apostle Paul

My Greatest Fear

Posted on by Patrick L. Mitchell

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It’s an ambitious title for a post. I know.

And once you read it, you may think me shallow or self-centered.

But this fear has haunted me for half of my 35 years on this terrestrial ball that hangs in mid-air as if held in place by some magical force.

My greatest fear?

      That I will do nothing to leave a mark on the world. 

  • I won’t write a book that changes the way people live their lives.
  • I won’t preach sermons that God uses to launch a movement.
  • I won’t shape a school in such a way that future generations are transformed for the better.
  • I won’t start something that lasts and serves as a legacy.

In other words, I’ll be…ordinary.

Attempting to stuff that fear back into its proper place, I found myself reading through the Acts of the Apostles once again–in addition to my regularly scheduled Bible reading > because I’m so awesome.

There’s one verse in particular that I have an on again off again sort of relationship with. When I read this verse, I go “That’s my life verse!” and want to get it tattooed on my person flesh. But prior to reading it again a few weeks back, I’d mostly forgotten about it. This reading was different as well because, for the first time in a long time, I’m not a pastor. And I had always read this verse through that one, narrow, particular lens of a pastor.

This is the apostle Paul’s posture toward life and legacy

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20.24, ESV)

For years I interchanged ministry and pastorate. That is, preaching and shepherding and leading in a local congregation. As if the only ministry I, or anyone, could receive from the Lord was a church ministry proper.

This, of course, caused great anxiety for me vocationally speaking because my identity was tied up in the title, which meant where I worked and what I did at a church was the sum of who I was at a given moment, not to mention what I’d be in the future!

Now the title is gone. I’m ordinary (I know this was always the case, but I’m searching and sharing my soul, so play along).

Yet, even though I’m not working on a church staff, Acts 20.24 still speaks. The Spirit asks, “What ministry, then, have you received?”

Answer. Look around. Where has the Lord placed you for such a time as this? What comes with where you are?

Husband. Father. Friend. Educator. Administrator.

All titles that are overflowing with responsibility and expectation.

Moreover, if God cannot be confined to a building or an occupation or our hearts, then He’s everywhere. And if God is everywhere, then there is no such thing as ordinary, because where we go, there God is. There, in his presence, the ordinary is sanctified, set apart, made holy.

Changing the diaper. Playing in the pool. Greeting the attendant at WalMart (or Target if you’re fancy).

Dallas Willard writes in The Divine Conspiracy of the ordinary being the well-kept secret of spiritual living. He calls it a receptacle of the divine. Which as best I can tell means that the ordinary spaces and situations of life become sacred when we acknowledge the presence of God in whom we live and move and have our very being. 

Isn’t this what Jesus did?

He worked an ordinary job in an ordinary town for a couple of decades before calling some ordinary guys to follow him and welcoming ordinary women to minister alongside him. His greatest spiritual teachings centered on ordinary items like bread, water, birds, grass, bushes, and fishing.

Jesus’ very incarnation puts this principle on display. The divine entered into the ordinary, and the world was changed forever.

A similar invitation is extended to us.

Acknowledge the presence of God in every moment. Welcome in the divine and watch as God takes ordinary to new heights.

Leaving a mark may mean some level of notoriety or fame. Not for most people. But, being fully present where you are and with whom you are? That will change your life. And it will change the lives of those around you in ways you will never know.

Two significant lies about significance, part 2

Posted on by Patrick L. Mitchell

Rembrandt-Wikipedia

Rembrandt’s “The Unconscious Patient (An Allegory of Smell)”

In part 1 I addressed lie #1 that Satan speaks regarding significance — You’re not important.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that whispered in my subconscious ear, but it’s more than I care to count. Lies are always combated by truth, though. And the truth of the matter is that you (and I) are a work of God and are loved by God. That, dear friend, is your identity.

And as I said in part 1, identity precedes responsibility in God’s economy.

The second lie has to do with responsibility.

