Growing up I was often told to "make yourself useful". That may explain some of who I am today. I know this, I cannot abide feeling used, I am genetically programmed to be useful.
If for some reason I ever feel un-useful mode I will change things. Either I will be engaged or find a place to be engaged.
Inert I am NOT. That's why in nearly every company, every club, every group, every organization and every church I act with intentionality to be useful. Sometimes that manifests itself by me working with others, sometimes heading a program or project. Sometimes that manifests itself by me having a specific project with specific goals. I must be useful or I'll leave. Not a bystander Gene.
I don't attend ball games; basket, foot, base, soft or soccer. I am not a spectator in life. I don't go to many concerts. I do love Opera because there is much to be engaged in. I love life theater because I can be part of it.
Church that is oriented toward making me feel USED is soon ex-church. How does it manifest itself? I had a man in a church say once me, "I can handle Gene". I know I can be a handful. But that comment was the kiss of death for him. He never had another chance to "Handle" me again. I saw to it that whatever input I got from him was ignored or reversed. Unless he was smarter than the average bear he would have had to figure out that I was doing the opposite of his "Handling", then try to outmaneuver me. Not too likely.
Use me or lose me. I end up feeling used when I am expected to sit quietly in the pew every Sunday, follow the program, pay my tithe, be on some committee, and keep my mouth shut ("Handle" me). If Gene shows up, the rest comes (Mouth and all).
If you expect me to just "Be on the Roll" and not involved at a level that makes a difference I will be gone. I don't believe in church MEMBERSHIP for that reason. There is in membership an implied "Handling" that is only reserved for Jesus in my life.
In my reading of the Bible I don't see any indication that keeping pews warm was the function of the body of Christ as it built in the book of Acts. In fact the opposite is true. If someone says, "there aren't enough places in ministry for everyone" my response is, "Then everyone is saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, Speaks in Tongues, operates in the 9 gifts of the spirit, heals the sick, raises the dead, delivers the oppressed and in general is fully engaged in ministry". IF that's not the case, there's still plenty of places still in ministry. Our problem is too much ministry doesn't happen because people misleading are in the user mode. People warm pews because there are too few ministers willing to prepare the saints to do what they are called to do according to Ephesians 4. Get everyone on the same page you will have a powerhouse. Let a few do little and you have dead. In the human body when an organ or member no longer is able to be functional it atrophies and dies. If that happens to a couple key organs the whole body dies. I have a friend with MS. That's what's happening to him.
I refuse to be USED. There's a group I belong too where I have been placed on the shelf. I met with them last Thursday. I realized as a result of that meeting I am being used and not being useful. Shelved. Earth to space. If you have chosen to try to shelf me I'll crawl off. The lecture that serves no purpose is to tell someone they must first "Pay the Price or Clean toilets". I have come to the conclusion that those arguments are manipulative. It's a way of marginalizing people into areas of ungiftedness.
As window washers or toilet cleaners they are frustrated evangelists. They do a decent but maybe not exceptional job of toilet cleaning. The judgement about their evangelistic capability is rooted in their toilet cleaning capacity. Judging people by their ungifted performance.
People end up dying and going to hell because the gifted evangelist isn't put in a place of destiny and function according to their God given giftedness. ON THE SHELF.
Long ago I made the decision I would NOT be part of any group, company, or organization that was at it's core a user of people. I am just reaffirming.
Drug addicts are called users. I think there is a parallel.
4 comments:
what an ego
sure this may not apply to the specifics here but in general, sometimes doing things your own way without taking the time to involve others is not the best way to go. If you just fo it, you get a done project yes. But if you take the time to involve others, you end up with a group who feels pride and ownership. So yes, sometimes an ego that says "I can do it better" or "I can do it faster" is NOT the best way to go, and having the tolerance and patience to involve others is a better long term solution.
Yea, but you could wait forever for people to put their priorities in order; meanwhile, you've missed the one drowning right in front of you the whole time. If we own ministry, and God doesn't, is it really ministry? My Bible says no. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, little Johnny Brown is jumping up and down having a tantrum because he wants attention while Suzy withers away from lack of compassion. Blindness sucks. Spiritual blindness kills.
use me or lose me is pretty selfish on the surface or maybe selfserving maybe it cold be that god is calling you and becaise it not what you want you are missing what he wants
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