Zach Zehnder's Blog, page 15
August 16, 2022
013: FLAME on His Journey to Becoming a Lutheran Hip-Hop Artist
FLAME is a pioneer in the world of Hip-Hop and Rap music. He shares the journey that took him from a kid growing up in the inner-city who combined his interest in rap along with a terrible tragedy to being a Grammy-nominated performer and artist.
Season 2 of The Red Letter Disciple Podcast could not have been possible without Carey Nieuwhof and The Art of Leadership Academy. On August 22-23, the Art of Leadership Academy is hosting a FREE 2-day, value-packed “Church Disruption Summit.” Change is inevitable. Irrelevance isn’t.That’s why Carey Nieuwhof is hosting the Church Disruption Summit, a free value-packed event where he’ll dissect the “7 Disruptive Church Trends That Will Define the Church of 2032.” Sign up today at www.churchdisruptionsummit.com.
Twitter: @flame314
TikTok: @flameextranos
Key insights from the episode:
“Educa-tainment” – Flame’s grandmother is credited with suggesting he rap to remember facts for tests and he fell in love with rap and hip-hop.
While hip-hop did start off with just the party vibe and telling the story of the inner city, it quickly turned to the gang culture, drug culture, and a celebration of criminal activity. The church was caught off-guard by the collection of young people that were excited about rap and combining it with the gospel. – Flame
We are in a season of trying to educate the elder giants of the faith that we, the young people they are passing the baton to; it may look different from the way we are trying to communicate this ancient truth from the scripture, but we do have the heart of God, we have the Holy Spirit leading us. – Flame
Hip-Hop and rap will be the fastest-growing worship song genre. We need to create content that will engage the youth. – Zach Zehnder
God is the creator of music, sound, and blending and pairing; if we can see hip-hop music as a thing that is innocent in and of itself, that has been usurped by the mainstream society or the devil, then we can ask, What if Christians can get a hold of it, yield it to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, then we can couple it with the gospel? – Flame
We’ve seen this musical journey before in terms of traditional gospel music coming from the blues; even some hymns have their origin in some mainstream things that were going on. – Flame
When you see the goodness of God’s creation being expressed out loud and being submitted to the Lordship of Christ, it’s the best of both worlds. – Flame
The way some people have sanctification arranged in the room, you’ll always stub your toe on it. – Flame
In the generic American church, baptism is seen as work; it is seen as something that we do when we are ready to prove to God that we are serious about Jesus, or we are ready to hit reset. But it’s upside down. Baptism is a gift from God to us. – Flame
You’re always going to see your own inconsistencies, your own hypocrisy, your own disintegration, so I feel like what Lutheranism did was bring me out of myself to focus on Christ and his finished work. Now with my sanctification, I can do good in the world as opposed to being so absorbed with ‘Am I good enough?’ ‘Am I pure enough?’ ‘Are my affections aligned with how Jesus would feel about this?’ I had to break out of that mindset. – Flame
People that are tapping out of Christianity because they feel overwhelmed by this unattainable thing, I think they’ll be attracted back to their Lord when they hear Lutheranism expanded. – Flame
We need to be Lutheran out loud in the arts so that people can know afresh that Jesus is for us. – Flame
A big common issue in the world today is mental health and identity, and society answers that question by telling us to look within. – Flame
One of the best habits I have is I try to get back on Sundays so that I can worship with my church body. – Flame
Tragedy does one of two things, it presses you in, or it presses you out. For Flame, it seems like the tragedy in his life pressed him into God. – Zach Zehnder
Flame’s challenge: Hear God’s voice in a world of competing voices. Take some time to read a chapter or a verse from the Bible and listen to what He has to say to you today.
Lead yourself (and your church) to be more like Jesus.
For so many Christians, the discipleship process isn’t very clear.
They know they need to go to church, pray, not sin, and maybe attend a small group. While these are great things, they don’t outline a clear path leading people to live more like Jesus.
We’d love to introduce you to the 40-Day Red Letter Chal
For so many Christians, the discipleship process isn’t very clear.
They know they need to go to church, pray, not sin, and maybe attend a small group. While these are great things, they don’t outline a clear path leading people to live more like Jesus.
We’d love to introduce you to the 40-Day Red Letter Challenge.
When you and your church take the challenge, you’ll have a clear 40-day discipleship path that will help you master five key areas of discipleship.
You can learn more about the challenge here!
I have found that 100% of the audience of Red Letter Disciple Audience has better lives. – Zach Zehnder
0% of people are leaving the podcast midway in this podcast. – Scott McConnell
57% of statics are made up on the spot. – Scott McConnell
Watch the entire season for free:We’ll be uploading every episode of season one of The Red Letter Disciple on our YouTube Channel. If you aren’t subscribed already, you can do so here!
The post 013: FLAME on His Journey to Becoming a Lutheran Hip-Hop Artist appeared first on Red Letter Living.
August 5, 2022
3 Critical Areas Related to Raising Generosity in Your Church
For years, I looked at annual church budgets and monthly reports. I paid attention to a few key numbers that I could wrap my head around. When giving was up, I spent no more time on it and just moved on to other things. When giving was down, I asked a few limited questions to try to help me understand better. Maybe based on what I heard I would attempt to do something differently, even if I wasn’t sure why. Truthfully, I didn’t have a great grasp on our church’s overall giving. It felt like I was missing something in this area, but I wasn’t sure what.
Every church leader I know wants to raise generosity in their church. But, how do you do this? What do you focus on? Doesn’t it feel like there are so many moving components? How do you know which ones to focus on?
Today’s blog is written by our friend, Phil Ling, founder of The Giving Church. Phil’s team has not only helped raise the generosity levels in more than a thousand churches, but they’ve also commissioned their own study of more than 4000 churches and uncovered some shocking data. On August 11th at 1 PM CST, I’ll be joined by Phil Ling in a FREE webinar, and I guarantee you that you will learn some things related to church giving that you’ve never heard before! And here’s another promise: pastors, you will have a much greater understanding of your role when it comes to your church’s giving. This webinar is not an infomercial, and there are no strings attached. It’s simply a one-hour conversation with an expert in the field who shares the same heart as me. We want to help churches thrive and be filled with greater disciples!
I’ve flown many times, but truthfully, I’ve never thought about the intricacy of the airplane until I read Phil’s words below. I know they will be helpful to you.
A Boeing 747 is made up of 6,000,000 individual parts that are designed to craft, propel, fly and safely land hundreds of passengers and crew members.
Let’s say you had access to the 6,000,000 parts. Could you build your own 747?
The answer is no. There are thousands of specialists- fabricators, installers, mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and more involved in each 747 construction.