Before getting to that lie, though, follow me through this wonderful story:

In 2016, a small, slightly damaged oil painting was drug out of a basement in New Jersey. The owners figured it would fetch several hundred benjamins (those are hundred dollar bills if you can’t track with my flyness) at auction because it looked oldish and had some character. Imagine their shock when someone told them they’d had a Rembrandt tucked away in their dingy basement in Jersey all these years.

The small painting, it turns out, was part of Rembrandt’s early series on the five senses. When I say early, he was about 18 when he painted the work pictured above. After being purchased for close to $1 million, it has been on display at the Getty Museum in California.

The real tragedy of that painting being left in an unseen corner is that the work couldn’t be enjoyed by others and the artist couldn’t receive credit for his work. 

On a far greater scale, how tragic is it that you and me, masterpieces of God, could live as though stuck in a gloomy basement or stuffy attic, neglecting to reflect the glory of our Creator and failing to be awe-inspiring displays of His genius and attention to detail…

This consideration leads us to the second lie.

LIE #2: What you do isn’t important.

Hot on the heels of attacking identity, Satan’s next move is to go after responsibility. In fact, I’m convinced that one of his primary tactics is to blur the lines in our minds and get us to confuse the two, so that I become what I do. Thus, what I’m doing (or not doing) becomes who I am (or who I am not).

It’s part of the reason one of the first questions guys ask one another is ‘what do you do for a living’. As if what you do tells me what I need to know about who you are. Only if you tell me you’re a ventriloquist, then I feel like I know all I need to know.

But no matter what someone does, the whispers come…

  • It isn’t significant enough.
  • It isn’t noteworthy enough.
  • It doesn’t make enough money.
  • It won’t make a lasting enough impact.

For the last decade, I have gone all in on the lie that I have to do something grand, something large-scale, something that people would talk about and perhaps even line up to see or experience.

It’s no surprise that over that same period I never had strong sense of my identity as a son of God. I was so wrapped up in doing things for God that I had never absorbed being loved by God.

Until you feel loved by God, you’ll feel like you have to perform at a certain, undefined and also unattainable level.

It turns out the significance of what we do isn’t wrapped up in what we do.

The Apostle Paul’s instructions to slaves in first century Colossae give us marching orders today

Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3.22-24, CSB)

These verses say nothing about what you do. But they say everything about how and why you do it.

Wholeheartedly. Not for the applause or approval of people. Work as unto the Lord for from Him you will receive your reward.

Bottom line? Your attitude and mine is what keeps what we do from being significant.

It’s not about going out and starting something new or building something bigger.

It’s about acknowledging that you are God’s handiwork and as such,  living faithfully so that you put His artistry and majesty on display for the world to see.

 

 

 

Two significant lies about significance, part 1

Posted on by Patrick L. Mitchell

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There are at least two lies Satan will whisper in your ear about your significance.

LIE #1: You’re not important.

There are 7 billion people in the world (give or take a few several handfuls of millions).

What makes you special? You aren’t significant, especially compared to that significant person over there.

Sometimes we’re able to shut down such thoughts…other times, we’re crushed. We follow the road most traveled. Destination, self-pity.

The answer to Lie #1 rests securely in your identity.

That you’ve been created in the image of God. You and every person you meet are image bearers of God. “We are God’s workmanship,” wrote the Apostle Paul to some folks in the 1st century struggling with identity.

Just like art curators and experts identify works of art based on certain characteristics or styles of an artist, you are identified as this remarkable work of God because you bear His image. You have the capacity to think and feel and love and imagine possibilities of what could be.

King David captures this beautifully in Psalm 139.13-14

For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.

I know. It should say “fearfully and wonderfully…” You start using fearfully in everyday conversation and I’ll change it.

For now, though, you are awe-inspiring, worthy of reverence, distinct, distinguished, set apart. Just how you felt after your last screw up, right?

Think about the fact that the Spirit of the living God inspired David to write that about you, of all people! You. You are remarkable and wondrous. A work of God.

But sometimes you don’t feel remarkable, do you?

