Preach the gospel always; if necessary, use words.

For years I’ve heard and seen people use that quote to sum up the missional lifestyle and missional church. And why not – at first glance it sounds great. Most people have interpreted it to mean “don’t just preach with words, but preach with actions”.

But that’s the problem – the quote requires interpretation. It’s not that it’s multi-faceted or really deep, it just doesn’t make much sense. It’s the equivalent of saying “Give me your telephone number; if necessary, use digits.”

Even worse, for years this quote has been attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi, yet there is no record of him ever having said or written this statement.

Maybe, just maybe, it comes down to this: without the gospel, good works are nothing more than good works, and the gospel, when not lived out, is nothing more than hypocrisy.

HT: Jared Wilson

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Mad4Christ (a community outreach group founded by my friend John Williams) is organizing a Back2School outreach, in the Lincoln Elementary school zone, to help families in need. They’re accepting school supplies and financial donations. John needs all supplies and donations no later than August 4. Anyways, to find out more and contribute, click here.

I’ve tried to avoid talking about the oil spill because too many people want to make it a political issue (especially with the cap and trade bill still making waves), and I hate talking politics because they’re so divisive and I’ve realized most aren’t willing to actually listen to those with differing opinions.

But I’ve had a few conversations with some friends and the oil spill inevitably comes up.

So we started brainstorming, and this may sound overly simple, but here goes.

1. The obvious first choice is for each of us to do our part. I’m not talking about turning into tree huggers or any other extremes, but simple things that we’ve all heard about. Energy-efficient appliances, fuel-efficient vehicles, stuff like that.
2. I don’t know if this is an EPA thing, or what, but quit allowing corporations to sell or trade emission limits. I’m sick of hearing company X talk about how green they are when everyone knows they sold off emissions to company Y. You’re not making things better, you’re just passing the buck.
3. The government should make it more difficult for American companies and retailers to buy products and supplies from foreign companies that don’t meet our environmental guidelines. We’re the largest consumer in the world, why aren’t we using that to our advantage? Tariffs, fines, whatever – if they want American business, they’ll meet American standards.
4. Eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. Even the most liberal of pundits estimate that we’ve got nearly fifty years worth of oil in Alaska – that’s enough time to get my next point working.
5. Make renewable alternative energy sources THE energy sources. I’ve heard it a dozen times in the last week; “Alternative energy is just that – alternative.” Well, as long as we keep treating it that way, nothing will change. Progress takes time. When the Wright brothers flew for the first time, I doubt they envisioned the airline industry carrying hundreds of passengers around the world. Yet, merely twenty years after their first flight there were nearly thirty airlines around the world. If energy companies and automobile manufacturers and farm equipment manufacturers and etc. really start pushing forward in designing and implementing renewable and/or sustainable alternatives to the current energy models, who knows where we’d be in twenty years?

Those are just a few ideas my friends and I came up with, and like I said, they are pretty simple. Maybe they’re too simple to actually work…… but then again, maybe not.

Are you really listening, or are you merely hearing?

Hearing is defined as the process, function, or power of perceiving sound; specifically the special sense by which noises and tones are received as stimuli.

The definition of listening is to pay attention to sound, to hear something with thoughtful attention, or to be alert to catch an expected sound. So listening is not simply hearing; listening is absorbing the sounds you hear, whether they be words, music, laughter, cries, noise, etc. and applying them to memory.

The act of listening is an act of love.

May we hear less and listen more.

I saw this post from Scott Hodge (The Orchard Community) earlier today and loved it so much I felt the need to put it here.

Apologizing has become somewhat of a lost art, don’t you think? And to a large degree it’s understandable because no one likes to admit failure – it’s humiliating and when done well, there’s no room for pride to stick around. Which is why it’s so hard to do! Yet…..you know this as well as I do…apologizing well is one of the most powerful gestures we could ever show another human being.

So here’s five quick thoughts on how to do it well.

1. Acknowledge your failure.

“I have failed you. I’ve let you down. I have done wrong.”

2. Acknowledge the impact of the failure.

“I have failed you….and as a result, I know I’ve caused you a lot of pain….I’ve put you in a very precarious position…..I have hurt you.”

What NOT to say: “I’m sorry you were offended by what I did.” NO. That sucks. Take responsibility.

3. Tell them you’re sorry.

“I’ve failed you….and I know it has caused you a lot of pain….and I just want you to know that I am truly sorry.”

4. Commit to change.

“….and I’ll do whatever I can to make sure that never happens again.”

5. Shut the #*($&! up.

This is where we get into trouble. Because the tendency is to add on:

“I’m sorry….it’s just that…”

“I’m sorry….but I didn’t mean it!”

“I’m sorry…it’s just that you…”

No. Don’t make excuses. Don’t complicate it. Don’t qualify it.

HT: Scott Hodge on Apologizing Well
The Orchard Community