Derwin L. Gray's Blog, page 3

Don’t Declaw the Lion

Before Hip Hop music became mega-profitable as a musical genre, it had a prophetic edge that informed the world of the injustices that were happening in urban communities around the world.

I remember the first time I heard Public Enemy, I was like “Do they live in my hood?” because they were talking about things I saw in my neighborhood.

As a teenager, and especially today, I don’t agree with everything the urban prophetic preached, nor am I recommending that you download Hip Hop music, I’m just saying that with the skill of poets they told the world what was happening in the urban context.

But, thanks to major record labels (contrary to what they thought in the late 70’s and 80’s), starting in the 90’s, Hip Hop music flooded the world, the demand for it went crazy, and it started making some serious money.

When this happened, the prophetic edge was lost as it was popularized and commercialized. Today’s secular Hip Hop music all has the same tired framework: strip clubs, yachts, sexual escapades, the degrading of women of as mere sexual objects, partying, and money.

No innovation. No creativity. Secular Hip Hop music has been declawed.

Instead of secular Hip Hop music being a lion prophetically informing the world of injustice, now it’s a weak little kitten.

HAVE WE DECLAWED THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH?

Similarly, pastors and Christ-followers, it appears that we have declawed the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

Jesus, the King of Kings, made some outrageous demands like:

If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? If anyone is ashamed of Me and My message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in His glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.   Luke 9:23-26 NLT

Perhaps, I’m wrong or being all “judgie” and stuff, but it seems like a lot of Christianity, and Christian preaching today, is more like self-help messages with a little bit of Jesus sprinkled on top like pixie dust. People feel good for a little while, then go on pursuing their dreams while God’s dream of “Do on earth as it is in heaven” is left to a few.

The Gospel I read is about a King, a Kingdom, and the King’s people. The King shares His mission with His people: spread My Kingdom throughout all the earth.

Check this out:

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”  Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world. 1 Peter 2:9-12 NLT

THE GOSPEL ROAR

The same mighty Lion of the Tribe of Judah who makes outrageous demands on humanity is the One who indwells His people (Galatians 2:20; Col. 1:27; Eph. 3:16-21) so they can carry out His outrageous demands by God the Holy Spirit’s sealing and filling work (Ephesians 1:13; 5:18; 5:22-24, 1 Cor. 12:27).

This is called outrageous grace. He called us by grace. He will empower us by grace. And He will KEEP us by grace. We just need to TRUST HIM (John 15:5-8).

Don’t declaw the Lion! Let’s preach the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and watch our people roar.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

You’re A Mess And You May Not Even Know It

Outside of Christ, most of us have no idea how messed up we really are.  However, when we encounter His glorious grace and abundant love, things become more clear.  Watch as Pastor Derwin explains.

Check out the rest of the sermon here –> http://bit.ly/1mGUQq5

Instead of Building Your Platform, Build Your Character

Pastor, words like “platform” and “influence” are important.

But if we aren’t careful, in our desire to build our platform and influence, we can end up building our EGO.

As leadership gurus Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges say, “EGO stands for ‘Edging God Out’.”

BUILD YOUR CHARACTER

Instead of building your platform, focus more on building your character.

According to the Apostle Paul, the qualifications to be an elder-pastor are about character, not gifting.

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 ESV

HOW DO YOU BUILD YOUR CHARACTER?

I want to share 3 practices (other than classical spiritual disciplines) that challenge and encourage my character development.

Practice the Presence of People:

Treat every person you come in contact with as though Jesus died for them.
Treat every person as if Jesus left heaven to rescue them.
Treat every person as if they are made in the image of God and really matter to Him.
This will keep you from treating people as though they are less than made in the image of God.

Practice Being a Servant:

People do not exist to serve you, you exist to serve them.
Look for ways to serve people besides preaching a sermon.
Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. Whose feet are we washing?
This will keep you humble and accessible.

Practice the Presence of Christ:

Abide in Christ. Revel in Christ. Enjoy Christ. Make much of Christ. Live in constant dependency on Christ.
This will keep you relying on Jesus as your source of power.

You build your character, and let God build your platform and influence.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

 

Complaining Is For the Weak

Are you tired of the lack of quality leadership that you see in this world?  People tend to talk about what they’d like to see happen in Washington or how they want things to change in the enterainment industry and yet, that’s where things tend to stop…with the talking.  At Transformation Church we beileve God is going to raise up people who are going to change the world and we believe it starts with prayer.  Watch as Pastor Derwin explains.

