THOUGHTS ON YOUR REPUTATIONI

“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.”  *Benjamin Franklin

New Internet-based companies are being introduced all the time. I heard a radio ad for a new company this week which caught my attention. I don’t know how long it’s been around but it’s new to me. The name of this company is REPUTATION.COM. They describe themselves as helping “business and consumers control their online lives.” There are three products [services] they are offering: myprivacy (“protect your privacy”); myreputation (“manage your reputation”); and reputationdefender (“control negative content”). It was this third and final service which gained my attention because that’s what the radio ad was all about, so here’s a little more detail on what reputationdefender promises to do: “suppress negative information and fix false or misleading reviews and more.” The cost to have your reputation defended is not disclosed, my assumption is it’s based on how much defending needs to be done. The general idea about all of the products offered via this website is to take control of what people can see about you online.

I guess it was inevitable a service like this would be developed, with the advancements of social media and the extensive amount of personal information available via the Internet if a person knows how to search properly. I was talking to someone in the past couple of weeks about the new Google+, which is taking on Facebook as a social media tool, and they were appalled that even though they’d not yet registered for Google+ it had already compiled extensive personal information on them. I’m not sure how that works, but it’s definitely creepy.

Here are several Bible verses which highlight the importance of a good reputation:

Proverbs 22:1 (NLT) “Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold.”

Ecclesiastes 7:1 (NLT) “A good reputation is more valuable than the most expensive perfume.”

Acts 6:3 (NAS) “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom…”

The word, reputation, in the Acts passage refers to giving “honourable testimony.” (Strong’s Concordance). The best way to defend our reputation is by developing our character and continuing to grow in Christlikeness; and living in an honorable way. Dwight L. Moody said, “If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of me.” 

Floating around on the World Wide Web is extensive personal information, photos, video and audio files which have either been posted by you or by someone who knows you. Of course, there are times when someone has it in for you, and so they will post things to slander and embarrass you. I recently heard of an ex-wife who set up a Facebook page in her 13-year old daughter’s name, without her daughter’s knowledge, and proceeded to slam and slander her ex-husband, with him thinking it was his very own daughter doing it. That’s pure evil! 

Because not all of us have not lived a lily-white life and, at other times, not always used wisdom when using the Internet, there are things which are public which could severely damage one’s reputation. There’s a side where you can’t control what other people post, but you can seek to live your life in a way which honors God in all you do (privately and publically), and as you do, you will build or re-build your reputation. 

Warren Buffett, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist once said: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”  

The prophet Ezekiel recorded for us these words from the Lord, “…I am jealous for my holy reputation!” (Ezekiel 39:25 NLT). I think that if more of us followed God’s example of being “jealous for (our) holy reputation” it would cause us to think before we post and, even more importantly, to seriously consider the consequences of our daily decisions. If all of us were more committed to Christlikeness we wouldn’t have to pay for someone to clean up the mess we’ve made in our lives, if that’s even possible. 

One more quote to close, this time by the late legendary basketball coach, John Wooden: “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

FAMILY VACATIONS AND THE CHURCH FAMILY, Part Two

In my previous blog post (July 25, FAMILY VACATIONS AND THE CHURCH FAMILY) I concluded with the following thought: “If the church functioned more like a family vacation, there would be a greater focus on the ‘common good’” The quickest way to ruin a good family vacation is for someone to become demanding. Everything has to be the way they want it. If they don’t get to decide the next meal, dictate the daily activities and pretty much call all the shots, they get in a snit. For those from the Southern USA, I think they call this “pitchin’ a fit.” Family vacations are great experiences when everyone is committed to the “common good.” When someone is selfish, stubborn and has a stinkin’ attitude, it can ruin things fast. Pretty much everything above can also describe what happens in a church family when someone ceases to seek the “common good” or what’s best for the whole. 

While these two words, common and good, only show up once in the NIV, the concept is communicated in several places and translations.  “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV) The context from which Paul is writing is a Corinthian church which was being decimated and divided by SELFISHNESS: From how the church members were approaching the Lord’s Table, see chapter 11, to how the gifts of the Holy Spirit were being expressed in their gatherings, see chapters 12 & 14. 

“Common good” is also found in the Bible in Basic English:

 “What is it then, my brothers? when you come together everyone has a holy song, or a revelation, or a tongue, or is giving the sense of it. Let everything be done for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 14:26) The issue Paul was addressing here was disorderly worship gatherings. Things had gotten so bad in the Corinthian church Paul said in (1 Corinthians 11:17) “Your meetings do more harm than good.” What was the cause of all the problems in Corinth? It was all about the nasty “S” word: SELFISHNESS. Selfishness, in regards to their love feast (a fellowship meal where they broke bread and shared a cup to remember Christ), and in how they approached spiritual gifts.

If family members would approach vacation committed to the “common good”, which includes being other-centered rather than self-centered, everyone would have a much better time. If Romans 12:10 were actually put into practice, it would change family vacations: “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” (NLT) The New American Standard expresses the last part of the verse this way: “…give preference to one another in honor.”

