As for me, Sometimes I feel like my wineskin needs to be replaced with a new one just about every day! I need new mercy, fresh grace, a second (or eighty-second) chance, and novel ideas all of the time. And when I allow my container, or the receptacle of my heart to be renewed by Him often, I definitely find that my actions, attitudes, and thoughts are experiencing revival too.

Another thought I had about new wineskins was actually about new believers, or actually pre-believers. If you think back to when you first became a follower of Christ, can you pinpoint some period of time before your decision when God was giving you a new wineskin, so that when you accepted Him, He could actually fill you without ruining you? And perhaps you can observe the same wineskin renewal process in the lives of outsiders around you, maybe even those to whom you are witnessing. Sometimes I call it "plowing up the soil of a heart to make it ready for the seed" or "drawing a heart by His lovingkindness." I've found recently that these are some of my most common prayers, because this process is one of which I'm extremely aware as I share my faith. So much of this wineskin changing/heart soil plowing/heart wooing is performed by God, but I wonder if Christ followers have a part in it too. Be it in the way we conduct our lives, the way we portray a favorable image of Christ, or simply the way we love and pray for the lost, we can work with Him if we choose.

Okay, so I know it's been a long time since I blogged, and I was aiming to write at least once a week. I think I just got discouraged because I think I was the only one reading it, and, well, my journal can suffice for that. Anyway, I'm going to try again and hope you all will be able to read along and participate. If all of the life group leaders would occasionally (once or twice a week) visit this site to get caught up on Life Group "stuff", as well as to read the postings and comment on them, I do think it would be a way for us to have "virtual meetings," so to speak. I'm NOT aiming to replace our once-a-month trainings, per-se, because I do believe we need some time to build authentic, non-cyber relationships with one another, but this would actually be a great way to stay in touch, especially since there are some of you who have previous commitments during our scheduled meeting times. I, of all people, do understand the busy lives we all lead. I'm going to put myself on the line here at this blog, and I hope you ALL will join me. As far as I know, 100% of us are online, so, frankly, I see no reason why this couldn't work. (But please let me know if I've overlooked something.)

So, here's a trial run:

Read the following entry and answer the question (in bold) below. To do so, simply click on the # comments button at the bottom right of this blog entry, type your answer in the box, and sign in under "name." You can choose to leave you e-mail or not, it's up to you, then click on publish comment. Since this is technically a public blog (though I haven't told anyone about it, other than Life Group Leaders) you should leave out people's names other than your own, and try not to disclose personal information. What I'm looking for here is a general discussion, not a personal airing of dirty laundry or a gossip column.

Topic: Jesus is so radically different from anything this world naturally knows, that often He has to prepare us before He can fill us.

"And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." -Mark 2:22

How can you relate this verse to what you've seen in our culture, your own personal life, or even better, to what you've seen or done in your Life Group? (In other words, so what?)

I'll be posting my own comment soon, but I'll wait for your responses first.

Next item of "virtual discussion/meeting": How are we creating a sense of community/connectedness/belonging within our groups?

I truly love you all, value your voices, and do what I do in order to serve Him and serve you. My goal is that Life Groups at Crossroads are the best they can be, and that our Life Group Leaders are the most equipped, prayed-over, knowledgeable, accountable, passionate, loving, and nurtured leaders in the world.

Have a wonderful day, and alter your world!

dreaming for success

Abraham Lincoln ran for public office and lost at least 8 times before he won the general election for president in 1860. He faced daunting obstacles, yet kept pursuing a higher calling and ended up as arguably one of the greatest presidents our nation has ever seen. I find this quote from him extremely inspiring:

"Without Divine assistance, I cannot succeed; with that assistance, I cannot fail."

It was so great to hear Pastor Seth Franco from MAOG speak this weekend at our service - if you didn't get a chance to hear him, you should definitely download the message - just visit the website - atthecrossroads.us. He talked about letting God rob us of our own dreams and give us His dreams. If they are His dreams within His divine plan, God promises to give us that "Divine assistance" for fail-proof success.

What dreams might you need to crucify today? What dreams has He given you and promised to assist you with until they've come into success? Share them here in a comment as a step of faith, confessing His ability to make it come to pass by opening up in vulnerability to others who care for you.

