Inspiring People Towards Christ
Yesterday I shared at our weekly staff prayer meeting. Here is basically what I shared…
Last Friday in class my prof asked us to grab a couple of metal pieces that had words or symbols on them to think about what they mean to me. I grabbed an arrow pointed upwards and a piece that had “inspire” written on it. This is what I wrote in response to those (can I quote myself?):
“I feel a lot of pressure to inspire people. I guess that is part of my job, though it feels weird to say that. I know that God has called me to lead people toward himself and whether it is leading worship on Sundays, or leading practice on Tuesdays, or riding the MAX on Fridays…it is my duty as a Christ follower to lead people towards Himself. But for whatever reason I have a gag reflex when I think about it being my job to inspire people towards a closer relationship or any relationship with God.
I wonder why this is. I think sometimes when it gets viewed as a job-that it is forced on me-I don’t want to do it; I rebel. It would be really easy to try harder and harder to inspire people. I think thoughts like “I just need to sing a little louder or read this perfect Bible verse or strum my guitar harder.” But will doing those things really inspire people? Inspiring people to a closer relationship with God really isn’t even about me. It is really about allowing God to use me. This is a constant battle for me. The battle between trying hard on my own accord or submitting to the great power of what God can do through a surrendered soul is ongoing.”
After I wrote that out I looked at a few Bible verses that spoke to me about all this. 2nd Corinthians 12 talks about God’s power being made perfect in our weakness. A very confusing thing to me but if Paul says it I’ll believe it. I spend a lot of my time worrying about my weaknesses yet God says that is when we are truly being used by Him.
This was the clincher for me…2nd Corinthians 5 talks about how we are ambassadors for Christ, and he is making his appeal through us. All my struggles with trying to figure out whether I should real think of inspiring people as my job have been confirmed. But they’ve been confirmed in a great way. I think St. Francis Assisi says it best way back in the 1200s. He says:
- Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
- where there is hatred, let me sow love;
- where there is injury, pardon;
- where there is doubt, faith;
- where there is despair, hope;
- where there is darkness, light;
- and where there is sadness, joy.
- Amen.
- and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
- O Divine Master,
- grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
- to be understood, as to understand;
- to be loved, as to love;
- for it is in giving that we receive,
- it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
I am called to inspire people towards Christ because I am His ambassador. But my prayer is that he might simply use me. When inspiring people becomes about me it becomes a selfish desire.
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Tyler Braun.
Tyler, I think you’ve hit on an important point here – it shouldn’t be our JOB, it should happen because of WHO we belong to, WHO we walk with. Our lives should inspire people to move closer to Christ because we bear the “sweet scent of Christ” – we have been with Him. I know it sounds simplistic, but the most inspirational thing we can do as leaders is to live with Christ daily and to authentically lead out of that.
Having walked through periods of deep brokenness I can testify that it is probably my own weaknesses, places of brokenness and deeply held pain and ability to admit them all that has most deeply impacted those around me. How I walk through these dark places perhaps speaks more loudly than how I walk on easy street. Can I walk well, holding fast to God? OR will I stumble? If I stumble will I get back up in the strength of God and press on towards God? A life lived authentically in love with Jesus speaks louder than anything else.
Lead out of that my friend. People will be inspired and desire to know the God you know.
I was searching for UK christian blogs but the search is indiscriminate and it seems that few individual UK christians are willing to be honest and open on the web. There are plenty of church sites where you just can’t get to a person’s heart!
However yours is interesting.
Personally, I have enjoyed the presence of the Lord in a more fulfilling way outside of church than inside.
Regarding inspiring people towards Christ,I have found that what most people want is a REALITY of God in their LIVES. They despise what they THINK church or christianity is about. Unfortunately much of what they believe to be true, IS TRUE.
Sadly most Christians that I have met, their only real experience of God is in church. Even if they can eloquently quote Christ, they have little concept of the possibility of God active outside of Sunday meetings.
The biggest portion of committed time in a day other than sleep is work, approximately 8 hours. How many make way for God to use them in that particular environment, other than evangelising their work mates . The promises of God only seem to apply to church.
Very early on I saw what church took to be evangelistic scriptures as actually aimed for the saints to make use of in everyday life. I started a life of proclaiming God’s truths over various circumstances as the Word inspired me, and all sorts of real time things happened.
I ran a Christian manufacturing and service business as a ministry to the Lord for about 20 years. Listening to the Rhema word of the Lord was an essential learning process for success and direction. In addition to this the power within the scriptures have been my lifeblood.
This meant that when challenged about the veracity of the God’s word, I could say, “I’ve seen it happen”. I used God’s Word as a tool box. Following God in the work place is amazingly exciting, church was dull and unreal by comparison. It was far easier to talk to people about God’s involvement in the workplace than “You should come to my church, it’s really great”.
Many of my young employees over the years came as students from two local bible colleges. They found it a struggle. This was because the focus of the bible schools was that the purpose of work was only to earn money to fund the ministry of the church. This meant in fact that they had no interest in the work itself and could not see that such a place might be also God’s calling. Few had any idea of servanthood. A calling from God was going into some sort of real Christian “ministry”.
I live in my ministry. It is my life. My purpose is to do whatever God calls me to do, wherever I am. I make huge mistakes but I am also very aware of God’s mercy.
This life choice is threatening to many churches. It means that a church member’s effort and energy might not be focused on the church vision. He could actually be following God instead!
I would challenge anyone to take the truths that they hear in church, and go off and proclaim them daily over their struggles. Watch what God can do when he is given authority in that area.
I have had many a testimony from none believers about what they saw in the business, but probably one delivery driver hits the top of the list. When he walked into the reception with his parcel, he was completely shaken. “What is going on in this place? It was like the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders when I crossed the gateway.” We deliberately put no external evidence of our faith, we would rather let it be witnessed by its effects.
Inspiration towards Christ is far easier when you can say, “Come and see what GOD did for me at work”