As you and your family head out on vacation this summer, make the best of it by focusing on fun and the “common good.” Build memories which will last a lifetime. Coming off a great vacation with Anita and our three daughters, I can tell you it works. As you connect with your church family, whether in a worship/Word gathering or just hanging out with friends, try this same focus and I think everyone will have a much better time.

FAMILY VACATIONS AND THE CHURCH FAMILY

Summer is time for vacations. My family and I just completed a one-week vacation to the Oregon Coast. It was the first time in quite a few years where all five of us were together for six straight days. As a family we’ve made many treks to Lincoln City, so we have lots of great memories. We’ve got our special beaches (D River State Park and Fogerty Beach, south of Salishan). There’s the red-striped candy shop near the Sea Gypsy, the motel/condo we’ve stayed at many times (FYI: The location on the beach can’t be beat, but the rooms are getting a little tired.) We’re all growing to love Tidal Raves, a restaurant in and on the beautiful Depoe Bay. We were blessed with good weather for several of the days, which is always a bonus on the Oregon Coast. Of course, the best part of going to Oregon is reconnecting with family and this past week everyone’s schedule worked to where we were able to see much of our Oregon family. 

Everyone together for a week is a good thing, but there are challenges. There are all the decisions which need to be made: what to do next; where and what to eat; what to watch; what game to play; where to shop (remember, I was the only guy) and, of course, everyone has to give their input. I was proud of our crew because we did a good job of decision-making. I think things went as well as they did because we all love each other. With this love comes a level of care, respect and a desire to serve. Things went well because everyone was flexible. There was a willingness to compromise and to go along with what someone else wanted, even when it conflicted with a personal desire. 

One of the things about a family vacation, at least in our case last week, was everyone stays together. Literally! We were packed into a one-bedroom condo. One of the benefits of these close quarters is no one can run and hide, or choose to avoid others. When things do become stressful or uncomfortable for some reason, it has to be dealt with immediately. I know we can’t go backwards in history, but one of the downsides of living in our modern world is our mobility. We have so many options available to us to distance ourselves from others. If there’s something or someone we don’t like, or if we’re not getting what we want, or if we get ticked off for some reason, we have the ability and mobility to quickly move away from the source of conflict. If we don’t want to we don’t have to deal with anyone or anything. Reflecting back on the first century, when the New Testament was written, most people lived in a very small world. Without modern transportation and communication technologies, many people lived within walking distance of everyone and everything in their life. When there was tension and conflict you couldn’t run away from it and continue on with your life, you were basically forced to deal with it. It was almost like being on a family vacation.

As I close out today’s blog post, I want to ask a question: What if the church functioned more like a family on a vacation? First of all, I like the idea especially if there’s going to be a greater focus on FUN. It seems like a lot of churches have forgotten how to celebrate and laugh together and enjoy God’s gifts to his children. Second, I like the idea of people being committed to their church family and working through areas of tension and conflict. When people begin to distance themselves from their church family or even quit to attend another fellowship, they’ve missed an opportunity to grow in Christ. I am not so naïve to think they’re aren’t good reasons for someone to switch churches, because there are, but personally I think most of the time the reasons people leave a church are very selfish and even sinful (fleshly). Most of the time it is Satan who is delighted and God the Father who is disappointed to see people leave their church family. Third, if the church functioned more like a family vacation, there would be a greater focus on the “common good”. One of the characteristics of the modern church is its emphasis on the individual. This stands in direct contrast to what we see in the New Testament. In my next blog post I want to explore this phrase, “common good.” Until then, I want to ask that you pray for me as I experience post-vacation re-entry and return to the office today. Grace and Peace!

VACATION

I'm on vacation with my wife and three daughters. Look for a new blog post on Monday, July 25. mbr

DO YOU FOLLOW GOD OR JESUS?

In today’s blog I want to venture into what may be theologically challenging territory. In the teaching segment the past two Sundays at King Mountain Church I’ve talked about the difference between a spiritual life based on RULES or one based on RELATIONSHIP. The Pharisees, the Jewish sect which gave Jesus so much stress, were a perfect example of a religion based on rules. Jesus even said about them, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Matthew 15:18 NIV) The Pharisees, you understand, offered lots of lip service, but no life service. They knew all the nice sounding words to use to make it appear they were very spiritual. They had the look of people fully devoted to God when they dressed their Sabbath best. Yet something was desperately missing.