You couldn’t afford the risk of building your own 747 because you can’t afford to fail in these three critical areas:
Take Off Flight Control Landing
It’s not good enough to be able to do any 1 or 2 without being able to do all 3. Think about it. If you take off but can’t land, you haven’t achieved anything except for total failure and disaster.
You are creating a culture of generosity in your church in the same way. Whether engaging in a capital campaign for a particular project or attempting to grow your general fund, there are intricate, delicate, and dedicated steps to take in the construction to ensure your success. It takes time and expertise to craft and rely on the same three critical components as the flight of a 747.
If you launch well but don’t maintain the altitude, speed, and direction, you crash. If you launch and can’t land or run out of gas, you crash far from your destination. We want to help churches thrive in all three areas.
At The Giving Church, we have guided nearly a thousand churches to success and raised well over a billion dollars for churches of all sizes, shapes, and denominations with custom-built capital campaigns to fit the DNA of each church. We want to share with you some tips and tools we have learned over the years. Not only this, but we commissioned a study of more than 4000 churches nationwide in more than 30 different denominations and uncovered some shocking data. I guarantee you will see the potential to raise generosity in your church once you hear this data.
We will be sharing all of this and more in our FREE Webinar- Fund Your Vision: Don’t Let Money Limit Ministry- on Thursday, August 11, 1 PM CST. You can register for FREE by clicking this link.
Take the next step of growing a culture of generosity in your ministry!
About Phil Ling
Phil Ling is the founder of The Giving Church (www.thegivingchurch.com), helping churches leverage vision to grow cultures of generosity. Before providing energetic leadership and strategic direction to The Giving Church, Phil served as Vice President of Development for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and as Executive Vice President for INJOY Stewardship with John C. Maxwell, leading the mega-church capital campaign division. Phil has helped nearly 1000 churches realize their vision for generosity.
The post 3 Critical Areas Related to Raising Generosity in Your Church appeared first on Red Letter Living.
August 1, 2022
012: Scott McConnell on the Statistics that Pastors Get Wrong
Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell gives some encouraging data about discipleship and the church. He dives into the future of the church and shares what encourages him about the next generation.
Join the FREE webinar on August 11th at 1 PM CST called “Fund Your Vision—Don’t Let Money Limit Your Ministry.” Phil Ling, President of The Giving Church, will be joining me and we’ll dive into how The Giving Church has helped more than a thousand churches raise more than a billion dollars. They also commissioned a study with more than 4000 churches and uncovered some incredible data that we will bring out in this webinar. Phil will talk about what he has learned through both his experience and through this unique study. You won’t want to miss it. We will be giving away loads of free stuff as well! You can sign up at www.thegivingchurch.com/red
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Most Teenagers Drop Out of Church When They Become Young Adults
Despite Stresses, Few Pastors Give Up on Ministry
Red Letter Challenge Assessment
5 Actions That Will Immediately Encourage Discipleship in Your Church
About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated
The Parent Adventure by Selma and Rodney Wilson and Scott McConnell
Americans Hold Complex, Conflicting Religious Beliefs, According to Latest State of Theology Study
Key insights from the episode:
Christians like to inflate the percentage of people leaving the church. One statistic that is not true is young adults leave the church and never come back. – Scott McConnell
Our latest research was in 2021, and only 1.5% of pastors are stepping away from the pastorate in a year. – Scott McConnell
We tend to overinflate leaving rates (young adults and pastors). – Scott McConnell
We tend to want to toss out membership numbers these days because they aren’t great, but they are still relevant and an important indicator – Scott McConnell
We are trying to understand the discipleship needs so we can help people take a step closer to Christ and to encourage them to spur one another on to love and good deeds. – Scott McConnell
If you are anything but a small congregation church you cannot cover all the discipleship needs for each person, so tools and assessments are going to be a great systematic tool. – Scott McConnell
One of the challenges we face in surveys is to ask about more than just actions, we try to get at their desires, heart issues, and beliefs. – Scott McConnell
We asked what statistically predicts a closer walk with God and found that praying for opportunities to share your faith with others moved into the top spot. – Scott McConnell
29% of Americans indicate no religious preference/atheist/agnostic and that percentage has gone up 1% every year for the past decade. – Scott McConnell
We spend significant time studying other world religions statistically, if we are about maximizing, then we need to be spending at least as much time reaching the atheist or agnostic. – Zach Zehnder
People, whether they are followers of another religion or no religion, still have core human needs and if we can be sharing the gospel in a way that points to Jesus and how he satisfies in a way that no other source can, that’s our opportunity. – Scott McConnell
The numbers you see from statistics never tell the whole story. If the numbers look impossible, the Holy Spirit is still working. – Scott McConnell
People that are in a small group on a weekly basis are more likely to read their Bible, serve within and outside the church, tithe, and volunteer. – Scott McConnell
A young person is 3.5 more times to stay in church if at least three adults poured into them at a young age and they can name them. – Scott McConnell
Young people’s failures tend to be those that we pass on to them or reactions to the previous generation. – Scott McConnell
As parents, one of the biggest encouragement you can give is to keep engaging with your teens and trying even if you are only getting one word back. – Scott McConnell
Scott’s Challenge of the week: Have a short conversation with God about opportunities that you can have this week to share your faith.
How well are you following Jesus?Many want to be greater followers of Jesus but don’t know how. We did an extensive study of everything that Jesus commanded of us and located 5 key targets into which Jesus invites His followers. The five targets are Being, Forgiving, Serving, Giving, and Going.
In partnership with LifeWay Research, we created a Red Letter Challenge Assessment that will measure you according to these five targets. And the best news of all: it’s free! Not only will you get results back immediately, but you will also be presented with next steps to help you become an even greater follower of Jesus.
You can take the FREE Red Letter Challenge Assessment here.
Some not-so-key insights:I have found that 100% of the audience of Red Letter Disciple Audience has better lives. – Zach Zehnder
0% of people are leaving the podcast midway in this podcast. – Scott McConnell
57% of statics are made up on the spot. – Scott McConnell
Watch the entire season for free:We’ll be uploading every episode of season one of The Red Letter Disciple on our YouTube Channel. If you aren’t subscribed already, you can do so here!
The post 012: Scott McConnell on the Statistics that Pastors Get Wrong appeared first on Red Letter Living.
July 27, 2022
The Super-Simple, Easily-Doable 5-Step Guide to Grow Your Small Groups
In A Place to Belong: Small Group Involvement In Religious Congregations, Professors Kevin Dougherty and Andrew Whitehead analyze national data on the impact of those involved in small groups.
