WildOx Blog

The Blog of John K. Baw - Gibraltar

God does NOT want to use you!

(Photo Credit: SantiMB)

Okay let me get this off my chest.  Please bear with me, fellow followers of the way.  Lay down your arms, put down your stones, and I shall speak this once.  I am feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the language in our Christian circles of God wanting to "use" you.  I mean, I guess it's OK up to a certain point, to let people know that God will display His Glory through normal messed-up people like you and me.  Now, the word "use" - that is what I am having a problem with.  You see, the imagery in the scriptures used to explain the intimacy between God and his people is the picture of a husband and his wife.  When we look at it that way, then the word "use" becomes soiled doesn't it?  I mean, if I were to say to my wife that I wanted to "use" her today, I would get some rolling-pin love on my bald noggin that's for sure.  If God is the Divine Lover pursuing people in a fierce Love, then the image of dancing with God may be more helpful than the image of Him using you.  

Yes, I like that.  God wants to dance with you, and through that divine romance, transform you and the world around you through love.  Bring it on Lord!

Raving against the know-it-all

I often get asked by people to explain what the vision is for my church.  In our western society we place a lot of capital on the vision, the strategy, the plan, the timetable, all complete with Gantt charts showing key milestones and accomplishments.  In my reading of scripture I am seeing something that goes against this grain of rational laid-out plans that attempts to show that we leaders and pastors have it all together.  To be seen as not having a detailed vision and plan is akin to being weak, lost, directionless and incompetent.  The modern leader needs to be a know-it-all.  The modern leader is full of cr@p.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8 emphasis mine) 

WOW!  The Father of the faith.... not knowing where he was going!  I can see it now, Abraham, that great man of God summoning his family/tribe and urging them to follow him from UR of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan:  "Follow me!!!  I have a mission!! I have a promise!!!! There is a land that is full of promise!!!!!!! Follow me!!!!"  ... only to be asked OK Abraham, where are we going?  What is the vision?"    "I HAVE NO IDEA!!!!"

No self-respecting pastor or leader would dare to go out and lead a tribe..... not knowing where he is going.

The language of the scriptures, and I suspect the culture of that day too, valued mystery, the embracing of the journey, and experience as a dance, over and above the results-oriented, quota-meeting culture of our western mindset.  I am learning to de-toxify myself of results, and I am learning to embrace mystery ..... not knowing where I am going, but learning to embrace the adventure and the mystery of dancing with the God who hides himself in a dark cloud.

Friday Pause for Reflection: The Easter Story - Hope

The following is a little meditation of the power of the Easter story. I delivered these little "Pauses" for reflection on Radio Gibraltar and many people have shared with me how they were really blessed by them. If you get this via email or RSS please visit the blog here in order to load the audio. I hope that you will be encouraged by this short message.

[audio:pfr-friday.mp3]

Thursday Pause for Reflection: The Easter Story - Living free of regrets

The following is a little meditation of the power of the Easter story. I delivered these little "Pauses" for reflection on Radio Gibraltar and many people have shared with me how they were really blessed by them. If you get this via email or RSS please visit the blog here in order to load the audio. I hope that you will be encouraged by this short message.

[audio:pfr-thursday.mp3]

Wednesday Pause for Reflection: The Easter Story - Living without baggage

The following is a little meditation of the power of the Easter story. I delivered these little "Pauses" for reflection on Radio Gibraltar and many people have shared with me how they were really blessed by them. If you get this via email or RSS please visit the blog here in order to load the audio. I hope that you will be encouraged by this short message.

[audio:pfr-wednesday.mp3]

Tuesday Pause for Reflection: The Easter Story - Challenges

The following is a little meditation of the power of the Easter story. I delivered these little "Pauses" for reflection on Radio Gibraltar and many people have shared with me how they were really blessed by them. If you get this via email or RSS please visit the blog here in order to load the audio. I hope that you will be encouraged by this short message.

[audio:pfr-tuesday.mp3]

Monday Pause for Reflection: The Easter Story - New Beginnings

The following is a little meditation of the power of the Easter story. I delivered these little "Pauses" for reflection in Radio Gibraltar and many people have shared with me how they were really blessed by them. If you get this via email or RSS please visit the blog here in order to load the audio. I hope that you will be encouraged by this short message.

[audio:pfr-monday.mp3]

Living on the edge

photo credit: Lukasz Dunikowski
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. - John 5:1-3
We seek ways of standardizing the Gospel, of making it mainstream and accessible to all. In typical marketing fashion we concentrate our best efforts in reaching our biggest target group in the most efficient manner. We also invest our greatest efforts in doing this and hope to maximize our returns in doing so. This thought gripped me: Whereas we take the Gospel mainstream, Jesus invested a great deal of His time, efforts and strengths on the margins. Whereas we would have been seeking out the milieu at the religious feast, Jesus as at the pool where the marginalized were. Maybe, in our efforts to maximize our results, we have overlooked the fact that there is a definite call to the margins in our preaching the Kingdom of God..... and that there is a special dispensation of grace way out there at the edge. Friend, where are you focusing your energies? Are you living on the edge?