I started in full-time ministry twenty years ago. In the beginning, I found myself driven by the pressure to perform. It's been a journey to learn there's a difference between being driven by pressure and living in the power of the Spirit. While it might seem ridiculous, Christ followers often live powerless.
There we were, big hair and all, standing and singing out of our well-worn hymn books until the music pastor motioned for us to sit down as the robed choir began their “special." But. Turns out, I did not sit down. As the two men sat down, the end of the pew went up, launching me up into the air, past the steps, and on to the floor. About half of the thousand people saw it happen and, of course, spontaneously erupted into loud laugher. I lay on the floor feeling like an IDIOT, slowly picking myself up, and repositioning myself onto the pew. People laughed for days afterwards. Seriously. And. There's more. To add insult to injury, the two men had kept their eyes on the choir, ignoring the laughter, never realizing I had been missing. To this day, I don’t remember anything else about the service except feeling like an an IDIOT.
No one escapes life without seeing themselves as an IDIOT at one time or another. I love the fact that the word, IDIOT, was used in the original text in the book of Acts. Dr. Luke, one of my favorite Biblical writers, wrote the Gospel of Luke describing the life of Christ and then the sequel, Acts, giving a glimpse of the birth of the church. In both books, Dr. Luke wrote as a doctor would, giving a report of the situation and the resulting outcome. In the book of Acts, he is very persuasive in explaining our need for the Spirit of God to take complete hold of us.
So, it comes as no surprise that in chapter 4, he describes the reality of the battles the early church faced and how the Spirit of God empowered and enabled the Christ followers to win over everything they encountered. And. There it is, chapter 14, verse 13, the New Testament Greek word, "idiotes,” which Dr. Luke uses to contrast Peter and John, two disciples of Christ, as individuals who did not have any special skill, education, or position to do what they did except through the Spirit.
Consider Dr. Luke's writing:
The thing is . . . we are invited to live in the same way . . . we don't have to be just an IDIOT . . . but we can be bold, changing the world we live in. Even so, the stuff of life can become an obstacle, leaving us with the feeling that we are IDIOTS, unable to do anything. I'm often reminded that I need to be launched from the pew, the place in life where I'm living within the constraints of my limitations, being driven by the pressure to perform, missing out on what more God has for me.
Learning to Kickstart the day not just as an idiot, but living boldly for Christ,
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)
It happens.During those first few years of full-time ministry, church services were more formal than most are today. It was in those days when I experienced the memorable life-lesson of what it means to be an IDIOT. It occurred on a Sunday. To say it was a big-deal day is an understatement. I sat on the platform, we did that in that era, on a three-seater pew situated on the side. I was positioned nearest the edge of the platform, our senior pastor on the other end, and in the middle sat a general superintendent, an individual highly regarded, who was in charge of Nazarene churches in part of the world. Notice the two words, “the world.” Yep. Big deal. The massive choir, positioned on risers filled the rest of the platform, making everything seem even more intimidating. By the way, all of us, the men, the women, and the children, looked the same, stiff and formal. And, yes, this self-proclaimed hippie had given in. I not only wore a suit but I had really big hair, the kind that would not move in an earthquake, hurricane, or tsunami. It all seemed so important, a really big deal.
There we were, big hair and all, standing and singing out of our well-worn hymn books until the music pastor motioned for us to sit down as the robed choir began their “special." But. Turns out, I did not sit down. As the two men sat down, the end of the pew went up, launching me up into the air, past the steps, and on to the floor. About half of the thousand people saw it happen and, of course, spontaneously erupted into loud laugher. I lay on the floor feeling like an IDIOT, slowly picking myself up, and repositioning myself onto the pew. People laughed for days afterwards. Seriously. And. There's more. To add insult to injury, the two men had kept their eyes on the choir, ignoring the laughter, never realizing I had been missing. To this day, I don’t remember anything else about the service except feeling like an an IDIOT.
No one escapes life without seeing themselves as an IDIOT at one time or another. I love the fact that the word, IDIOT, was used in the original text in the book of Acts. Dr. Luke, one of my favorite Biblical writers, wrote the Gospel of Luke describing the life of Christ and then the sequel, Acts, giving a glimpse of the birth of the church. In both books, Dr. Luke wrote as a doctor would, giving a report of the situation and the resulting outcome. In the book of Acts, he is very persuasive in explaining our need for the Spirit of God to take complete hold of us.
So, it comes as no surprise that in chapter 4, he describes the reality of the battles the early church faced and how the Spirit of God empowered and enabled the Christ followers to win over everything they encountered. And. There it is, chapter 14, verse 13, the New Testament Greek word, "idiotes,” which Dr. Luke uses to contrast Peter and John, two disciples of Christ, as individuals who did not have any special skill, education, or position to do what they did except through the Spirit.
Consider Dr. Luke's writing:
The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13, NLT).These two sentences, describe a profound difference in how life can be lived. The leaders of the day considered the men to be IDIOTS. But. The Spirit-filled men held the attention of the leaders, visibly filled with power, enabled to speak boldly. Luke makes the point that it was recognized they had been with Jesus. Simply put, their relationship with Christ had not been discontinued when Christ ascended to heaven, they remained in relationship through the Spirit, living in supernatural power, on fire for their assignment on earth, so bold that they amazed the leaders of the day. To put it succintly, they won the battles and changed the world because of their boldness which came from the Spirit of God.
The thing is . . . we are invited to live in the same way . . . we don't have to be just an IDIOT . . . but we can be bold, changing the world we live in. Even so, the stuff of life can become an obstacle, leaving us with the feeling that we are IDIOTS, unable to do anything. I'm often reminded that I need to be launched from the pew, the place in life where I'm living within the constraints of my limitations, being driven by the pressure to perform, missing out on what more God has for me.
I'm convinced we need to break through the need to be someone we're not, to be liberated to be who we're created to be, to understand that on our own we will accomplish nothing that matters in the end, regardless of how important something seems. When we surrender it all to God, when we determine to live not by our own strength and power, but by the Spirit, when we determine not to waste one moment, we discover the freedom to be bold and to stand firm with courage, despite our circumstances, even when we're IDIOTS.Most importantly, the world is changed far beyond our own reach because it's Christ in us who has empowered us to do more than can be imagined.
Learning to Kickstart the day not just as an idiot, but living boldly for Christ,
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)