In their conclusion, they state, “National data from over 78000 U.S. worshippers in over 400 congregations reveal that individuals involved in prayer, discussion, or Bible study groups have higher rates of commitment and participation than those not involved in a small group. Small group members report a greater sense of belonging, attend services more frequently, and contribute a higher percentage of their income to their congregation. These findings are consistent and robust.”
Because of its importance, churches place a high value on small groups. But, when you dive deep, many churches are unsatisfied with how many people are involved in their small groups.
I’ve had the privilege to help over 700 churches grow their small groups by 40% or more.
-Zach Zehnder, Founder of Red Letter Living
For example, one church that had only 15% of people (according to their average weekly worship attendance) involved in small groups jumped to 64% of people in small groups. For those doing the math, that’s a 426% increase!
If you thought my title was overselling, I would challenge you to take a look at the 5 steps and try it for yourself. I’ll even offer a complete, 100% refund. By the way, I’m giving it to you for FREE, so the refund won’t be fantastic! Growing your small groups does require work. It requires conversations and planning, but it is not difficult work. The strategy I’ve uncovered is straightforward and easily doable.
I believe in less than 2 months, you can grow your small groups by more than 40%. Or, if you have never had small groups at your church, you can launch them in less than 2 months. Are you ready? Do you want to know how?
The post The Super-Simple, Easily-Doable 5-Step Guide to Grow Your Small Groups appeared first on Red Letter Living.
July 25, 2022
011: Danielle Strickland on The Secret to Discipleship
Danielle Strickland wakes up every morning determining to embrace love. She isn’t afraid to question long-time practices such as church buildings, ordination, and the addiction problems in our world today. Finally, don’t miss her battle to be the greatest Star Wars fan ever!
Join the FREE webinar on August 11th at 1 PM CST called “Fund Your Vision—Don’t Let Money Limit Your Ministry.” Phil Ling, President of The Giving Church, will be joining me and we’ll dive into how The Giving Church has helped more than a thousand churches raise more than a billion dollars. They also commissioned a study with more than 4000 churches and uncovered some incredible data that we will bring out in this webinar. Phil will talk about what he has learned through both his experience and through this unique study. You won’t want to miss it. We will be giving away loads of free stuff as well! You can sign up at www.thegivingchurch.com/red
Resources mentioned in the episode:
ORU Chapel 2020: “The Discipleship Secret” by Danielle Strickland
Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love by Helen Fisher
Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps by Richard Rohr
Key insights from the episode:
We overcomplicate things we don’t want to do. – Danielle Strickland
The opposite of pleasure is duty, not pain. – Danielle Strickland
Serving people out of obligation is soul-destroying. – Danielle Strickland
When I move away from love, I move into obligation, safety, and disconnection. – Danielle Strickland
I think that the discipleship secret is not that we arrive at love and stay there, but that we keep moving towards love. – Danielle Strickland
I want to fall in love with Jesus again today. – Danielle Strickland
Anything that prevents people from encountering God needs to go. – Danielle Strickland
What did Jesus do that made him so safe that a woman felt so safe and wasn’t concerned about being abused? That is a worthwhile study. – Danielle Strickland
I think the number one problem with anything we do, the anti-discipleship posture, is “me-centered”. It can look like arrogance, but it can also look like insecurity. – Danielle Strickland
Danielle Strickland’s 5 tips for public speaking: 1) authenticity, 2) connection over performance, 3) don’t write it out, talk it out 4) posture of curiosity over judgment 5) answer the question, “So what?” – Danielle Strickland
Danielle’s Challenge of the Week: Connect with another person to walk with you in your faith.
Lead yourself (and your church) to become greater followers of Jesus. Red Letter Challenge
For so many Christians, the discipleship process isn’t very clear.
They know they need to go to church, pray, not sin, and maybe attend a small group. While these are great things, they don’t outline a clear path leading people to live more like Jesus.
We’d love to introduce you to the 40-Day Red Letter Challenge.
When you and your church take the challenge, you’ll have a clear 40-day discipleship path that will help you master five key areas of discipleship.
You can learn more about the challenge here!
Danielle calls her husband the minister of propaganda.
Danielle is a self-proclaimed ambassador of fun.
Bobby Ray’s song I Can’t Make You Love Me is the song Danielle pictures God singing to us.
Yoda was 900 years old when he died.
Vador’s chest has Hebrew written on it.
Watch the entire season for free:We’ll be uploading every episode of season one of The Red Letter Disciple on our YouTube Channel. If you aren’t subscribed already, you can do so here!
The post 011: Danielle Strickland on The Secret to Discipleship appeared first on Red Letter Living.
July 18, 2022
010: Rich Birch on The Number One Factor to Grow Your Church
Often we benchmark our growth against ourselves when the real indicator of growth is if you are matching the growth of your community. Rich Birch breaks down ideas of tracking church growth and what actual measurements to use.
Join the FREE webinar on August 11th at 1PM CST called “Fund Your Vision—Don’t Let Money Limit Your Ministry.” Phil Ling, President of The Giving Church, will be joining me and we’ll dive into how The Giving Church has helped more than a thousand churches raise more than a billion dollars. They also commissioned a study with more than 4000 churches and uncovered some incredible data that we will bring out in this webinar. Phil will talk about what he has learned through both his experience and through this unique study. You won’t want to miss it. We will be giving away loads of free stuff as well! You can sign up at www.thegivingchurch.com/red and you can grab a FREE PDF “5 Ways to Grow Your Church’s Giving,” while you are there.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
7 Facts About Church Growth That Will Make You Think Twice
7 Startling Facts: An Up Close Look at Church Attendance in America
Church Growth Flywheel master class
Gallop Survey: Sermon Content Is What Appeals Most to Churchgoers
Key insights from the episode:
It’s the practical things that hold churches back from growth, not theology. – Rich Birch
Executive pastors and those leading from the second or third chair live at the intersection of vision and execution. – Rich Birch
The way fast-growing churches think is not just to get first-time people in the door, but how do we build a community that ultimately moves people into a growing relationship with Jesus. – Rich Birch
Churches that are growing are benchmarking against the wrong thing: don’t benchmark against yourselves, benchmark against the growth of your community. – Rich Birch
Only 6% of churches in the country are growing faster than the community they are in. – Rich Birch
Our church attendance is in decline. If those trends continue, the actual church attendance in 2050 will be half of what it was in 1990 while at the same time, the population will double. – Rich Birch
No growth and staying small are not OK, if you remain where you are you will lose ground. – Rich Birch
The sweet spot is growth just over the growth of the community. – Rich Birch
Online giving presents a new challenge of a “set it and forget it” mentality. – Rich Birch
The healthy and ideal way to grow that is reasonable and sustainable is to grow 10% a year. – Rich Birch
The local church is the only organization that exists for people who are not here yet, every other business exists for its members. – Rich Birch
Fast-growing churches equip their members with all kinds of resources to help them invite their friends. – Rich Birch
70% of why people come to a church is because of the teaching. – Rich Birch
People will talk to their friends about what they are hearing at church if they think it will make a difference in their lives. – Rich Birch
Invitability: It’s not about you, it’s about your friends. – Rich Birch
People like to be a part of something that makes a difference. – Rich Birch
Rich’s Challenge of the Week: Practice inconvenient hospitality this week.
