Some of you very, very clever people out there noticed that “buts” is misspelled.
Others of you who are very, very, very clever already know why. Â For the rest of you very, very clever people, allow me to explain.
Starting in three weeks, [nlcf] is going to start a series called, “Show Us Your Buts.” Â Think of it like this. Â I have coversations with people all the time about issues regarding their walks with Jesus, what they allow God to guide and speak into, where they trust him, and where they don’t. Â In coffee shops, at 130 Jackson, before an [nlcf] gathering, after, at the gym, in my front yard, in stores. Â You get the idea. Â It comes up all the time. Â And I am certainly not the only one that has conversations like this.
Many times in those conversations the following phrase is either stated or implied. Â “I would be closer to God/ trust Jesus more… but this keeps me away / but this makes it tough / but I cannot figure this out.”
So, this is your chance to show us your but. Â I guess more technically it would be comment with your but, tell us your but, text us your but. Â But 🙂 those just sound too confusing. Â Hence, Show Us Your Buts.
So… it’s pretty simple. Â Comment back with what you and God stuggle with. Â What you don’t understand. Â What you would like to have covered. Â What confuses you. Â It might be a question of how to take something that is in the bible, it might be an experience you have had. Â Then we will navigate through the responses and pick ones to deal with. Â We will overall try to pick the ones that get the most votes, but we will see how it goes.
If you aren’t comfortable commenting back, then email or text me. Â You do not have to go to [nlcf] to comment in and vote! You don’t even have to follow Jesus. Â You just have to have a but. Â I will try to let everyone know if we pick your “but” and you can also feel free to follow the series on our website. Â Also, and I am very excited about this, we are going to try to make sure we have time to take questions during each gathering that deal with the issue we covered that day.
This has all the earmarks of something awesome. Â So, now the ball is in your court.
We all have our questions, our doubts, or concerns.
What’s yours?
said...
1If u hate that sin so bad, why not just make it go away from me? I know you can do it.
I have some good answers for that, but sometimes I’m still all “what the crap?” about it anyway. Sin sucks.
09/10/10 1:10 PM | Comment Link
Caroline said...
2I need God in my life. But why is it that others are doing just fine without Him? Shouldn’t there be something huge visibly missing from their lives. sometimes it’s easy to see that they haven’t accepted Jesus’ free gift and become reconciled to God, but sometimes it’s not. I feel like some people are happy, content, and even joyful but don’t think twice about the creator of the universe. My “But” isn’t about if it’s ok to live like that, my but is about why the need for God in their lives isn’t evident.
09/13/10 5:42 PM | Comment Link
Mark V said...
3Wow! Cutting edge confrontation to the hallowed halls of our human condition. The “buts” abound a shall forever be the domain of apathy, lethargy & basis immaturity in our relationship with Christ. Thank you for fresh discourse. Keep on breathing life to these dead bones. The Body needs AWAKENING !!
09/16/10 10:14 PM | Comment Link
Candice said...
4I want to be more bold for Christ, but what is the balance between bold and love in sticky situations? For example, the mosque near Ground Zero that you posted on recently. That was a great way to balance that out, but is there a way to apply that practice in other difficult circumstances?
09/17/10 7:21 AM | Comment Link
said...
5Mo – so true,eh? That issue is very near and dear to my heart as it was a subtheme that ran throughout “Should We Fire God?” I am getting a lot of people who deal with confusion about that very same issue. If we are honest, I would say we all spend time in the “what the crap” zone. Well put my friend!
Caroline – what a wonderful question to raise and knowing you, so honestly raised. The evident need to God in our lives is one that, just like you said, can be very clear at some points and not at all in others. From my time of searching for God I remember that even though my friends and my social network guided me away from thoughts of God, the quiet moments regularly brought me back. Be praying for your friends’ quiet moments and while this issue may not be one we handle in the series, you will likely notice it as an undercurrent in it.
Mark – apathy, lethargy and basic immaturity in our relationship with Christ. Well put my friend. While I would personally say it is more involved than that (allowing God to deal with our doubt and cynicism in a culture that is almost anchored in both) I would say that if we as Christ followers would really focus on our apathy, lethargy and basic immaturity, a lot of our issues would go away.
Candice – Very good question indeed. How to be bold for Christ without either becoming an extremist. How to live for Christ first AND live the way Christ did. In our world of mosque controversy and Qur’an burnings, how do we walk boldly, carefully, honestly and lovingly? A lot of people are asking about this, it very well might make it into the series. Nice post.
09/17/10 7:45 AM | Comment Link
Jordon said...
6One thing I would definitely like to hear more about is Christianity in the “postmodern” society. Living in a world of moral relativism where any claims to absolute truths are virtually considered intolerant (although it in of itself is contradictory).
To clarify, my “but” isn’t so much a “but” as much as it is about how to help identify such relativistic thoughts that I may have (so that I can be aware of them and address them), as well as those in others.
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Now for a more clear “but,” should spiritual gifts (like the many described in the bible) be expected if one is walking in step with God? And could the absence of (obvious) spiritual gifts be a sign of spiritual immaturity?
09/18/10 5:49 PM | Comment Link