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Who is the Church for?

Aug 9

Posted by Jim Botts in Following Christ, Hearing God, Leading Others, The Jesus Mission | No Comments

One time a guy told me, “The church is Christians, so it must be for Christians.”  Is that a fact?  This past weekend at Neighborhood Church, I addressed this issue in a message about our church’s value of Mission.  In this message you’ll see the big picture of God’s redemption business, as well as examples of how He’s working in the Neighborhood Church Family.

Share this message with anyone who might be interested in doing God’s business!

To become better equipped for God’s redemption business…

1.  Get familiar with Lesslie Newbigin.  Download and read this free book of His missional leadership devotions – here

2.  Read Newbigin’s writings: A Walk Through the Bible, The Open Secret, then The Gospel in a Pluralist Society

3.  Let Newbigin’s macroscopic view of God and His mission free you from the theological reductions.

Sola Missio Dei,

Jim Botts


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Quit Being A Christian!

Jul 30

Posted by Jim Botts in Following Christ, Hearing God, The Jesus Mission | 1 Comment

Question: is it OK to quit being a Christian in the name of following Christ?

Recently, best selling novelist Anne Rice renounced being a Christian via her Facebook page.  She reasoned that she felt like an outsider to the Christian community for the past 10 years, and finally has decided to quit Christianity altogether (except for following Christ, that is).

So here’s what I would say to Anne Rice…

1.  We should all quit being Christians

I totally relate to her sense of feeling like an outsider to organized Christian religion.  I feel the same way (for very different reasons).  I resist applying the “Christian” label to myself, because the early church did not apply it to themselves, outsiders labeled them as “Christians” (see Acts 11:26).  We should all quit acting like Christians, and start living like loyal followers of Jesus.

2.  Jesus is “anti” on some issues

Rice stated her reasons for quitting Christianity as follows…

I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life.

Her reasoning incorrectly assumes that Jesus is not “anti” anything.  Jesus is unabashedly anti-religiosity, anti-greed, anti-sexual-immorality, and anti-human-opinion-over-God’s-Word!  Jesus is “anti” human centered opinions because He’s “pro” God’s intended design for humanity.

3.  Following Jesus has a divisive effect

There’s no way to follow Jesus, and avoid the divisiveness that Jesus brings.  I’m not talking about the divisiveness of personality (like harsh and judgmental Christians).  Nor am I talking about the divisiveness of personal immaturity and insecurity (like President Obama’s us/them, blame other people responses).

Jesus spoke of Himself in terms that could be considered divisive.  He referred to Himself as a Light that reveals people’s darkness (John 3:19-21).  He called Himself the Truth connects people to God (John 14:6).  Light divides the darkness, and truth separates falsehood.

4.  You cannot embrace Jesus and reject His people

If you want to follow Jesus, He will lead you into community with His people.  He commands you to love His followers, to remain connected to His followers, and to participate in His world mission together.

So, yeah!  Let’s totally quit being Christians.  Let’s follow Jesus.

The one who divides the darkness with His light.

Who replaces falsehood with His truth.

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Generational Theft…

Jun 18

Posted by Jim Botts in Hearing God, Relationships, The Jesus Mission | No Comments

Last weekend at Neighborhood Church, I talked about how God is the God of generations.

Check out this message and tell me your thoughts on how different generations can “come to the table” and become God’s generation.

Our Generation: Generation X (Generational Theft) from Neighborhood Church of Redding on Vimeo.

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The Jesus Mission…and you!

Mar 29

Posted by Jim Botts in Following Christ, Hearing God, Leading Others, The Jesus Mission | No Comments

The Jesus Mission: It’s Personal from Neighborhood Church of Redding on Vimeo.

For the last four weeks we’ve encouraged our church to post on the wall of our auditorium, the names of people they are praying will receive Christ at our church this Easter.  During our weekend services each of the last four weeks, we created a space for people to come up and pray for the people posted on the wall.  The message I gave was specifically designed to motivate our folks to take the next step and invite those they’ve been praying for, to come to church this Easter.

Here’s a picture of just one the walls with names posted (pay no attention to our facilities manager George, with the bag over his head).

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Evil is an opportunity…

Oct 23

Posted by Jim Botts in Leading Others, The Jesus Mission | 2 Comments

good_evil

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good,

to bring it about that many people should be kept alive,

as they are today” (Genesis 50:20, ESV).

Every leader will stare into “the mouth of a lion” called evil at some point.   It may be the evil of people’s sinful choices, the evil of un-Christlike attitudes, or the evil of a person spreading division in your ministry.

When facing evil, arm yourself with the truth that evil doesn’t have to have the last word.   Genesis 50:20 reminds us that evil can often be turned into good…if it’s placed under the leadership of Jesus.  But, therein lies the challenge…

FACT ~ most leaders prefer to avoid confronting evil.  TRUTH ~ evil is allowed by God to accomplish some good.

FACT ~ leaders often just want the evil to go away.  TRUTH ~ God wants the evil to be turned into good.

