If you and I fall into the same blogging category then you will know how I feel when I say I have a chronic case of blogging constipation.  I have great blog ideas sometimes but I never have enough time to type them out or I am never around a computer when I have them.  And when I finally get enough time around a computer I feel very uninspired except occasionally I will have somthing burning on my heart, or I will write a 'debbie-downer'  or an 'i am sucha a horrible blogger' post like this one is turning out to be.  However, this post still has room for redemption.  The real reason I am writing is to have some self-disclosure.  There has been alot of meaningful things happen in my life recently that I wish I could summarize and publish on here, but there was one in particular that I hope to publish something on soon, namely, Catalyst Conference.  But one of the things that happens when you go to a conference like that with tons of great speakers and leaders is that you get some great wisdom for leading churches.  However, what I seem to do with all that good info is twist it around and make myself puffed up with it.  I believe it is something about being human that makes people want to set themselves above others.  It is something I have to constantly have to keep myself in check about.  I can so easily see it in other Christians when they poopoo churches for doing new and innovative things, but which new and innovative churches can fall into doing as well if their cynicism about traditional churches isn't transformed to brokeness.  

I preached a message recently on anger and in preparing for it I realized something new.  I have, like many others, realized that some anger can be leveraged for good.  Jesus became angry multiple times in the Bible in the presence of injustice.  And while there is that anger that more naturally directs us toward sinning, I believe that this 'righteous' anger directs us toward sin, yet in subtle, more acceptable ways.   While Jesus became angry, he never held onto his anger.  His anger changed from merely loathing the situation to grieving over it.  His heart changed from that initial neutral state of anger to a spiritual grieving over the brokeness of his people (Mark 3).  If we simply get angry at the ineffectiveness or irrelevance of traditional churches we will soon end up as cynical, grumpy, progressive Christians.   We must constantly be praying for a broken heart over the people who don't know Christ as well as His church that so often collectively takes his name in vain.

Posted In: church life

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