Monday, July 23, 2012

The Ten Commandments of Encouragement

Someone asked the legitimate question, "where is the hope?"

It is a legitimate question. It is, in fact, THE question. Where there is no hope, there is no, uhg, hope indeed. When finances are funky, health is horrendous and joy is like a freshly cut jugular, bleeding like pouring rain, where do we turn, where do we go?

The Bible says that things are never really forfeit: "God brings death and God brings life, brings down to the grave and raises up. God brings poverty and God brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up. He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, restoring dignity and respect to their lives -- a place in the sun!"

It's Monday, and though the sun is shining, those of us on the half-filled side of things know that rain is just around the corner.

Yet...

He rekindles burned-out lives.

Isn't that the answer we're so desperately, desperately hoping for? HOPING for? Isn't that ironic?

Jesus came for a variety of reasons He can explain to you far better than I can. But in a land where hope was dying like a calf in the desert with only a few sprigs of grazing available and no water to speak of, there he came.

As part of the conclusion to a five-part series I've done to introduce myself and our ministry to the new churches I'm privilege to be a part of, I've written a Ten Commandments of encouragement (and hope).

Here tis ...

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT:

1.     When we sit down to do our to-do list each day, we will intentionally look for ways to commend effort. We will see that someone’s effort is more significant than results. If we’ve seen someone trying, we will begin to learn how to say, “I really appreciate what you’re trying to do here. We need commitment from everyone in this church; from youngest to oldest; from newest to everyone who has been here all their lives.”
2. We will build on strengths, but our weaknesses are significant because God works best when we present him our weaknesses. What gifts has God given to each of us? What can we do, what ideas can we have that no one else has? We will clothe our refrigerators with ideas for ministry, writing down very idea that pops into our heads, calling our pastor and encouraging him by letting him know what we’re thinking.
3. We will show our faith in people by understanding each of us has good genes, being a child of God and all. Therefore, we can do absolute miracles. Our pastor said he gives us permission to do them.
4. Mistakes will not be viewed as failures, but as strands of spaghetti. We will throw ideas for strands at the wall. If they stick, they’re done. If they slide down the spiritual wall, they’re not ready yet but they will be one day. Spaghetti types include all areas of mission in our community, such as perhaps a single moms Bible study, or a coordinator for a men’s prayer breakfast for the second Saturday each month. We’re boiling here, is it done?
5. By encouraging at every opportunity, we will take away the stigma of failure. Our failures will be celebrated once a quarter with a time of fellowship called “The effort dinner.”
6. We will encourage each other by pointing to those who have read the Bible from cover to cover. We will not put our names on projects. We will point out the theme of the Bible isn’t you will be blessed, but you will struggle before you win in the end. We will encourage everyone by pointing out we win in the end.

 7. We will encourage, stimulate and lead our people, but we will not try to push them. This is a spiritual marathon not an ethical sprint. We are spiritual Kenyans capable of running miles upon miles on empty with but one or two words of encouragment needed to fill 'er up.
8. We will encourage, but we will not stimulating competition because even winning does not always encourage. We are not in this to beat the Baptists. We are in this to beat the devil out of the devil. That’s our only competitor.  We are favored by three points at home, I'm told. We are members of the Luv Dat nation.

9. We will encourage because success is a by-product of encouragement not its aim. Anyone can be encouraged by success. We will encourage even when we're down because that's the hard part. Fun is the result of encouragement. Laughing is the result of encouragement. Singing is the result of encouragement. Dancing is a product of ants in our pants.

10. We will make disciples of Jesus Christ by encouraging others to seek the only answer to the human condition, which is stinky at best. We are the diaper-changers of humanity, with encouragement the Pampers. Making disciples is helping people develop the courage to be imperfect and not only not worrying about it but not even noticing.
11. We will encourage people to find out not only what they like to do in church, but find what they’re good at even if they don’t particularly like doing it. No one particularly likes loving their enemy, but we will encourage everyone to do so, even if (maybe especially if) the pastor is the one they don’t love easily.

12. We will give not give responsibility and significance only to
those already responsible and significant. We will encourage our people not only to not own a pew, but to move around to sit next to people they don't know, don't look like and/or don't understand easily. We want everyone to participate in worship, in evangelism, in mission-work because they are the same thing.  Therefore, we will constantly look to get our newest members involved in our oldest committees so that we can lead rather than gossip.

13. We will encourage everyone to remember that optimism is contagious. We all caught it at one point or another before we were inoculated. It is encouraging, therefore, that we have 13 commandments in the space for 10.

It's okay if you steal these for use in business. I encourage it.


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