In light of crucifying own dreams, plans, and intentions for those of the Lord, I've decided to take this week and ask God every day to plan out my agenda. Sadly, I don't think I've ever done that before for an entire week (shows how much of a control-freak I am). It seems daunting. There's so much I'd like to accomplish, but I've decided to leave it all up to Him and follow the whim of the Holy Spirit to the best of my ability. I don't know what will happen. There's a great possibility I might come apart at the seams by Saturday, but I trust that God will lead me and that He'll watch out for what's best for me. I'm standing in faith that if I accomplish what He alone sets before me, I'll have the most productive week of my life. I'll let you know how it turns out. Frankly I'm afraid that if this works, God might ask me to do it all the time, for the rest of my life. Frightening!

How do you pursue God's will for your daily life? Share some tips here for those of us who need extra help in this area.

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." -Proverbs 16:8 (NLT)

a lost art

I've come to realize that we've lost something in recent generations that was once a very vital piece of life. We've lost the ability to really listen to people. I'm guilty too, so don't take me the wrong way, but sometimes I observe conversations and I balk at how inconsiderate we can be. We don't look each other in the eyes anymore, it's too uncomfortable for some reason. We don't let people express themselves completely, we're too eager to interrupt with our own similar experience. We don't respond with pulling questions to find out more, we're just not interested or empathetic enough to go any deeper.

I do have some really great listeners in my life and being in a group or conversation with them is always so rewarding. I can tell that they care about me by the way they give me a voice above all the noise. I actually feel like I can be me and be loved unconditionally. I can reveal things to them from my heart and not be afraid of how they will respond because I know they want to hear my heart and not just my words.

James 1:19 says, "Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear." (MSG) How can we lead with our ears? What will it take to get that lost art of listening back? Will it be slowing our lives down? Perhaps biting our tongues for a few extra minutes? Crucifying our pride and assumption that we have something more important to say than our conversation-mate? Intentionally caring for a person enough to hear and understand the heart behind the words? Look them in the eye when they are speaking?

Let me know how you've developed your listening skills . . .

unity

There are some days when I look around at the people of our community - in their cars, at the store, with their kids, at work, and I ask God: what is it really going to take to see people come to Christ? How is it supposed to happen, when will it happen, and how can God use me to redirect souls from hell-bound to become heaven-bound? Sometimes God gives me little glimpses of what it looks like to see lives transformed by the Grace of Jesus. And sometimes I get discouraged because it feels like soul winning is harder, more complicated, longer, and more painful than moving a 20-foot hill of sand with tweezers.

That's why when I read in the Bible about how the world will recognize God, or come to the saving knowledge of Christ, I zoom in on those verses and want to figure out exactly how I can use those principles in a relevant way in my generation. Check this out:


"The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they'll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they'll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you've sent me and loved them
In the same way you've loved me. "
- John 17:22-23 (The Message - emphasis added)

When you think of the Church, as in the grand-scale body of Christ, does your mental picture resemble this passage? How about your local community of churches? How about our own church, Crossroads? If if doesn't, perhaps this is why we are not seeing the harvest we so long for in our hearts.

So what? What can we do? What can I do? What can you do?

How about cooperating with Jesus' prayer. He prayed (aloud, mind you) that we would be JUST AS UNIFIED AS HE AND THE FATHER ARE UNIFIED. Wow. It doesn't seem possible. Could we really be that submitted to one another? Could we truly work together that well? Could we honestly all be on the same page when it comes to loving one another? If we did, would the world change it's mind about the church, about Jesus, about Christians? Would they stop referring to us as hypocritical, judgemental, and mean? If we were actually unified and loving toward one another? Wow. Maybe. Just maybe Jesus' prayer could be answered for our unity and then our prayer could be answered for revival. I'll do my part. Maybe we all will. Maybe that sand hill won't seem so endless when we all work together.

am I hungry?

Our appetite is the source of our motivation. It's probably been a while since your pantry was empty, but think back to your college years or some period of near-poverty in your lifetime and you'll remember how significant appetite is. Your belly's grumbling, but there's nothing to eat except some saltine crackers and jelly. What is a person to do? Go out and earn some money, of course. Do a good job at work so you can keep your employment longer than one week and get a paycheck. Show up on time. Go the extra mile. Put forth some effort. If you don't, well, your belly's just gonna keep on growlin'.

Proverbs 16:26 says, "The laborer's appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on." Because a man is hungry for food, he'll keep on trying, He'll get up early and get a shower before work. He'll shine the boss's shoes, be kind to his jerky co-workers, put in the extra 1/2 hour to finish the project, and even skip lunch break so the deadline is not only met, but finished early so he can get that promotion. Why? Because he's hungry - for food, or a better car, or a bigger house, or maybe he's feeding hungry kids and his appetite is for providing for them.

