Buzz Words.
They are everywhere. You cannot escape them.
And they are always changing.
In today's world of social media, we see buzz words come and go so quickly, that many of us don't even know what the latest cool catch phrase is (For those of you who are still using words like, 'groovy, ' 'daddy-o,' or 'swell,' ya' might as well skip to the end of this post, because you'll REALLY be lost for a while.). Remember when phrases like OMG, LOL, and ROTFL were simply used for texting and not for everyday vernacular? Remember when the word "Extreme" was posted on everything from sports activities to bible devotionals? And who could forget a number of years ago, when the buzz word that saturated the landscape like oil in a soggy tater tot was, "Synergy"? Commercials, politicians, pastors, CEO's - everyone who was someone - was using this word to explain business, life, or whatever endeavor in which they were apart.Yes, the extreme synergy of buzzwords makes me just LOL.
And just for good measure, here's a few more that come to mind:
Loser.
Yada, yada, yada.
Whatever (which later became, 'whateves').
I pity the fool.
Climate Change.
Cool beans.
Come to Jesus moment.
Selfie.
Now, I am no linguist. I have never professionally or even personally studied the history of cultural rhetoric. I do believe, however, that buzz words can serve as a litmus test for the social and spiritual climate of a culture, because buzz words, simply put, can often reveal where our interests lie, or what the focus of our attitude may be. This also applies to the culture of the church. Now, just as I am no linguist, I am also no expert on the church at large. For instance, I have no idea what the buzz word is in the Singapore church, or what the trend is in the Ukrainian church. Heck, I cannot even tell you details about what's happening in the varying denominations in my own country. However, I have picked up on one particular buzz word in the American church that seems to cross denominational lines. I see it in Christian book stores, splattered across countless books. I hear it on Christian television, from hyper tel-evangelists, to subdued scholars alike. I hear it in coffee shops, sermons, lessons, and songs of worship all across the country.
The word?
Destiny.
It's seems to be everywhere in the church. You cannot escape it.
There is a growing desire in the church to fulfill who she is made to be. There is a wave of passion that is uniting many in the body of Christ to truly be salt and light, hope and love, like never before. We are awakening to the truth that God is interested in the details of our lives, and that He has not called clergy alone into ministry: he has called business men, teachers, politicians, and actors, to carry his kingdom into their sphere of influence.
It's an exciting message! It's a necessary message! It's an equipping message! But it's also one that, if we aren't careful, can be skewed by our American idea of success. Now, I fully believe that God has plans and purposes for each of his children. I believe that it is God who is breaking off the limitations in our callings and dreams. But we must be sure that what we call"destiny" isn't really just a holy colored picture of "the American Dream".
In America, we judge success by numbers. We have mega churches who serve mega coffee and offer mega lights and mega guitar licks. All of these things are mega awesome! But, if we put too much emphasis on "MEGA" as the deciding factor of "destiny," then we will skip by the beautiful truth that, not all are the ear, the eye, or the big toe, in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12). This truth is coupled with the lesson Jesus taught us, that to some, much is given, and to others, less is given (Matt. 25:14-30). We must not pass by the truth that just a cup of cold water given to a child is called great by our Master (Matt. 10:42), that just two or more gathered in His name will find Him there among them (Matt. 18:20), and that the greatest among us will be the slave of all (Matt. 20:27-28). Some WILL be called to mega ministry. But some, quite frankly, will not. We are all called to multiply whatever we've been given, but we must remember that numbers do not always equal success.
In America, we also judge success by a different kind of number: the bank account. It's alarming to me that many teach and believe that success and blessing can be measured by how much your bank account is increasing. Once again, let me clarify that I do believe the "blessing of the Lord makes one rich" (Prov. 10:22), but we must balance this truth, and look in the same book and see that His word also says, "those who desire to be rich fall into a snare" (1 Tim. 6:9). Can we look at the poorest believer in Africa, who barely has enough bread on their table, but who still loves the Lord, as someone who is not blessed? Can we look at those who are imprisoned and say they are not blessed by God? Can we shake our heads at the countless tiny churches that rarely grow, and say they are not successful? If so, then we must say every missionary who saw few converts was a failure. Every pastor who seeks Gods face and makes very little money is not blessed. We must even say that Paul himself had little success in ministry. After all, he went without food, without money, and without protection many times (Phil. 4:12, 2 Cor. 11:24-27). If we were to judge his 'success' or 'destiny' by our rose colored, American Dream glasses, then we would find a man who, at the end of his life, was left with very few friends and with church plants that were a wreck (2 Tim. 4:9-16).
So, what am I trying to say? Let's make sure that our definition of 'destiny' doesn't replace 'the will of God.' You see, the will of God will lead some to a lion's den. The will of God will lead some to poverty. The will of God will lead some to be beheaded, stoned, and crucified. Not because God himself is putting those things on us, but because the cost of and the opposition to discipleship is great indeed. These things are a far cry from what we call destiny. But for those, like Paul & Christ himself, who embrace the will of God to the point of death, they know that true destiny has little to do with success, but everything to do with faithfulness. When we stand before God on the day of TRUE destiny, he won't say to us, 'Well done, good and SUCCESSFUL servant,"...he will say, "Well done. You were faithful." Faithfulness. There's a buzzword that we need to be using. Faithfulness is about replacing the American Dream with the sometimes costly gift of God's will. Let's make this our highest calling: Faithfulness in little and faithfulness in much. That truly is destiny.