Our failures have a way of reminding us how unremarkable we can be. It’s in those moments we feel this thing called SHAME.

SHAME tells its own lies: (Brené Brown gave a TED talk on this that went viral)

  • Shame says you didn’t just make a mistake. You are a mistake.
  • Shame says you didn’t just fail. You are your failure.

And in those moments when shame or guilt or fear or insecurity crowds in and starts telling you lies, that’s when you have to proclaim these gospel truths:

  • I am a work of God.
  • I am loved by God.

Until you are able to embrace the deep reality that you are loved by God simply for being, you will always struggle to feel significant because your identity is not secure. More than likely you will seek identity in what you do, a responsibility of some kind.

But in God’s economy, identity precedes responsibility.

It’s why God came to Abraham and established a relationship before sending Him out. It’s why God established a relationship with Moses and Israel b/f giving the law.

You have been created by God…You couldn’t be loved by God any more than you are in this very moment. Drink it in.

I’ll post Lie #2 soon enough, so check back. Better yet, subscribe and have each new post sent straight to your inbox.

Ever feel like you’re serving in a ministry of death?

Posted on by Patrick L. Mitchell

Death // Spirit

Condemnation // Righteousness 

Fading // Enduring

These are the contrasts employed by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:7-11. For the sake of context, please take it in

“Now if the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stones, came with glory, so that the Israelites were not able to look directly at Moses’ face because of the glory from his face — a fading glory —8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness overflows with even more glory. 10 In fact, what had been glorious is not glorious now by comparison because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was fading away was glorious, what endures will be even more glorious.”

— ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3:8-11‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

It’s a weird text, really. Paul is saying that the old laws (e.g., 10 commandments) were a ministry of death and condemnation and, ultimately, are fading. Makes you want to jump into Deuteronomy and read it all right now, doesn’t it?  

But when you compare the old law, now fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 5:17-18), with the law of the Spirit, now you’re talking about something different. It’s the law of life and peace (Romans 8:6). Life and peace or death and condemnation…tough choice. Yet we choose the latter so often.

This got me thinking about just how easy it is, given our various ministries contexts, we to feel, well, dead. Whether that ministry is on a church staff or in a Christian school or at a dentist’s office, unless it is being lived out though the Spirit at all times, it will feel like death, like condemnation, like a fading fad. 

See, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,” writes Paul later in 2 Corinthians 3:17. Freedom. Do you feel free–more free!–in your work because of Jesus? Because the Spirit of God dwells in you and leads you? 

If not, something’s off. If I work day in and day out and feel dead or condemned or like the work is petty, then I’m not living life in the Spirit. I’m living by my power, for the approval of others, or something lesser than the Almighty God. I’m certainly not living by the Spirit. 

If it’s really better for everyone that Jesus left us the Holy Spirit and ascended into heaven, then how about showing the world how it’s better? I think the world is calling our bluff, dear church. It’s our move. 

What would a life of freedom lived in and by the Spirit look like? How radically different would it be from the mostly mundane lives of death we’re living now? 

You can demolish or be demolished. Here’s how.

Posted on by Patrick L. Mitchell

One of the positives of being a dreamer is the possibility of what could be.

One of the negatives of being a dreamer is the possibility of what could be.

It’s one thing to dream about making something better or starting something fresh, but it’s another thing to try to live that out before it happens–if it’s going to happen at all–and to imagine that whatever you’re dreaming actually exists and is being enjoyed by others right now. That’s the part I have trouble with.

The imagined future, the possibilities, all the what ifs and so on, are all far better than the present. Result?

Discouragement, dissatisfaction, and discontentment with the present. Yep, all the d-words…

So I was expressing these feelings one day, and Lindsey reminded me that I need to take every thought captive.

OH NO SHE DIDN’T quote Bible words at me! She didn’t pay an exorbitant amount of money on a degree that she could’ve gotten for $900 in a little deal called Logos! Okay, she helped pay for it, but that paper on my wall has my name on it.

The apostle Paul writes about “taking every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5, HCSB).