But for what was Jesus' appetite? " 'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work' " (John 4:34). He was hungry for God's will and work. Hungry to serve mankind. Hungry to redeem lost souls. Hungry to obey the Father. Hungry for the harvest He spoke of in the following verses. This hunger is what motivated Him. It's what got Him through long days of crowds and lines of sick people and persecution and ridicule and scorners and sinners and ultimately, it's what got Him through the pain and torture of the Cross. His appetite to do God's will worked for Him to be able to finish His Father's work.

So what am I hungry for today? As Jesus' follower, do I share His appetite for the lost, or is my appetite for something else? Is it hunger for God's will that motivates us to go the extra mile for Him? Are we shinning His shoes, being kind to the jerks who sit in the pews with us, putting in the overtime it takes to disciple our lost neighbors and co-workers and friends, skipping our lunches to read His Word and, and giving our best efforts and time to please and obey Him? Are we hungry, that hungry? So famished and desperate for Him and His will? If not, we should be. Maybe we need to cultivate a little more hunger, or the right type of hunger - Jesus' type.

Or maybe we just need to get up off our keesters and do something about our hunger. Proverbs also says, "The sluggard's craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work." (21:25). So even if we have the right appetite, and it's a healthy one, if we're too lazy, we end up just spiritually starving to death. Some of us need to get up and get moving, using diligence and our appetite to actually accomplish something for the Lord (see Proverbs 13:4).

There's a worship song that I used to sing in church that goes, "If my food is to do your will, then I'm hungry, still hungry." I pray that God will make us hungry. That he will stir up in our spiritual bellies a rumbling that will not be satisfied until we are diligently, perseveringly, desperately laboring to do the work of soul harvesting. I pray that for me. And I pray it for you too.

who do we invite to be a part of our lives?

I read a great chapter in one of my small group research resources this week that confirms that doing life together is one of the, if not THE most effective way to grow a church and reach the lost. The book is called You Can Double Your Class Size in Two Years or Less by Josh Hunt, and it addresses mainly Sunday School teachers, but I think the principles apply to all small groups, and to chruch growth in general. Allow me to share some excerpts:

"Most people are followers. They like to believe what their friends and families believe.
"What does this mean for evangelism and church growth? Everything. The key to fulfilling the Great Commission is to cross the social barrier before we try to cross the theological barrier . . . People are more likely to become Christians if they don't have to cross racial, linguistic, or social barriers to do so.
"Many of us have been trained to articulate our faith clearly and effectively. We can explain the gospel, and that is good. But non-Christians will probably never hear those words until a friend speaks them. We muse love people before we expect them to love our Lord. If we want people to believe that God loves and accepts them, we [His followers] must love and accept them.
"In practical terms, this means spending time with people. It means inviting them into our homes and going out to dinner with them. We party with the people we love. We will work with [just about] anyone, but we spend casual time only with the people we care about. The greatest gift we can give someone is ourselves and our time. If we were half as effective at crossing social barriers as we have been at crossing theological barriers, we would have won the world years ago. One reason we haven't reached our country and our communities for Christ is that we simply do not love them. If we loved them, they would come. But they will not cross the barriers; we must go to them. Note that Jesus tells us to "go and make disciples" (Matthew 29:18). We must take the initiative. We must do the going. . . [But] We are not loving [our church] visitors. We are not welcoming them into our homes. We are not inviting them to our parties. The greatest unmet need is love. The problem is not that we do not know anyone to love or to invite. We have plenty of people to invite. We simply are not doing it. . . What I suggest is that you stop inviting people to [Sunday School]. Quit inviting them to church. Invite them to a party instead. Ask them to go bowling. Invite them to go out for dinner. Get them on the softball team. What I have discovered is that if we can get them to the party, we cannot keep them away from [church or] class.
"There are a lot of bored and lonely people out there who are hungry for friendship. Fortunately, that is something we have. It is part and parcel of the gospel. All we need to do is widen our circle - intentionally. Every time my wife and I invite people into our home, I ask myself, "Is this something to which I could invite an outsider or a newcomer?" Often it's not, and that's OK. You do not have to invite outsiders to everything. You can have parties just for your Christian friends. But if you want to [grow your group], invite non-Christians to be a part of your life on a regular basis. . .
"With how many people can you maintain this kind of personal involvement? Not many, so we need all hands on deck. We need everyone involved in the ministry of loving people, every member a minister. We say this quite a bit, but we often fail to explain what it means. It means everyone loving someone. A minister loves and cares for the flock. This is life and friendship we're talking about. It's not a program; it's a way of living. It is loving one another. It is what if means to be the body of Christ. Everyone needs to be loved in this way, because we are all capable of falling. Everyone needs to be loved and it will take everyone loving to get the job done."