I want to draw a distinction between religious people who are devoted to following God and those who are devoted to follow Jesus. This where it may sound like I have a flaw in my theology. I am not for a minute questioning the deity of Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus was fully God and fully man. Here’s where I am going though, I believe there are more than a few people who attend Christian churches, but in their daily practice don’t truly follow Jesus. They, more or less, follow God. They give attention to the Ten Commandments and have a few other rules which they obey, at least when others are looking. They give “lip service” to Jesus, in the sense they’ll talk about him, and tell his stories, and even sing songs which mention his name. But here’s my point: “…their hearts are far from (Jesus).” They have no real desire to follow Jesus. Of course, they’d never admit to it, and, in most cases, don’t even realize it. Sure, they’re “Christians,” by their own claim, but they’re not Christ followers in the way they live. Pastor Dick Foth (yep, you can ‘like’ him on Facebook) says: “When you follow Jesus, he will lead you to the poor and the cross.” (My paraphrase) I’ve seen other similar statements which say: When you follow Jesus he will lead you to children, the poor and the cross. Hopefully, you get the point. Jesus is going somewhere, and if we’re really following him, we’re going with him. His journey, which becomes our journey, is one of ministry to hurting people. It may seem like an overstatement, but it’s probably not, to suggest that if we aren’t frequently (even daily) engaged in loving the hurting and broken, we aren’t following Jesus. You can’t read the RED (the words of Jesus in the Gospels), and not be captured by the thought that Jesus was always going places. His was a life of motion and ministry.

I pray that in Christian churches throughout North America, there would be a growing discontent with a religion of rules (following God) and, in its place, a renewed commitment to relationship with Jesus. It’s only fair to understand when you journey with Jesus he’s going to take you places. Some of those places will be hard and at times seemingly impossible. You will journey through places which will force you to new levels of trust in God and to draw upon spiritual gifts you weren’t previously aware existed within you. And, through it all, Jesus will be by your side and it will be the most fulfilling life you could ever imagine. 

You can check it out for yourself, but favorite word of Jesus is: GO. It’s used 168 times in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (NAS count). So, to wrap up today’s blog post: WHERE ARE YOU GOING WITH JESUS TODAY?

Are you DOer or a DON’Ter?

In the teaching I shared yesterday at King Mountain Church, “The Golden Standard” (LED BY RED series), I brought up a question I want to expound on in today’s blog: Is your love for God demonstrated through the absence of BAD FRUIT or the presence of GOOD FRUIT? Jesus spoke about the issue of fruitfulness in John 15 and shared his expectation that those of us who choose to follow him would produce “much fruit.” (John 15:5) As I reflect on other New Testament writers there’s a consistent expectation expressed that followers of Jesus continue to grow in God’s love (See 2 Peter 1:5-8; 2 Corinthians 3:18; James 1:17-27). It’s not like we ever reach a point where we can put our spiritual life on cruise control. Yet even though most of us who have followed Christ for any length of time know of this expectation to grow, we still fight against boredom, distraction, and laziness. This is where the question above kicks in. Personally, I think one of the reasons why Christ followers get spiritually stuck in a place of little or no growth is because they have shifted their focus to “the absence of BAD FRUIT.” As I’ve talked about at King Mountain Church the past two Sundays there’s a tendency to focus on RULES (the commandments of God), and less of a focus on RELATIONSHIP, with God and others. If that’s not enough of a drag on a person’s spiritual life, this is further complicated because with the RULES there’s usually an extreme focus on the DON’Ts (the “thou shalt not’s” for the old school types), rather than the DO’s of the Bible. I see this especially with those who have followed Christ for an extended time, like ten years or more. In many ways their love for God revolves around the things they don’t do. I think it’s great when the transforming power of God’s love brings significant and even sometimes dramatic life change, and we’re no longer the person we used to be. I hope that’s the case for all of us. But it’s a dangerous thing to measure our love for God by the things we don’t do, or the rules we keep. 

From my perspective as a pastor, I’ve had the opportunity to observe thousands of Christ followers. There’s no doubt, based on my experience, the followers who are most fruitful are those engaged in a growing relationship with God and other Christ followers and who are passionate about DOING. They devote each day to being “led by red” (the words and works of Jesus). 

If you find yourself spiritually stuck in a place of little or no growth [fruitfulness], it’s time to shift your focus to “the presence of GOOD FRUIT.” Determine you’ll be a “blessing” everywhere you go and with everyone you come in contact with. The word, BLESS, is one of those words which gets used frequently, but many people don’t fully understand its spiritual significance. Several years ago I had a group of friends and when we prayed together we placed a ban on the word, bless, to force us to give more definition to our prayers. It was actually a really good thing, you might try it. To BLESS, in the context of the New Testament, can mean: “celebrate with praises; to cause to prosper, to make happy.” (Strong’s Concordance, 2127) When we bless someone, we may be declaring God’s favor over their life. So if you’ve become spiritually stuck, become a BLESSER and a DOER. Look for opportunities to bless and to be a blessing. Look for small acts of kindness you can share to express God’s love to someone. As Pastor Steve Sjogren says, “Small things done with great love will change the world.” Personally, I have a conviction there’s no such thing as a “small thing” because God can take even the simplest act of kindness and magnify it and multiply it to accomplish great things.

Reggie McNeal, who has written some great books on the mission of God, talks about how many churches have an evangelism strategy and suggests instead they adopt a “blessing strategy.” I heard someone say that believers and unbelievers have something in common, they both hate evangelism. Maybe you’re in the group of Christ followers, where when you hear the word, evangelism, you cringe and are even overwhelmed with guilt. I say change your thinking and adopt a “blessing strategy.” Look for opportunities to share the good news with others, and, if necessary, use words. Well, it’s time to go bless someone, and not just after they sneeze!