FACT ~ too many leaders see only the bad of evil.  TRUTH ~ God wants you to see the opportunity of evil.

Here are some things meant for evil that can be turned into good…

1.  Conflict turned into intimacy ~ When conflict rears its ugly head, Satan (the Accuser) gets ready to pounce on people.  Perhaps the reason most leaders run from conflict is because they can sense the real opportunity for evil.  But what about the real opportunity for good?

Matthew 18:15-17 details Jesus’ method of turning conflict into intimacy.  At every stage Jesus pushes people toward each other, to communicate the issues, and to involve leaders.  This process itself forges a genuine bond of intimacy!

2.  Division turned into unity ~ If you’re a leader, then chances are you’ve lost sleep over the divisive behaviors of those you’ve led.  When people undermine your leadership, cast aspersions against your character, and turn people against you…they are being duped into doing the Devil’s work for him ~ read 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

Although division is a work of the flesh, and is called sin in Scripture…it can be turned into good.  1 Corinthians 11:18-19 teaches that division provides an opportunity for authentic leaders to step up and shine.

3.  Sinfulness turned into forgiveness ~ Nothing reveals a leader’s true heart more than how they handle sin.  Jesus was tender toward repentant sinners, and tough toward religious hypocrites.  Sadly, many churches (and church leaders) have gotten this backward.  The cross of Jesus reminds us that God is at His best, when people are at their worst.

2 Corinthians 2:5-11 is a tender passage where the Apostle Paul urges the church to forgive and restore the repentant guy whose sin caused so much anguish in their church.  Sin can be turned into good when leaders push toward the goal of repentance and restoration, not rejection, of the sinner.

God is the God of great reversals.  Under His leadership sin is turned into redemption, sickness into healing, and evil into good.

Can you put a name to a specific form of evil emerging under your leadership?

What opportunity for good might God be seeking to accomplish?

What does Scripture say about that specific evil?  About God’s desired good?

What is your next step?

When will you take it?

Who needs to come alongside you?

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The Body Language of Leadership

Sep 16

Posted by Jim Botts in Leading Others, The Jesus Mission | No Comments

12198090531909861341man silhouette.svg.hiWhat image comes to mind when you hear the word “leader”?

For so many people, the word “leader” conjures up negative images of people who were in a leadership position over them, but never really brought the best out of them.

Most of us need image replacement therapy!

We need new images of what healthy Biblical leadership looks like!

If we look at Jesus, we’ll see the body language of a healthy leader…

An Ear ~ To Listen

Jesus asked 183 questions in the four Gospels.  Not because He lacked information, but because He valued interaction.  Jesus interacted with, and listened to, the people that He led.  Great leaders are great listeners, and great listeners ask great questions.

Don’t get me wrong, Jesus did not lead by popular vote!  He led people by earning people’s trust, and listening builds trust for leadership.

A Shoulder ~ To Lean On

Jesus compared His leadership to an ancient device used to lighten the load on an animal.  Healthy leaders do NOT dump on their people or unload on their followers.  Instead, like Jesus, they bear the burdens of those they lead!!!

A Hand ~ To Lift You

Jesus had dirty hands.  He reached down and lifted up people who stumbled and fell.  After Peter had denied Jesus three times, he gave up on his own leadership and went back to his old life of fishing.  Jesus met Him at that place, reached out and lifted him back up, restoring Peter’s life and leadership.   John 21:15-25 shows Jesus lifting up, NOT putting down, one of His fallen followers!

Sadly, all too often leaders punish those who fail them.  Unhealthy leaders retaliate by withholding good, shaming, or by failing to lift up and restore fallen followers.

An Eye ~ To Cast Vision

Jesus was the Master Vision-Caster.  He constantly painted a picture for His followers of God’s vision and perspective.   Healthy leaders lead with the Bible!  People need to see what God sees, understand what God is up to, and enter into what God is doing.  Just as a gold fish grows to the size of its bowl, followers grow into the size of the vision cast for them.  Jesus modeled how BIG vision develops BIG followers.

A Foot ~ To Move You

Honestly, what most of us need more than anything, is a swift kick in the pants from a trusted leader (in Christian love, of course).  Jesus often put His foot in the small of His followers backs and gave them a gentle nudge.  Jesus demonstrated that healthy leadership means nudging people out of complacency and into mission (Matthew 10:1-42).

A Heart ~ To Love You

Jesus loved His followers, and they knew it!  They knew it because He prayed over them, He patiently instructed them, He lovingly corrected them, and He always gave His time to them.  Healthy leaders love those they lead by giving them ~ time, attention, affirmation, direction, perspective, and prayer support.  If you’re being led well, you are being loved well, because leaders love those they lead.

I’m trying my best to allow Jesus to lead through me in this same way.  As a result, two times in the last 24 hours I’ve had people tell me, “this is the first time anyone has ever taken the time to lead me like this.”  I’ll never be a perfect leader, but I can be a healthy leader growing into Christ.

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