EVERY THOUGHT. That’s just exhausting.

Paul precedes the what  with the why: “For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds…(verses 3-4).

Love that last part I underlined. Demolition. There’s nothing gentle or sweet about that.

Image result for demolition

A massive metal machine gently massaging rubble

I would easily say that my dreaming, and subsequent discontentment, has been a stronghold.

The lie of something better, grass that’s greener…water your own stinking grass.

I want to live into what Jim Elliot urged, “Wherever you are, be all there!” I want to demolish those strongholds by the power of the Spirit of Truth.

Jesus said today has its own troubles. Today has more than enough to keep you occupied. Stop worrying about tomorrow and your five-year plan. Just be obedient to Jesus today. And the next day. And repeat.

As thoughts arise, measure them against the truth of God’s Word.

  • Is this thought leading me closer to Christ?
  • Is it stirring affections for the Lord?
  • OR is it leading me into one of those d-words?
  • Ultimately, if I run with this thought and let it linger, will I end up in sin of some sort?

God be with you (and me) in taking EVERY thought captive to obey Christ today.

 

Pledging Allegiance In Word and Deed

Posted on by Patrick L. Mitchell

Pledge of AllegianceIf I asked you what makes someone a citizen of a particular country, you would most naturally, and correctly, answer, “It’s where they were born.” That’s the simplest answer.

Now of course we can move to another country and go through the requisite process to become a citizen.

But what are we to say of those men and women who are born in a country, possess citizenship, and then betray that country?

What about the Timothy McVeigh’s who pledge allegiance to country with hand over heart, serve in the military, and then park a truck filled with explosives in front of a government building and blow it to smithereens?

Most countries call such actions treason. Punishable by death. Which basically says, “You’re no citizen of this country.”

So beyond birthplace, pledges, and oaths, it seems that behavior is of utmost importance in the discussion of citizenship.

How you behave says more about your allegiances than birthplace, pledge, or oath.

Does that same line of reasoning apply to the spiritual realm? What of those who pray a prayer, confess faith, are baptized, but who behave no more like a citizen of heaven than the devil?

In Philippians 1:27-30, the apostle Paul makes the case that one’s behavior is indicative of his true citizenship. He commands those who call themselves citizens of the kingdom of God, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…” Our English translations don’t use the word citizens, but it’s there: “Only behave as citizens worthy of the gospel…”

Paul proceeds to list behaviors becoming of a citizen of heaven.

1. You stand firm (v.27)–like a soldier prepared for battle. The same word is used just prior in Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

If a soldier is prepared for the physical assaults of the enemy, shouldn’t a citizen of heaven be prepared for the assaults of hell? To push it further, isn’t it true that you know when and how you’re most likely to be attacked by the devil? A pet sin, private indulgence, proclivity towards a particular evil? You know it’s coming and yet you stand unprepared. That’s suicide.

Be prepared to stand firm against the specific attacks of the enemy.2.

2. You strive side by side (v.27)–like an athlete determined to be victorious. The word for strive is where we get our word athlete, so it makes sense to take advantage of the metaphor. In an age when there was no ‘tapping out’ in boxing or wrestling, he who lived won.

That’s why Paul takes this issue up elsewhere, such as 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Athletes discipline their bodies and train and diet and compete with utmost intensity. Why? For a perishable wreath. A bonus. An over-sized ring. A gold medal.

If an athlete will exercise such discipline for that which fades and is left behind when s/he dies, how crazy would it be for us to not train all the more for that which never fades?

We train together and run alongside one another, side by side. Paul says we do this “for the gospel,” but he isn’t saying we strive in order to attain the gospel. Rather, we strive ‘on behalf of’ the gospel mission and message. We run to the next person who needs to hear of Jesus. We discipline ourselves to flee from temptation. We shed sweat and blood in order to help rescue a teammate in need. Our citizenship drives our behaviors.

