Why I am not Glyn Barrett.

A few weeks ago we had Pastor Glyn Barrett with us at NCLC. I have to say that I believe Pastor Glyn is one of the most phenomenal pastors in the UK at the moment. He not only has an amazing teaching capacity but also is a real strategic thinker and church builder. So we had a fantastic weekend with Pastor Glyn and I feel that we grew because of his visit to us.

I feel we grew as a church but I also feel that God challenged me in a very specific way. As Glyn told the story of where they had come from and where God had brought them to, I began to slip into an old way of thinking. I was surprised that it was still there as it hadn't shown it's ugly head for quite some time. I began to compare myself with Pastor Glyn and compare our churches.

WOW! Where did that come from? 

Unfortunately that wasn't the worst of it. I then began to give reasons why I am not Glyn Barrett and why we can't have a similar influence and ministry as a church. In my head at the time they were reasonable. The problem was none of them held any weight or credence. They were not reasons, they were EXCUSES!

I haven't had the training he has had.

He has got more money coming in.

I could go on but the last thing you need to read is my whining in your head.

I hear people making the same excuses when they compare themselves to our church. We all have our insecurities and need to rely on God deal with them. Its not always a painless process. I was reminded of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader where Eustace had become the dragon and Aslan had to rip his skin off to make him human again. An extremely painful process. 

When God chooses to put his finger on parts of our life that we have not fully dealt with, it sometimes involves Him stripping away areas of our life that are so ingrained that it becomes extremely painful to remove them.

Comparison is one of those deeply entrenched ways of thinking in my life and God is not satisfied that it is still there. I am thankful that God's love for me extends to bringing discipline into my life, even if it does come through a Man City supporter. 

The process of becoming more Christ-like involves becoming less like ourselves. I am thankful that God has placed Pastor Glyn Barrett in my life and that I will continue to learn from him but Christ wants me to be like Him not make excuses why I am not Glyn Barrett.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hotel or House?

I was listening to a message a couple of weeks by a fantastic Australian pastor Danny Guglielmucci. He threw out an off the cuff question to his staff team which really challenged me. Are we building a place of visitation or habitation for God. This will probably have me thinking for some time, but I thought I might throw a few things down to see where it goes.

There is a distinct difference between setting up a place for someone who is coming to visit and for someone who lives there.

1. Visitors- you want to create an immediate impression so appearances are vital.

Residents- the long term improvement is your focus.

2. Visitors- you are only concerned about visitors while they are with you.

Residents- even when residents are not with you' they are still in your thoughts.

3. Visitors- you are not always that worried if they come back.

Residents- You would be worried if they were not there for any length of time.

4. Visitors- they do not leave a lasting impression your house.

Residents- everything in the house will remind you of them because they have put their touch on the house.

5. Visitors- are not really at home because it is not really their home if they only visit occasionally.

Residents- it is where they live and feel at home.

6. Visitors- you do not have to have any significant relationship to welcome a visitor.

Residents- when you live with someone your relationship grows and develops. You get to know them more.

I don't want our church community to have a visitation from God, I want Him to find a place of habitation. I want Him to feel at home, that He is not visiting a hotel but knows He can do what He likes because He is the head of the house.

Anyway just a few thoughts. I'm sure there are many more.

I would love you to leave your comments and add some more differences.

Jon