Lead yourself (and your church) to become greater followers of Jesus. Red Letter Challenge
For so many Christians, the discipleship process isn’t very clear.
They know they need to go to church, pray, not sin, and maybe attend a small group. While these are great things, they don’t outline a clear path leading people to live more like Jesus.
We’d love to introduce you to the 40-Day Red Letter Challenge.
When you and your church take the challenge, you’ll have a clear 40-day discipleship path that will help you master five key areas of discipleship.
You can learn more about the challenge here!
Omaha is a slice of heaven. – Rich
McDonald’s has the best poutine in Canada. – Rich
Petting zoos (including turtles) can grow your church. – Rich
I don’t want to build a better mousetrap to catch a bunch of church followers. – Rich
I can watch church now with my egg sandwich and a mimosa. – Chris
Those that eat poutine have a three year longer expectancy. – Zach
If it wasn’t for Canadians we would be pulling our shirts and jackets off because we couldn’t fasten them. – Chris
Watch the entire season for free:We’ll be uploading every episode of season one of The Red Letter Disciple on our YouTube Channel. If you aren’t subscribed already, you can do so here!
The post 010: Rich Birch on The Number One Factor to Grow Your Church appeared first on Red Letter Living.
July 11, 2022
009: Josh Dotzler on Raising his Kids in the Inner City
Josh Dotzler on Racism, How He Went from a Top Starter for Creighton Basketball to Inner City Pastor, and Why He Describes His Obedience to God as “Kicking and Screaming.”
On August 11th, I’ll be hosting a FREE webinar called “Fund Your Vision: Don’t Let Money Limit Your Ministry” with Phil Ling from the Giving Church. The Giving Church has helped more than a thousand churches raise more than a billion dollars. In addition, they commissioned a study with more than 4000 churches and uncovered some incredible data that will help grow your church’s giving. Phil will talk about what he has learned through both his experience and through this unique study. You won’t want to miss it. We will be giving away loads of free stuff as well! You can sign up at www.thegivingchurch.com/red and you can grab a FREE PDF “5 Ways to Grow Your Church’s Giving,” while you are there.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Letters from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
Church in Crisis by Josh Dotzler
Key insights from the episode:
I had a coach tell me that you need to be with as many girls as possible until you are 30, then you decide who you want to be with. But all these coaches didn’t have great marriages. Looking back, marriage was our first act of obedience to God. Obedience was what God constantly called us to; we have been obedient, kicking, and screaming. – Josh Dotzler
Let’s embrace the fact that when we are in this world, we are not always going to have an easy life.– Zach Zehnder
We partnered with the police to establish over 700 neighborhoods that could potentially be revitalized. – Josh Dotzler
You not only talked the talk, but you also walked the walk. – Chris Johnson
In inner-city communities, anyone who is successful moves out. They don’t stay. Abide means to stay and dwell. It’s the power of presence. Something happens when you live in and abide in the neighborhoods. – Josh Dotzler
It’s estimated crime is down 70-75% wherever we have a presence because of the intentionality of those families living in that community. – Josh Dotzler
Sundays are the greatest picture of our individual preferences. – Josh Dotzler
It wasn’t until my dad became a minority living in a predominately black community that he could start understanding what it was like for his wife to be black in a predominantly white culture. – Josh Dotzler
One of the things the black community needs the most is white advocates. – Josh Dotzler
The church must be more holistic even in our understanding of trying to be the solution to racial reconciliation. – Josh Dotzler
Covid highlighted the crisis of the church. I heard more about compassion fatigue than ever during COVID. I’ve never heard a pastor talk about tithing fatigue or attendance fatigue, but compassion fatigue. I don’t think we’ve conditioned our congregations to allow compassion to be a consistent expression of who we are. – Josh Dotzler
Red letters cause us to cross red lines. I believe as we get into those red letters, it compels us to eliminate red lines and leads to a revolution. – Josh Dotzler
Josh Dotzler’s Challenge of the Week: Get in the game, small steps. Find areas of red lines in your city this week and go there and be present. (be a customer, pray, serve, get involved, volunteer, educate yourself, etc.)
Lead yourself (and your church) to find freedom in forgiveness. Forgiving Challenge
As Josh was saying, reconciliation is of utmost importance. But how can we reconcile when we are each broken. What would it look like to truly be free?
We’d love to help you and your church discover what freedom in forgiveness feels like by exploring the powerful forgiveness that Jesus offers to each and every one of us.
We’d love to introduce you to the 40-Day Forgiving Challenge.
The Forgiving Challenge takes you on a life-changing journey to experience the gift of God’s grace so that you can share it with others. It also helps you identify and walk through the five phases leading to freedom.
You can learn more about the challenge here!
Some not-so-key insights:I’ve been telling people I was 6’0 but recently, at the doctor, I measured 5’11”. – Josh Dotzler
Josh’s favorite snack is Oreos.
Josh has never called stolen candy from his kid’s Halloween basket a “Dad candy tax.”
Josh sends texts in all caps 5% of the time.
Josh has a preferred mug for coffee.
Josh has negotiated for free parking at an event.
Josh is 63% a middle-aged dad.
Watch the entire season for free:We’ll be uploading every episode of season one of The Red Letter Disciple on our YouTube Channel. If you aren’t subscribed already, you can do so here!
The post 009: Josh Dotzler on Raising his Kids in the Inner City appeared first on Red Letter Living.
July 4, 2022
008: Pastor Rusty George Gets Practical about Being Simple
Rusty is all about simple. But simple doesn’t mean shallow. After a devastating staff suicide rocked his church, Rusty discusses how his church kept their focus in the midst of this tragedy, and how we can be of help today to those having suicidal thoughts. He also helps the listeners understand that discipleship is about transformation, not just information.
Don’t let obstacles stop you. One of my favorite things in the world is when we can take the obstacles of the enemy that were meant to destroy us and flip them for the glory of God. Phil Ling and his team at the Giving Church can help. If you need help in terms of plowing through giving obstacles, if you need coaching, consulting, or even experts in running capital campaigns, get connected with them. But first, enjoy a FREE PDF for how to grow your church’s giving today! Go over to www.thegivingchurch.com/red.