Check out the rest of the sermon here –> http://bit.ly/1iSF76B

 

Christ-less Christianity

I have a great concern for the Bride of Christ, Jesus’ Beloved Church.

My concern is not for brick and mortar.

But the people for which Jesus shed His precious, sin-removing, guilt-removing, shame-removing, life-giving blood.

WHAT’S MY CONCERN?

I’m concerned that much of the preaching and teaching, as well as the books being written, promote Christ-less Christianity.

It’s a perverted Christianity that moves people to focus more on themselves than on Jesus and His work on their behalf.

After 15 years of vocational ministry, I’ve noticed that most Christians are more concerned about what sins to avoid than worshiping Jesus. When we’re more concerned about what sins to avoid than worshiping Jesus, we end up sinning more because “the power of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:56).

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

In order to avoid a dead, Christ-less Christianity, we must rest in our union life with Jesus.

To be “in Christ” means that our lives are woven, by the Spirit’s sealing work, into the very life of Jesus (Romans 6:1-14).

Jesus becomes our life (Colossians 3:3-4). Instead of living for Jesus, we need to let Jesus live for us, in us, and through us.

Friends, stop trying to live the Christian life in your own power and, by faith, let Jesus live His live through you.

Let this Gospel reality of Christ soak deep in your heart:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me . And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20


For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory. So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me . Colossians 1:27-29 NLT

I have found Dr. Ken Boa’s book, Conformed to His Image, to be one of the best books on discipleship that I’ve ever read because every chapter permeates with understanding how our union life in Jesus empowers the spiritual disciplines.

It’s my prayer, and one of the reasons I’m passionate about training pastors and church planters. By God’s grace we put the Christ back into Christianity.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

 

Why Belonging Matters

We’re all created with a desire to belong, to be a part of something larger than ourselves.  We love to be a part of a  community…just watch the fans at a sporting event or a gaggle of girls on a playground. We long to belong but it’s important to understand why!  Watch as Pastor Derwin explains.

Check out the rest of the sermon here –> http://bit.ly/1quBNhX

 

Leadership Lessons From The San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs play beautiful basketball.

The entire Spurs organization, from ownership, executive management, scouts, coaching staff, and players, are in alignment to the organizations vision.

And no one is bigger than the vision. As a result, average players become great team players and the Spurs have become the model sports franchise in all the NBA.

BEAUTIFUL LEADERSHIP

The Church can have beautiful, ego-free leadership too:

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT

Check this video describing the Spurs beautiful basketball. May church leaders lead in such a way the Church express a beautiful life to the glory of God in Christ, for the sake of the world.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

What’s The Goal?

God’s goal is not to get us out of Hell…His goal is to get Heaven into us so that He can populate the earth with a people of His own. It’s through us, a missionary people, that God reaches others. Because we want to be on mission with God, we’re in the midst of building a new facility. Take a few moments to watch and learn more! 

Check out the rest of the sermon here –>http://bit.ly/1pdHAqE

 

Here’s How To Win By Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich

We all want to win.

Whether you are the United States Soccer team playing the World Cup, a PTA board member, a local church, or a multinational corporation, we all want to accomplish the vision of the organization.  That’s the win.

But how do we do it?

VISION

First, the organization must have a clear, compelling, and challenging vision that enhances the lives of those incarnating the vision.

STRATEGY

Second, the organization must have a crystal clear strategy. In order to be effective, people in the organization must know what to do and when to do what they are assigned to do.

ALIGNMENT

Third, everyone must be aligned to to the vision and strategy.  Organizational Alignment is when the senior leadership aligns vision, culture, strategy, goals, teams, and individuals. Alignment shapes and guides the organization’s ability to execute its vision.

UNSELFISHNESS 

Fourth, is unselfishness. Gregg Popovich, arguably the greatest coach in NBA history said this after the San Antonio Spurs won their 5th NBA Championship:

“No one is bigger than the team. If you can’t do things our way, you’re not getting time here, and we don’t care who you are.”

I hope this blogs helps you win.  May your “win” make the world a better place.

Team work makes the dream work!

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

A Profile Of A Royal Priest

Have you ever wondered what being a “royal priest” actually involves?  As God’s Royal Priest you have the sacred honor and task of bringing others to Christ. This is accomplished  by living a beautiful life, serving in the local church and in your sacred vocation (job) , and by sharing your story of grace. Take a few moments to watch Erik Davis as he tells a bit of his journey to becoming a royal priest.

Check out the rest of the sermon here –>http://bit.ly/1mz5ObO