Along the same lines...

Now this is a different post so I wouldn't lose you with one being too long (sneaky blog tricks and i've still a newby) but it's kinda out of the same thought.

The other day I was doing some listening prayer with some friends. It was my turn to "header" as I call it and to me that means acting the person who asks the questions of Jesus and tunes into what and where we are going. Anyway, as we are doing this i just started feeling so inadequate because there was someone else there who does really well at this and has more practice than me and well, i just didn't want to get it wrong and mess up.

Back to the control thing. It hit me during that struggle that maybe God was big enough to use 2 totally different people and their totally different approaches and questions to still bring about the same end. That being what He has for this person to experience and hear. It kinda awed me thinking that God is that big. To not need the gifts and exactness or perfection, but rather just a willing heart.

This brings me to another thought Jon had brought up about our 1st world church culture in regards to church growth. I speak from experience feeling like someone else would do a better job at being a house group leader, or organizer of meals for the sick, or fill in the blank. I feel like I use so many exscuses as to why it can't be me and how I just need another seminar or book to prepare me more for that certain task before I do anything first.

Jon had mentioned that church growth in a third world country he'd heard of went something like this. The church was growing like a weed and new churches were being planted in the hills and the leaders and church planters were folks who themselves had only been christians for 3 or4 months. No bible school, no Willow Creek seminars to teach them how (not a dig on Willow creek) no even real experienced mentors to show them exactly "HOW"

What they had was a willing heart and obviously a relationship with God that was overflowing. So if God can use newby's so that "all things work together for good" no matter what the starting point or person or lack of experience, how can that change my attitude about it all resting on my performance. And how in turn can that affect my actions living life in confidence that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I think I've too long seen this verse as a pep talk to help me get through something as opposed to a truth that brings freedom. A promise that no matter how inadequate, how unprepared, how truly ungifted I am in that area it is GOD who is at work through me to accomplish his purposes which most often do not equate my perfection anyway. Just my thoughts...