Resources mentioned in the episode: Key insights from the episode:
The wrong assumption was that if we give people more information, then transformation will happen. Some of the most knowledgeable people aren’t even Christians. – Rusty George
Discipleship is like golf. Hearing the word of God is a backswing, but doing the word of God is the follow-through. – Rusty George
For many of us, the most opportune time we get to behave like Jesus is in the parking lot of the church. – Rusty George
Suicide never makes things better. You are not a burden. The wake of devastation you will leave behind would be far greater than any burden you feel like you are right now. – Rusty George
If suicide happens in a church family, everyone wants someone to blame. The quicker you can shift the blame from who to blame to how can we help, the better you’ll be. – Rusty George
I’m not going to waste an opportunity to tell my story because it can help someone else out. – Rusty George
It’s assumed that all church leaders have it figured out when in fact, we are all struggling. – Rusty George
The lies from the enemies around suicide: 1) they’ll be better off without you, 2) no one will miss you, 3) you’re insignificant, or 4) don’t you want to be out of the pain? – Rusty George
Rusty’s Challenge of the Week: Write down what you pray for.
Lead yourself (and your church) to be more like Jesus. Red Letter Challenge
For so many Christians, the discipleship process isn’t very clear.
They know they need to go to church, pray, not sin, and maybe attend a small group. While these are great things, they don’t outline a clear path leading people to live more like Jesus.
We’d love to introduce you to the 40-Day Red Letter Challenge.
When you and your church take the challenge, you’ll have a clear 40-day discipleship path that will help you master five key areas of discipleship.
You can learn more about the challenge here!
No one chooses to be a Royals fan, you’re predestined. – Rusty George
Is golf the most boring sport to watch? – Chris Johnson
Soccer is just keep-away for an undisclosed amount of time. – Rusty George
The only time we use redemption is when we go to Chuck E Cheese and Dave and Busters. – Chris Johnson
Watch the entire season for free:
We’ll be uploading every episode of season one of The Red Letter Disciple on our YouTube Channel. If you aren’t subscribed already, you can do so here!
The post 008: Pastor Rusty George Gets Practical about Being Simple appeared first on Red Letter Living.
June 27, 2022
007: Kadi Cole on What Women Are Never Asked in the Church
In today’s episode, Kadi Cole talks about the difference between leadership and discipleship, and specifically how to develop female leaders. She explains why the best discipleship happens when people are close to the leader and what that means for the church. And, as a self-proclaimed lover of potlucks, she gives us her breakdown of the best and worst foods to bring to a potluck.
Now could be the perfect time to launch a capital campaign. Go with a kingdom-minded, Christ-centered team that has proven results. That’s our friends from The Giving Church. They’ve helped more than 1000 churches raise more than a billion dollars. Crazy! Go on over to www.thegivingchurch.com/red and download a FREE PDF for how to grow your church’s giving today!
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach Gardens
Key insights from the episode:
For most of us, we interconnect leadership and discipleship, but they are two different things.
Leadership sits on top of discipleship. – Kadi Cole
In discipleship, we are all equal. However, leadership has qualifications. You can be removed from leadership, you cannot be removed from discipleship. – Kadi Cole
Most people won’t serve in full-time ministry roles or pastors, and we do our congregation a disservice when we don’t allow them to grow as disciples in their own spaces. – Zach Zehnder
It is almost universally the experience of women who have leadership gifts that they are not often asked into formal leadership roles in the church to find more organic influential ways outside the church. – Kadi Cole
The higher calling that Scripture talks about is not your career path but to follow Jesus with your whole life. – Kadi Cole
Women’s role in leadership in the church is not a theological issue; it’s a leadership issue. – Kadi Cole
You have to say it. Godly women will assume they are not welcome in leadership unless you say it. What men leaders can do is articulate where they want women to serve at church. – Kadi Cole
We need to systematize how we develop leaders so that organic leadership can happen. – Kadi Cole
Small church accountability and familiarity are the foundation that allows you to grow exponentially. – Kadi Cole
God’s not looking for success; he’s looking for faithfulness. – Kadi Cole
The further away a new believer is from a mature leader, the harder discipleship is. – Kadi Cole
There are seasons for church, and God will send you the people you need in certain seasons. – Zach Zehnder
Mature believers need more accountability and more oversight, not less. – Kadi Cole
One of the ways you can tell God’s timing is by who he sends you. – Kadi Cole
Kadi Cole’s challenge for the week: Find freedom and flexibility in the way in which you connect with God.
Lead yourself (and your church) to be more like Jesus. Red Letter Challenge
For so many Christians, the discipleship process isn’t very clear.
They know they need to go to church, pray, not sin, and maybe attend a small group. While these are great things, they don’t outline a clear path leading people to live more like Jesus.
We’d love to introduce you to the 40-Day Red Letter Challenge.
When you and your church take the challenge, you’ll have a clear 40-day discipleship path that will help you master five key areas of discipleship.
You can learn more about the challenge here!
Between the two of you, you have the whole Bible covered. – Kadi Cole
Kadi declares Chris the winner of a controversial Scrabble game. Kadi’s favorite letter in Scrabble is Q. – Kadi Cole
Kadi’s starting word for Wordle is ‘earth.’ – Kadi Cole
You went from controlling it all yourself to delegating, it’s not easy to multiply yourself. – Kadi Cole
The best things to bring to potlucks are Kraft Mac and Cheese, and Rice Krispy treats. – Kadi Cole
Zach padlocks his fridge and refrigerator from his kids.
Do I dumpster dive? Sure. – Chris Johnson
Watch the entire season for free:We’ll be uploading every episode of season one of The Red Letter Disciple on our YouTube Channel. If you aren’t subscribed already, you can do so here!
The post 007: Kadi Cole on What Women Are Never Asked in the Church appeared first on Red Letter Living.
June 23, 2022
Does God Want You To Be Happy? Busting 5 Myths
I asked this question to my Facebook friends, and following this question, an onslaught of answers came:
Some straight-up said, “no.”Even amongst those that said “yes,” 80%+ tried to qualify it. Quite a few didn’t answer and asked for a definition, which I didn’t provide yet.Some claimed that joy or contentment is better. Others said holiness is a worthy pursuit, not happiness.A few commented that it shouldn’t be the end goal or the most important thing.Several mentioned that happiness is fleeting and can only truly be experienced in eternity.
