding our “What”, and even our “How”. Heck, according to the feedback I receive we’re doing a pretty solid job in our CR of those two, the What and the How. And don’t misunderstand…what we do and how we do it is very, very important! But Why do we do what we do? I’m betting that few of us think about that very often, if ever…I know I sure don’t. I’m so busy with all the things I need to get done, in my home life, my personal life, and in my ministry life here at the church…I rarely think about Why I’m doing the things that I do. I just am...at times just so I can get to the next thing…and the next.
But what Pastor Craig is attempting to help the church leadership, and the staff, and soon the congregation to understand, is that we should function from the Why outward, through the How and into the What…if we’re to have Jesus and the Holy Spirit bring forth fruit from our efforts to the community around us. And this has deep significant meaning within CR, of course, especially as this church more intentionally moves in the direction of a recovery-centered organization. And hopefully today we'll see more clearly how each of us, as leaders within our CR, have an opportunity to most intentionally and effectively lead the people around us out of our Why…not only the What and the How. So today we’re going to talk about all 3 of them, as foundational to our CR Curriculum. Let’s watch this little video….https://youtu.be/1ytFB8TrkTo
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