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People = carriers!

Oct 19

Posted by Jim Botts in Following Christ, Relationships | 5 Comments

swine-flu

With the spread of H1N1 (aka swine flu), lots of people are worried about catching diseases from others.  And they should worry–because people are carriers!

Everybody’s carrying something, not just physically, but spiritually too!  Scripture teaches that you can catch spiritually transmitted diseases from people.

“Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old ‘yeast’ by removing this wicked person from among you.” (1 Cor 5:6-7, NLT)

People can be contagious carriers without ever realizing it.  In fact, some of the most spiritually infected people have no clue that they are sick…or that they are harming others.

Here’s what to watch for in order to avoid spiritually transmitted diseases…

1.  An uncovered mouth ~ everyone knows that an uncovered mouth is the portal to serious sickness.  All too often, people open their mouths and spew division, suspicion, and negativity on you.  If you put up with it, it’ll make you sick.  When dealing with verbally infected Christians,  Scripture cautions us to keep our distance.

2.  Unwashed hands ~ infectious germs spread rapidly through unclean hands.  Some people never deal with their dirt, and thereby infect others with the junk they never dealt with.  If you get too close, their dirt will become yours.  When it comes to unrepentant Christians, Scripture says to quarantine those who WILL NOT come clean.

3.  Inconsiderate attitude ~ some people never think about how their sickness affects others.  These people bring their runny-nosed kids to school.  They sit by you all day, and later admit they had the flu all night long. Everyone gets sick, but not everyone cares about not spreading their sickness. When it comes to infected Christians, Scripture tells us to give them a dose of loving truth.

God doesn’t want us to live like germophobes, seeking to isolate ourselves in a bacteria-free world.  He wants us to care about and protect the health of His community.

As for me…I’m gonna cover my mouth, keep my hands clean, and be mindful of the affect I’m having on others.

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Read about how one person created a pandemic of spiritual sickness affecting a whole community here ~ read Joshua 7.

**Post your thoughts / comments below**

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It Takes Two…

Jul 8

Posted by Jim Botts in Leading Others | 1 Comment

…to have a relationship.

two way

This week I was reminded that genuine friendships are marked by mutuality (two people freely sharing a give-and-take life together).

Here’s how it all went down…

MONDAY ~ My good friend Roger Poteet asked about coming by to check my leaky hot water heater in my house.  Since my house is on the market, and he is a professional technician, he wanted to make sure the leaky tank didn’t create issues for us.

While I was at work Roger stopped by to work on the tank.  With one turn of  a wrench he turned my hallway turned into a waterway–not a little drip drip, but a full force river…in my hallway!  In less than 3 minutes my good friend Roger released 30 gallons of water into my hallway, warping my hardwood floors.

Imagine the look on my face when he met me at my front door to tell me about my the new water park he installed in my house.  Roger assured me that, together, we’d replace the tank and install the new lines–even if it took all night.

Here’s the tricky part…Roger promised his wife he’d have dinner with her (for the first time in weeks due to his busy work schedule).  Instead, he spent several hours at my house removing and installing a hot water heater.  Roger gave up an evening with his wife to bail me out (literally).

TUESDAY ~ I received a call from a friend saying, “Roger has been in a terrible car accident, his truck is totaled and he’s being taken to the hospital via ambulance right now!”  Since Roger is more than a friend, I dropped everything and raced to the hospital.

When I got to the hospital I met his wife Liz who was totally distraught (to say the least), and assured her that God is still good and in control.  The whole staff team from LifeChurch.tv SouthSide rallied around her to pray and sit with her.

Rather than wait in a waiting room, Liz and I waited together in the ambulance bay to catch Roger when he arrived.  As they wheeled him out of the ambulance we were relieved to see him in decent shape.  As he rolled by I looked over him and said, “We’re right here, you’re gonna be alright!”

As I went in to see my friend Roger in the ER, I prayed over him, encouraged him, and hung out with him there!

Here’s the punchline…1 year ago Roger asked me to be his mentor.  For one whole year we have travelled the two way street of relating together.  God has grown us both tremendously over the last year for the following reasons…

  • We travel the two way street of helping each other.
  • We travel the two way street of serving each other.
  • We travel the two way street of challenging each other.
  • We travel the two way street of praying with each other

Leadership looks like relationship!  Relationship looks like traveling the two way street of mutuality!  It turns out that it takes two to have a relationship!

What about you?   What do you think makes friendships genuine?  What does mutuality like in your relationships?  What do you think of one way relationships?

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A River Called Community ~

Jun 24

Posted by Jim Botts in Hearing God | No Comments

Every church worth it’s salt values community (the biblical practice of shared life together). And, every church faces the same challenge of how to get attenders out of “come-and-go-anonymity” and into “authentic community?”

Let’s reframe the question of “how can we get more people into community” in terms of “how do rivers get full?” The answer is…multiple streams.

stream

Flowing and vibrant rivers get full through multiple streams. It takes a combination of rainfall, small feeder streams, underground wells, and converging currents for a river to get full.

In the same way that no ONE single stream will fill a river, no ONE single stream will flood all of your people into community. Community is like a river that gets full through multiple streams.

Multiple Streams Into Community ~
1. Interest Groups ~ Whether it’s common interests, ages groups, life stage, or activities, affinity based groups are one very effective stream that flows people into community.
2. Reproducing Groups ~ Small groups that reproduce organically through Leader / Apprentice Leader multiplication are another great stream into community. New groups provide ground level opportunities for people to invite friends into a new community.
3. Discipleship Groups ~ Weekend message discuss groups, Bible book study groups, and discipleship study groups provide an inlet into community for those people who are hungry to learn and grow in knowledge.
4. Serving Groups ~ People generally want to do good for others. Groups that serve the local community and / or the needy within the church are awesome places to forge relationships by doing (and we all agree that relationships must be forged, not forced).
5. Connection Events ~ Any mid-sized gathering at your church can become a stream to connect the unconnected–if you utilize then well. From mission projects to movie nights (and anything in between) people can flow into community if your leaders and servers fish these ponds by inviting those they connect with to their community group.

Your church already has some of these streams flowing. But does your leadership strategy and vision casting connect them all as critical streams that different people need as inlets into the river called community?

If you’re asking the question, “how can we get more people into community?” (and I hope you are), then the answer sounds something like, “the same way that rivers get full…multiple streams!”

Connector to the Current,
Jim Botts
LifeChurch.tv

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