Interesting answers…
People have a complicated relationship with the word happy. We all want to be happy, but many may feel guilty about this desire. We love the words in the Declaration of Independence, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, but some may think it’s selfish to pursue happiness. But is it? Or is it okay to have this desire? In all of the brokenness in this world, is happiness a worthy pursuit or a quest that we should flesh out further? Or is this just a superficial and unspiritual longing that needs to be cut from our lives?
Only one of the 100+ comments I received back answered it the exact way I would have. And it had one word, three letters, and nothing behind it. So the answer they provided, which I would give, is “Yes.”
So, today, my goal in this blog is that you would be able to answer the question, “Does God want you to be happy?” I want you to be able to say “Yes” without immediately feeling the need to qualify that answer with anything else. Now, I will give you 4000 more words to help you qualify that claim. But that’s my goal.
It could be that you and I are walking around with different definitions of happiness. And we’ll get to that later. Or, perhaps it could also be that in light of all of the brokenness and suffering in this world, maybe you feel guilty saying “yes” to this question. One thing I do not want to do in this blog is to trivialize any of the difficult, painful, sorrowful moments in this world. We’ll get to that later too.
But, first, if we are unable to say “yes” to this question, the following two things could be at stake:
You could be living with a flawed or incomplete view of who our God is.I also believe that our witness is at stake.
If we genuinely walk around believing and claiming that God doesn’t want us to be happy, what are we telling those who don’t know Christ? That He wants them sad? Are we sure that’s being an effective witness?
So, there is a lot at stake with this question today. But, before I begin, I want to give major credit to Randy Alcorn and his little book Does God Want Us to Be Happy? It’s a great resource if you desire to go deeper.
The first myth I want to bust is this:
1. God doesn’t care if you are happy.
So, forget everything you’ve heard about happiness before. Don’t even worry about me defining this word yet. Instead, let’s approach the question like it’s the first time we’ve heard it, “Does God want you to be happy?”
If God doesn’t care about our happiness, then why, in every description of how He describes the finale, His kingdom fully restored, why does He include things like parties, streets of gold, mansions, and wedding feasts. What about any of that isn’t happy? In Revelation, why does it describe Jesus as creating this world for His good pleasure? Why, in the Sermon on the Mount, did Jesus choose the Greek word “Makarios,” which some translators turn into blessed, but the closest definition is actually the word “happy.”
Jesus, in His ground-breaking first sermon to introduce His kingdom into this world, starts it by saying, “Happy are the poor in spirit…happy are those who mourn…happy are those who hunger and thirst.” And that same word “Makarios” is used in 1 Timothy 1:11 to describe this God of ours. He’s the Makarios God. The happy God. Some translations say, “The Supremely Happy God.” If God is happy and we were created in His image, shouldn’t we be happy?
We were created in God’s image, and one of the words used even to describe our God is Father.
In preparation for this blog, I was asked, “So, Zach, do you want your kids to be happy?” So, I thought about it. “Do I want my kids to be happy? Do I want Nathan and Brady, my two sons, to be happy?” Yes, of course, I want my kids to be happy. What parent would not? It’d be cruel to not want that for my kids. Now, do I think I have a better understanding of happiness than my kids? Am I put here in this world to guide them, teach them, and steer them to what true happiness is? Of course. Absolutely.
It’s my job as their dad to teach them where true happiness is found. And to teach them what ultimately blocks our happiness. It’s our sin. It’s rejecting Him and everything He desperately wants to give us. If God didn’t care about our happiness, He wouldn’t have created us in the first place. But He did. And if you need any more proof of this, Jesus had an out when we failed Him. He gave us a chance to be happy, and we failed Him, which could have been the end. But God is so committed to our happiness that when we failed Him, He came on a quest to rescue us and give us forgiveness so that one day we will end up in a place where there is eternal happiness.
Isaiah 52:7 says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” The message of Jesus is happy…the good news of happiness. Martin Luther said, “Sin is pure unhappiness, forgiveness pure happiness.” Any message that God doesn’t want us to be happy discounts the “good news of happiness” that Jesus came on a rescue quest to give us.
Would you want to serve, follow, and give your life to a God who wouldn’t want you to be happy? I wouldn’t.
God wants you to be happy.
And just so you know, I’m not taking this out of thin air…listen to these stalwarts of the faith that have gone before me:
A.W. Tozer wrote, “The people of God ought to be the happiest people in all the wide world. People should be coming to us constantly and asking the source of our joy and delight.”
Charles Spurgeon says, “Those who are ‘beloved of the Lord’ must be the most happy and most joyful people to be found anywhere upon the face of the earth.”
2. Joy is better than happiness.
Randy Alcorn mentions in his book the example from the movie “The Princess Bride?” In this movie, the Sicilian mastermind Vizzini repeatedly uses the word “inconceivable” to describe event after event after event that actually happens. To which someone replied to him, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” I think the same could be true with the words “joy” and “happiness.”
So many Christians believe that God wants us to be joyful, not happy. So many believe that joy and happiness are different from one another. They might claim that happiness is based on circumstances, and joy is based on God. Joy is a richer fruit of God. For whatever reason, we are conditioned to think that one is good and the other is not. And I don’t understand it. Joy and happiness don’t compete. They work together. They are in the same family.
So I guess it may be helpful to define happiness at this point.
Here’s the definition of happiness from Merriam-Webster…our go-to dictionary: a state of well-being and contentment: joy.
Here’s the definition of joy from Merriam-Webster: the emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune, or a state of happiness.
But what about the Bible? What does the Bible say? We have these things called lexicons which are like dictionaries. Lexicons help translate Greek and Hebrew words for us. They give us the proper and cultural definitions. Amazingly, the more you look at the two words, you’ll see joyful, glad, merry, delighted, pleasure, and happiness all lumped together even back into the Hebrew and Greek lexicons.
John Piper says, “If you have nice little categories for ‘joy is what Christians have’ and ‘happiness is what the world has,’ you can scrap those when you go to the Bible, because the Bible is indiscriminate in its uses of the language of happiness and joy and contentment and satisfaction.”
Randy Alcorn says, “The notion that we can have joy without happiness has perverted the meaning of both words and helped spawn a culture of Christian curmudgeons. Feeling superior, they may affirm that they have the joy of Jesus deep in their hearts, but apparently, it’s so deep it never makes its way to their faces.” Ouch, Randy!
Teaching Seminary students about preaching, the great Charles Spurgeon once said, “When you speak of heaven, let your face light up with a heavenly gleam. Let your eyes shine with reflected glory. And when you speak of hell–well, then your usual face will do.” That’s a little mean, Charlie!