They are everywhere. You cannot escape them.
And they are always changing.
In today's world of social media, we see buzz words come and go so quickly, that many of us don't even know what the latest cool catch phrase is (For those of you who are still using words like, 'groovy, ' 'daddy-o,' or 'swell,' ya' might as well skip to the end of this post, because you'll REALLY be lost for a while.). Remember when phrases like OMG, LOL, and ROTFL were simply used for texting and not for everyday vernacular? Remember when the word "Extreme" was posted on everything from sports activities to bible devotionals? And who could forget a number of years ago, when the buzz word that saturated the landscape like oil in a soggy tater tot was, "Synergy"? Commercials, politicians, pastors, CEO's - everyone who was someone - was using this word to explain business, life, or whatever endeavor in which they were apart.Yes, the extreme synergy of buzzwords makes me just LOL.
And just for good measure, here's a few more that come to mind:
Loser.
Yada, yada, yada.
Whatever (which later became, 'whateves').
I pity the fool.
Climate Change.
Cool beans.
Come to Jesus moment.
Selfie.
Now, I am no linguist. I have never professionally or even personally studied the history of cultural rhetoric. I do believe, however, that buzz words can serve as a litmus test for the social and spiritual climate of a culture, because buzz words, simply put, can often reveal where our interests lie, or what the focus of our attitude may be. This also applies to the culture of the church. Now, just as I am no linguist, I am also no expert on the church at large. For instance, I have no idea what the buzz word is in the Singapore church, or what the trend is in the Ukrainian church. Heck, I cannot even tell you details about what's happening in the varying denominations in my own country. However, I have picked up on one particular buzz word in the American church that seems to cross denominational lines. I see it in Christian book stores, splattered across countless books. I hear it on Christian television, from hyper tel-evangelists, to subdued scholars alike. I hear it in coffee shops, sermons, lessons, and songs of worship all across the country.
The word?
Destiny.
It's seems to be everywhere in the church. You cannot escape it.
There is a growing desire in the church to fulfill who she is made to be. There is a wave of passion that is uniting many in the body of Christ to truly be salt and light, hope and love, like never before. We are awakening to the truth that God is interested in the details of our lives, and that He has not called clergy alone into ministry: he has called business men, teachers, politicians, and actors, to carry his kingdom into their sphere of influence.
It's an exciting message! It's a necessary message! It's an equipping message! But it's also one that, if we aren't careful, can be skewed by our American idea of success. Now, I fully believe that God has plans and purposes for each of his children. I believe that it is God who is breaking off the limitations in our callings and dreams. But we must be sure that what we call"destiny" isn't really just a holy colored picture of "the American Dream".
In America, we judge success by numbers. We have mega churches who serve mega coffee and offer mega lights and mega guitar licks. All of these things are mega awesome! But, if we put too much emphasis on "MEGA" as the deciding factor of "destiny," then we will skip by the beautiful truth that, not all are the ear, the eye, or the big toe, in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12). This truth is coupled with the lesson Jesus taught us, that to some, much is given, and to others, less is given (Matt. 25:14-30). We must not pass by the truth that just a cup of cold water given to a child is called great by our Master (Matt. 10:42), that just two or more gathered in His name will find Him there among them (Matt. 18:20), and that the greatest among us will be the slave of all (Matt. 20:27-28). Some WILL be called to mega ministry. But some, quite frankly, will not. We are all called to multiply whatever we've been given, but we must remember that numbers do not always equal success.
In America, we also judge success by a different kind of number: the bank account. It's alarming to me that many teach and believe that success and blessing can be measured by how much your bank account is increasing. Once again, let me clarify that I do believe the "blessing of the Lord makes one rich" (Prov. 10:22), but we must balance this truth, and look in the same book and see that His word also says, "those who desire to be rich fall into a snare" (1 Tim. 6:9). Can we look at the poorest believer in Africa, who barely has enough bread on their table, but who still loves the Lord, as someone who is not blessed? Can we look at those who are imprisoned and say they are not blessed by God? Can we shake our heads at the countless tiny churches that rarely grow, and say they are not successful? If so, then we must say every missionary who saw few converts was a failure. Every pastor who seeks Gods face and makes very little money is not blessed. We must even say that Paul himself had little success in ministry. After all, he went without food, without money, and without protection many times (Phil. 4:12, 2 Cor. 11:24-27). If we were to judge his 'success' or 'destiny' by our rose colored, American Dream glasses, then we would find a man who, at the end of his life, was left with very few friends and with church plants that were a wreck (2 Tim. 4:9-16).
So, what am I trying to say? Let's make sure that our definition of 'destiny' doesn't replace 'the will of God.' You see, the will of God will lead some to a lion's den. The will of God will lead some to poverty. The will of God will lead some to be beheaded, stoned, and crucified. Not because God himself is putting those things on us, but because the cost of and the opposition to discipleship is great indeed. These things are a far cry from what we call destiny. But for those, like Paul & Christ himself, who embrace the will of God to the point of death, they know that true destiny has little to do with success, but everything to do with faithfulness. When we stand before God on the day of TRUE destiny, he won't say to us, 'Well done, good and SUCCESSFUL servant,"...he will say, "Well done. You were faithful." Faithfulness. There's a buzzword that we need to be using. Faithfulness is about replacing the American Dream with the sometimes costly gift of God's will. Let's make this our highest calling: Faithfulness in little and faithfulness in much. That truly is destiny.
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