And,

3. You show courage (v.28)–like the outcome is known. Your opponents can’t shake you because you know that Jesus has overcome the world. When your opponents see that you aren’t flinching, it’s a sign to them of their destruction and your salvation, their defeat and your sweet victory.

Who are these opponents?

– A friend who encourages you to seek vengeance against the guy who wronged you.

– A boss who asks yo to cut corners in order to increase profit margins.

– A husband who asks you to view pornography or act out pornographic fantasies.

Be not afraid. For you’ve not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. Jesus has overcome your opponent in that moment. Your victory and your salvation are from God.

Lastly,

4. You suffer for the sake of Christ (v.29)–like Christ himself suffered. Suffering comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. But one things must be made clear.

Having the 10 Commandments taken off the courthouse walls is not suffering. Not being able to pray out loud at a designated time in school is not suffering.

Our brothers and sisters around the world who are being beheaded, bombed, and raped, they may speak a better word as to what constitutes suffering.

The strange thing about the way Paul says it here is that “you should not only believe in him,” which translates, “you won’t JUST believe…you’ll go over and above belief…you will also suffer.” It’s counted as a grace to suffer for Christ. Blessed are the persecuted.

While the most intense sufferings have yet to reach the US, we do suffer by way of disease, decay, and death. And how we suffer says much of our allegiances. Can we say with Paul, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain!”? Do we bear on our bodies the marks of Christ?

Are you standing, striving, showing courage, suffering? These are behaviors that mark a citizen of the kingdom of God. What does your behavior say of your allegiances?

A Plea on Behalf of Pastors

Posted on by Patrick L. Mitchell

I’ve met some–happy pastors that is. But if you spend enough time with enough pastors, you find that the bulk of them (us) are discouraged, depressed, or dreaming of some escape from the madness otherwise known as ministry.

Ministry’s tough. It’s especially tough because most people think they have a right to tell you how to do your job. I imagine it’s a lot like being President, without the personal helicopter. Everyone knows better than you–you just make an easy target.

I started preaching through the book of Philippians a couple of weeks ago and spent week 1 reveling over the ridiculous affection Paul had for these people. He was a happy pastor…at least with this crew.wve-white-flag-260

Depending on what source you check out, statistics show that pastors generally have a shelf life of 2-5 years. That’s not per church…that’s per career. By that standard I would have already been done and moved into another sector.

And I was close.

I was going to pursue teaching or modeling, but most likely teaching since “pasty and pudgy” isn’t a high-grossing category. But I was done. Yet here’s Paul, most likely writing from prison in Rome, brimming over with joy because of his relationship with the Philippian Christians.

So what’s the difference between Paul’s experience and that of so many pastors out there? Well let’s consider why Paul’s affections were raised so highly.

Philippians 1:3-5 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy (Okay we get it, Paul. You’re happy and joyful and sing-talking as you write this, but why?)…verse 5 because of your PARTNERSHIP in the gospel from the first day until now.

You catch that? The Philippians were partners in ministry. They didn’t just pay a pastor to do ministry; they joined alongside and took responsibility. They bore one another’s burdens. They served and gave and sacrificed and prayed.

When I preached this sermon I dared to draw a distinction between partners and parasites. It seemed harsh to me at first, but I felt the Spirit saying, do it. Plus, if I tell people the Spirit made me do it, how can they be mad at me? Win-Win.

Parasites take, consume, and contribute little to nothing to their host. In this case, the host is the church body. The parasites are people who do very little to help the church be the church. They may be faithful attenders, but as far as being contributors, not so much. They’ll point out when their preferences aren’t met and when someone else messes up.

I wonder if it’s such people who end up causing pastors to wave the white flag? Sure, there are other factors that contribute to pastors jumping ship, but it’s not like they go to other churches. They just leave ministry.

So let me encourage you, church member/attender, partner with your pastor(s) in ministry. Fulfill the commands of Hebrews 13:17 and “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with JOY and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

You don’t want a grumpy pastor; so don’t be grumpy, greedy people. Beyond that, if the love of God has been poured into your being, how are you showing that in your local church?