Both joy and happiness have been hijacked, I think. Happiness has turned into this fleeting emotion that you should never have for some reason. And joy is the opposite–almost this somber, down in my heart, barely hanging on, but still got the joy inside of me kind of vibe. I don’t think that’s the full intent of either word.
Here’s the truth: no one word is big enough to describe how great this God is. That’s why we need them all. Joy, happiness, pleasure, delight, merriment, cheer, gladness. Use them all.
3. It’s wrong to desire to be happy.
Perhaps the most influential theologian in all of church history, Augustine says, “Every man, whatsoever his condition, desires to be happy.”
Happiness is the universal goal of mankind. French philosopher and theologian Blaise Pascal says, “All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man…”
So, either all of these mega-theologians are wrong, and we’ve passed down false doctrine, or the other option is they are right. What if God wired us for happiness? What if the same God who created all of this for His good pleasure, who made us in His image, has also put a desire in us to be happy?
John Piper says, “You can’t stop wanting to be happy. God has wired you to be happy. That’s not a sinful thing–that’s a good thing.” And then he would go on to quote C.S. Lewis, in his book The Weight of Glory, and you just have to hear this: On page 1, it says this,
“The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial in an end to itself. We are told to deny ourselves and take up our crosses, that we may follow Christ, and nearly every description that we find he gives us appeals to our desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly hope for it is a bad thing…“
Let’s stop there. Some of us feel that. Some of us fear that that’s a bad thing, and we are unsure. But then Lewis says, “if there lurks that thought in your mind, I submit this notion has crept in from the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith.”
Lewis claims that the desire to be happy is not evil, and those who say it’s a bad desire are being influenced by the Stoics, not the Bible. Then, he continues:
“Indeed, if we considered the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.”
What?! Have you ever heard anyone say that? “Zach Zehnder, your problem in the Christian life is not that your desires are too strong, but your desires are too weak?” Are you kidding me? This is C.S. Lewis. For years, many of us have felt I want to be happy so bad it must be problematic. It must be an evil desire. But C.S. is saying that’s not your problem. Your problem is that you are settling for way too little.
And he finishes it with this remarkable sentence that I’ve used before in some of my books: “We are half-hearted creatures fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
C.S. Lewis’s diagnosis of the problem in America is this, “We are all far too easily pleased.” Like children fooling around with mud pies in the slum, sitting in the gutter playing with dirty water, while a man is offering us a two-week holiday by the sea. And we say, “No thanks.”
Wanting to be happy isn’t the problem, but the problem is where we look for happiness.
John Calvin said, “While all men seek after happiness, scarcely one in a hundred looks for it from God.”
We look around, and we get far too easily pleased with stuff that looks good but is actually incomparable to this God that we worship.
It is not wrong to desire to be happy. However, it can be wrong where we find our happiness. Problems come when we look to any created thing as our ultimate source of happiness instead of the Creator of the created things.
Ultra-theologian Thomas Aquinas was once asked, what would satisfy our desire to be happy in this world? What would it take to feel satisfied? The answer he came up with was this: “Everything. We would have to experience everything and everybody and be experienced by everything and everybody to feel satisfied. Eat at every restaurant; travel to every country, every city, every exotic locale, experience every natural wonder; make love to every partner we could possibly desire; win every award, climb to the top of every field; own every item in the world; etc. We would have to experience it all to ever feel satisfied.”
It is just the same as it is not wrong to love, but what we choose to love can be wrong or how we choose to love. So don’t suppress your desire to be happy or feel guilty that you desire to be happy. We were all created this way.
I do not long for you or desire you to have selfish or superficial happiness. There is a “happiness” that this world seeks after that can feel right that will eventually leave us in a place of despair. Any ultimate happiness not found in God is a superficial kind of happiness. And too many of us have fallen for it.
French sociologist Jean Baudrillard has made the point that materialism has become the new, dominant system of meaning in the Western world. He argues that atheism hasn’t replaced cultural Christianity, shopping has. Our priorities have gotten out of whack, for sure.
But, here’s my point. Just because there is a wrong kind of happiness doesn’t mean it’s something we shouldn’t attain for. I like Randy Alcorn’s quote, “Is there selfish and superficial happiness? Sure. There’s also selfish and superficial love, peace, loyalty, and trust. But we don’t villainize these virtues just because they are sometimes misguided. Likewise, we shouldn’t throw out Christ-centered and God-honoring happiness with the bathwater of self-centered happiness.”
Let’s bust another myth…
4. I can’t be happy with all of the brokenness in this world.
If you are going through great suffering right now, the message of “be happy” or “God wants you happy” might feel disturbing right now. It might feel insensitive. This message, and far more critical, your picture of God, should never be construed as indifferent or uncaring to your suffering. While we can attain to happiness, the fact remains that we are still living in a broken world. And, we are moved to sorrow, often.
Isaiah 63:9 says this about our God: “In all their affliction, He was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”
This passage tells us that God moves toward the broken-hearted. If anyone knows suffering, it is our God. And in this world, you will experience suffering. The Bible mentions this over and over and over again. Our happiness will not exempt us from facing troubles in this world. Jesus says, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
In John 10:10b, Jesus tells us, “I have come that you may have life and life to the fullest.” But if there is a John 10:10b, that means there is a John 10:10a. Jesus claims that an adversary attempts to keep us from this abundant life. His name is Satan, and he tries to rob, kill, and destroy us, ultimately keeping us from this full, abundant, and happy life. Satan is a powerful opponent. He brings real suffering into this world. And he’s been having his way with our nation and world for too long.
The devil most often comes sneakily and attempts to take our eyes off of God. He will try to have us place our eyes on other things that God has created, even good things. And when we start treating those good things as God things and putting our ultimate happiness in anything other than our God, good or bad, that’s called idolatry. And it gives him a foothold. When we individually or collectively turn to work, sports, leisure, shipping, entertainment, or sex as our ultimate source of happiness, then happiness will elude us. These things are mud pies in God’s economy. And when we get dazzled by mud pies more than Jesus, we turn into this really confusing representation of who Jesus is. That’s why words non-believers use to describe us like judgmental, hypocritical, anti-homosexual, too political, out-of-touch, and boring are used for us. That makes me sad.
I stumbled across the latest data on happiness from the General Social Survey, a gold-standard poll tracking Americans’ attitudes since 1972. It’s shocking. Since the pandemic began, Americans’ happiness has cratered. For the first time since the survey started, more people say they’re not too happy than saying they’re very happy.
Happiness is at all-time lows. Younger generations are even more unhappy.
Burnout is at an all-time high. A McKinsey study found that 42% of women feel burnt out and 35% of men. That’s a strong term. Burnout. That’s not like I’m a little tired… that’s a form of exhaustion caused by feeling completely swamped.
