City Transformation Requires Micro and Macro Perspectives

Leaders often share a common desire to see transformation in their cities, and by nature these leaders are usually wired with a macro mindset of community development. This way of thinking is crucial for casting vision, raising up leaders, and is frequently shared among apostolic leaders, but this strength can not stand alone. To experience transformation in a city, you must make disciples. No leader should be exempt from this task. We are all called to the “front lines” of service. Leaders must create opportunities for people to engage in relationships and disciple one another. When focus remains on this initiative, leaders become susceptible to overlook one of the greatest blessings God is calling them to by neglecting opportunities to build these relationships themselves. A leader who expresses wisdom in delegation does not compare relationships to tasks. When we lose sight of the heart of Jesus, we minimize the value of ministering to individuals that God is putting in our paths to encourage and to learn from. A good leader inspires others toward community transformation; a great leader is inspired by God-sent relationships that ignite their calling to spur others on in doing the same.

Why the Wait Matters

 We seem to be fixated on this concept of arriving, constantly praying to get to the other side of trials, and for patience as we wait. What if we adopted a new perspective on the journey, a journey that encouraged joy and contentment with each step? To truly experience the peace that Christ has for us, I think this is vital and required. Yes its going to get better, yes God has greater things planned for us than what we can dream of, but holding on to these promises does not mean we are robbed of experiencing the life he has for us NOW. If we are fully alive, we are never going to allow ourselves to fully arrive. How could we? Ultimately we are waiting for Jesus to come back and nothing is going to be complete until that day. The discipline of waiting entails so much more than practicing patience. As we wait for Christ to come back as our savior, we wait for him in our jobs, in our schools, in our decisions, in our marriages, in our families, and in every other area that we allow him to work in. Too much of our lives are wasted because we don’t understand the value and significance of waiting. When we are called to wait, we are not expected to pause or put life on hold, because the reality is that we are always going to be waiting on something. Have a daily urgency to follow where God is leading you, but learn to appreciate all that he has for you to experience during the wait.

                                                                     

                                                                    

                                            

       Taking Healthy Measures – Our bodies, Our Temples, and the Church

Having lived on either ends of the nutritional spectrum, I’ve developed a heightened awareness to all things pertaining to health. Of course, you would have to be living in a cave to avoid the nutritional trends that are currently blaring through the speakers of society. A multitude of fads have swept in and out of our culture over the course of my 20 something years of life, and it has caused me to wonder why we so often miss the mark on mastering balance. It’s crucial to be intentional about what we put into our minds and bodies, as these factors leave lasting effects on our souls.

             Just as the Church is defined beyond four walls and a building, honoring our bodies as the Temples of Christ requires more than mastering nutritional perfection. Our culture is becoming severely consumed with health trends that I believe can become detrimental to our spiritual health. God wants us to take care of our physical being so that we are able and energized to accomplish the purpose he has set before us, but when we become fixated on our physical being, we lose sight of the greater picture and more importantly, the people around us. Our identities are put on the line and we sacrifice a part of ourselves that can be used for serving others. Researchers will continue to find ingredients in our food that could be potentially harmful to our health, but I am putting my faith in the one who made me to protect me in my obedience to serve him! We have a responsibility to do our part in taking care of our bodies, but lets consider balance in all things and put our trust in God to protect and heal us.