Was Jesus Ever Bored?

I'm currently reading The Gospel According to Starbucks by Len Sweet. The book, in a nutshell, is about how much of what we love in the Corporate Java Giant represents the kind of life Jesus expects of his followers. (Okay, that's a vast oversimplification, and Len might not be too happy with that synopsis, but it's the best I got after a day of teaching fourth graders.)

So, there's one line that grabbed me and just keeps coming back to me: "Do you think Jesus ever got bored?" My loud answer is "NO! Of course Jesus never got bored." But what bothers me is what that says about my life. Why do I at times find myself bored? Maybe it's because I don't have the clarity of purpose and personal life mission that Jesus did. Maybe it's because I get myself involved with stuff that isn't worth my time. Maybe I don't always have a razor sharp focus on what my life is about. Maybe I don't listen as carefully to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as Jesus did.

The hardest answer, and maybe the most truthful, is that sometimes I am going through the motions. I am doing all the things I am supposed to be doing. I am working hard, being there for my wife and kids, showing love to other people, but I'm on autopilot, cruise control. And when I fall into that slump, I get bored. No more autopilot, cruise control faith for me. From now on, boredom is a warning signal, a sign that I need to refocus on what God has put me here for. From now on, boredom is a sin for me, and I don't intend to wallow in it for very long.

Great Night

We had a totally awesome Journey Group last night. Just some really neat people getting plugged in to The Crossroads, and we have so much fun together. I found myself laughing my head off multiple times.

We are studying Mark Batterson's new book Wild Goose Chase. It is an insightful look at the workings of the Holy Spirit.

My favorite quotes from this week's chapter: "When Christianity turns into a noun, it becomes a turnoff. Christianity was always intended to be a verb ... If the twenty-first century church said less and did more, maybe we would have the same kind of impact the first century church did."

And, talking about Nehemiah and being faithful where God has placed you while you pursue the dream God has given you: "If you are faithful in Babylon, God will often bless you a thousand miles away."

In a Conference with Mark Batterson on a Sunny Day

I am in Orlando this week for the Exponential Conference, the premier church planting conference in the nation. One of the highlights of the week is I get to sit in on a session with Mark Batterson, author of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. My launch team has already instructed me to get him to autograph a copy of his book.

He was really awesome in the session today. Just a humble, genuine, down-to-earth guy with some really cool ideas.

Beyond that, it is just really great to get to hang out with other church planters. I love my tribe. These guys love the Lord, have a heart for the church, and are on the frontlines of ministry.

Think Outside the Bubble

More stuff from They Like Jesus but Not the Church:

One of the challenges of being missional and reaching people who aren't yet followers of Christ is actually having relationships with those people. The problem is that the longer you are a Christ-follower, the greater the likelihood that you don't know anyone who isn't a Christ-follower. You become trapped inside the Christian bubble.

Dan Kimball traces the steps by which this happens in the Christian's life:

Phase 1: We become Christians

"I recall reading that within the first year of someone's becoming a Christian, they tell approximately twenty people, from among their family and friends, about their faith and even invite them to church. This is only natural because generally everyone in a new Christian's circle of friends is outside of the church." p. 42

Phase 2: We become part of church life

"The longer we are Christians, the fewer number of friends we have who are not Christians. Even though Christians often work alongside non-Christians or have non-Christian neighbors or sit next to unbelieving students in class, we generally tend not to actually befriend them, or pray regularly for them, or get involved in their lives so they trust us and we can be the salt and light of Jesus to them. When I ask Christians who they went ot the movies with Friday night or who they went to the beach with last weekend, it usually turns out they went with Christians from the same church. ... Shouldn't it be that the longer we are Christians and the longer we walk with Jesus and understand the grace of God, the more we desire to see others experience God's grace as well? It seems incredibly ironic that as we mature and get to know Scripture better and get to know Jesus better and are transformed all the more by the Spirit, fewer non-Christians get to experience those things through relationships with us." pp. 42-43.

Phase 3: We become part of the Christian bubble

"Slowly we begin to see evangelism as something the church does, primarily through events. We get more excited about going overseas to the mission field on summer trips than about the mission field we live in every day. We start to see evangelism as inviting people to go to a church, where the pastor will do the evangelizing and explain Christianity, instead of spending time with people and talking with them and being the church to them. ... For the most part, only Christians are in our circle of peers. We begin buying little Christian stickers or put metal fish symbols on our cars, and we even have a few Christian T-shirts. We set our radios only to our favorite Christian radio shows, and most of the music we listen to is Christian. We make a trip to the amusement park that has the special Christian day each year featuring Christian bands. We find ourselves regularly using Christian words and phrases and cliches, such as backsliding, prayer warrior, fellowship, quiet time, traveling mercies ... The transformation is complete. We have become citizens of the Christian bubble." p. 44.

Phase 4: We become like Jonah

"After several years as citizens of the bubble, we begin to complain and point out the terrible things happening in the culture. Like Jonah ... who ran away when God told him to go to the wicked city of Ninevah, we don't want anything to do with those who aren't following God as we are. ... Like Jonah, who, even after God gave him a second chance and he saw the people of Ninevah repent and cry out to God, complained about not hving shade over his head and being uncomfortable, we complain about how well the church is providing what we want and grow numb to the fact that people all around us need the love and grace of Jesus." p. 45.

Evaluate yourself. Where are you in terms of the bubble? The challenge for being missional Christ-followers, for planting a missional church, is getting out of the bubble, thinking outside the bubble, building relationships outside the bubble. What do you need to do to get out of the bubble? How can you build friendships with people who aren't Christ-followers? What are the areas of your life where you have insulated yourself from non-Christ-followers?