CIGNA reports that 61% of Americans are lonely. Despite a world with more ways to “connect” than ever, disconnection reigns.
People are exhausted. People are unhappy. People are lonely.People are empty.People are anxious.People are at the end of their rope.All of this while our nation continues to thrive and prosper financially like never before. This is such clear proof that if we try to find our happiness in anything other than God, even good things, we will ultimately end up in a mess.
Emptiness, loneliness, worry, exhaustion, burnout, fear, anxiety, and worry are real, but they are never what God intended. They are weapons of the enemy. God hates these things. I’m not saying, and God is not saying, that you will never face them or that you are evil if you are experiencing these realities. They are real weapons the enemy throws.
Sometimes, these things naturally come in because of sin, idolatry, indifference, and apathy.
Other times, you could be seeking God with all of your heart, He could be the true source of your happiness, and you’ll still find those words around you, or maybe even inside of you. Why? Because the devil doesn’t stop working the closer you get to God. In fact, He’ll work even harder. Once you turn from a spectator into a participant when it comes to bringing God’s Kingdom, you’ll likely experience more trouble, suffering, and persecution. That’s why some of the first words Jesus reminds us of in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 include, “Happy are you who are poor in spirit, happy are you who mourn, happy are you who are persecuted.” In each of these, God then points to a reality that we can experience today but won’t fully realize until His kingdom comes. He points to how things ought to be.
Romans 8:18 says, “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving or us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
So, again, let me be clear. I’m not denying these things. I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m not saying you always have to force a smile on your face if you are going through hell on earth, but what I am saying is that happiness is a choice. We can still choose to be happy, we can choose to be thankful, and we can give a sacrifice of praise even in the worst of times.
As I was writing this blog, I was inspired by a woman from the United Kingdom named Helen Lemmel. She’s most known for a hymn called “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” It was written in 1918 and originally called “The Heavenly Vision.”
The more I looked into the context of how this song was written, I was just blown away. In 1918, two major worldwide disruptions were happening. First, World War I was still underway. Secondly, a major global pandemic, the Spanish Flu, struck the world. The same year this song was written, the Spanish Flu struck and killed between 50 and 100 million people, and the United Kingdom was one of the worst places.
Even more incredibly, while the world had its own issues, she also had deep personal losses. Her husband divorced her, and his main reason for doing so was because she was losing her sight and going blind. So during worldwide disruption and loss and feeling the weight of being alone and not physically being able to see anything, she writes this:
And turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
Wow! This woman is an incredible example of faith, showing us that the worst of this world can come after us, and yet still, we can keep our eyes on Jesus.
I find it amazing that the book in the Bible known for joy is the book of Philippians. It was written by the Apostle Paul, who at the time was being persecuted and was locked away in prison. Nevertheless, his example shows us that we can all have joy. We can have happiness, even in the worst circumstances. It’s not easy, but it is possible. And Paul learned this from Jesus, who some theologians describe as the happiest man to ever live.
Jesus is described in Isaiah 53:3 as a man of sorrows, but Psalm 45:7 describes him with an anointing of an oil of gladness over him. Crazy! The one that saw and experienced the worst that the world could throw at Him could be described as the “happiest man ever.” This shows us that it’s possible to have deep happiness amidst the brokenness and suffering.
5. I can’t be happy in the things of this world.
With all of the talk then of not choosing to be most happy by created things, only in the Creator, what do we make of the created things? What’s our relationship with them?
God places things, people, and places in our world for our enjoyment. So again, the slippery slope is nothing, and no one else should ever take the place of God in our life, but if we are serving God and keeping Him number one, He gives us these things in this world for our good pleasure.
Some might say, “Well, shouldn’t I seek the giver, not the gifts?” There’s truth behind it, but it’s also misleading. For instance, if I said to my wife, “Allison, I love you. Therefore, I will not love the meals you cook, the presents you give to me, or the vacation you blessed me with planning.” Would that make any sense? No! If I loved the meals, gifts, or vacation more, then clearly that’s disordered love, but by loving the things she gives or does for me, I am honoring her.
Seek the giver through the gift. Seek the giver in the gift.
John Calvin says, “In despising the gifts, we insult the Giver.”
The greatest gift He’s given to us is this: it’s the Good News of Happiness. That I, who once was lost, have now been found. That I, once who was blind, can now see. That I, who once was unholy, have now through Christ been made holy. And while the Gospel of Happiness in its purest sense can be focused on Christ and the cross, it is the continued Gospel that I now get the chance to follow Jesus. I get to serve this God for the rest of my life. So, when I receive His grace, I can be confident that eternal happiness in all of its glory will be mine one day. But that now, even now, I can have a full and abundant life. As I continue to pursue, follow, and serve God, I can experience a deep level of happiness in this world. I can get glimpses and even play my part to give glimpses in this world of what one day all those who call upon the name of Jesus will fully realize!
About a month ago, we launched the first episode of The Red Letter Disciple podcast. It’s a significant accomplishment for my team and me. It was one of our top three annual goals. We worked really hard to do it. And so, to see the podcast go out and the marketing behind it, which we spent a lot of time on, I was supremely happy. So, I celebrated. I took my wife to a nice dinner. I had a nice pour of good bourbon, and I was happy. And that’s okay. I didn’t feel guilty one bit. And I shouldn’t.
We can get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of this world that we can forget in the grand scheme of things we are here to serve Jesus. His Kingdom is coming, and we play a role in it. And, after faithfully serving Him, even if it wasn’t perfect, it never is…not my podcast, I can still be happy knowing that I played my part. And it’s okay to celebrate. Jesus is coming back, and when He does, we’ll experience supreme happiness. And until He does come back, let’s remember this promise, and let’s be happy. So, this week, I’m giving you permission to be happy.
Do something that makes you happy.
Serve someone else. Accomplish something God put inside of you, or take a step toward it. Enjoy a great meal with friends.Date your spouse. Drink a glass of wine.Dance your heart away.Watch the sunrise or the sunset.Plan a vacation.Play golf.Buy a gift for someone you love.I’ll close with a quote that I remember ever since I was in college. I’ve thought about it for years, and I still do. It’s a quote big enough to think about my whole life. I first heard John Piper declare it to 50,000 college students in Atlanta: “God is most glorified when I am most satisfied in Him.”
God, may we be supremely happy and satisfied in you. All for your glory. Amen.
If you’ve read through this far, you made me pretty happy! Let me know how you’ll be happy this week. Blessings!
The post Does God Want You To Be Happy? Busting 5 Myths appeared first on Red Letter Living.