And this is the essence of Life Groups. I hope this has been encouraging to you that you're on the right track to altering your world. Whether you're planning a Matthew Party, leading a life group, or planning to start one soon, know that as we invite people to be a part of our lives and welcome them into our freindship circles, we will be more effectively reaching them for Christ. Keep up the good work, keep up the love.

playing the game of church

"I see people who sit in church week after week and don't really act out their faith, or they stay really weak in their faith. They've figured out the game. They can come in and sing a few songs and tune out the message until it's over, and they think they're spiritual because they sat through it all.
"Going to church week after week doesn't make you spiritual. You need to be the church. We, all of us, are ministers. We should be doing church, not just going to a building. You've got to be involved, plugged in, and using your spiritual gifts" - Brock Gill - Christian Illusionist (quoted from TPE April 20, 2008)

When I read this article, it got me pumped because I'm excited to belong to a church where most people don't play the game and get by with bare minimum spirituality. So many Crossroaders ARE the church and understand that spirituality is about so much more than just punching the church time clock. So much of my passion about Life Groups is wrapped up in the fact that I get to see people pressing closer to God. If people choose to lead a group, they lean closer to Him for help and guidance to be the spiritual leader He has made them to be for the sake of others who are not as mature. When people choose to be a part of a group, they go beyond the corporate setting of a Sunday morning and "plug in" to the challenge of being authentic and breaking through to personal growth as they live and walk closer to Jesus. I think that, more than anything else is what fires me up, spurs me on, and motivates me to do more than I even thought possible.

I suppose it's all about the choice, though, because it's really up to us. We choose our attitude, our actions, whom we talk to, where we go, how we respond when others offend us, how much time we spend pressing into God, where we lead, whom we follow, where we serve. It's all about choice. Let's choose more of Him, and let Him choose for us when we don't know the right choice, or when we're tempted not to move beyond our own fleshly desires. Because we can choose to go to church or we can choose to be the church. I personally choose the latter. How about you?

Brag about your weak spot

"If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness . . . But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." -2 Corinthians 11:30, 12:9-10

Perspective is so crucial when we face the hard issues of life. At times it seems like as Christ-followers, we have even more difficulties, which feels unfair in ways. We protest, "I asked for a Savior, not more trials! Why me? Why now? Why this?" But some of us go through pain just so God can show Himself faithful and good to the world. Paul was willing to accept his thorn, his weakness, and his pain for the Lord's glory. What's more, not only did he accept them, he learned to embrace and boast in these trials because he'd gained the perspective to see the result after the pain: God's glory and supernatural strength from His Spirit.

When was the last time I delighted in an insult or a persecution? Since when have I boasted in my hardships? How often do I see trouble or conflict as opportunities for God to flex His Muscles and show how strong He really is for me and through me?

If others see our life as nothing but a bed of roses with success and prosperity at every turn, we might get the credit God deserves. This is especially true in our ruggedly individualistic culture of materialism and self-serving motives. However, if we face the normal trials of life on planet earth and allow God to bring us through to the other side of Strong, will that not bring Him more praise, thanks, honor, and glory? Won't more people see their need for Him if they can observe the way He strengthens His children in the midst of their greatest obstacles and pain?

So the next time you face that sickness or conflict or opposition, put on a smile, pick up your step, lift up your chin, and watch how the Lord can glorify Himself through you by being your Strength. He'll bring you justice; He'll give you healing; He'll grant you exactly what you need to accomplish victory and bring praise to Himself in the process. We can all delight in our weaknesses because we get to be His demonstration of power as He does through us what we could never do on our own.

First Blog

Hi. I'm just checking to see how this works. My name is Robyn Langdon and this blog is for the purpose of discipling my fellow life group leaders, as well as anyone else who cares to read what I post. I pray you will find this helpful and insightful. Please comment and let me know when you read and what feedback you might have. Let's alter our world!