Something I Never Had

“To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.”

I discovered this thought-provoking nugget of truth at the bottom of an e-mail message at work. It was part of the “signature,” little more than decoration. I have forgotten the body of the message and I don’t remember the sender, but this gem has challenged my thinking for several months. It reminded me of something I heard Leadership Guru John Maxwell say many times:

“If we always do what we’ve always done, then we’ll always get what we always got.”

I have always been “Christian” from every observable angle. I was raised in a wonderful Christian family; church was a vital part of our lives. I have “loved God” all of my life and I maintained the “Christian” standards handed down to me. I carried my Bible to High School! I didn't dance, drink, smoke, or chew, I didn't go out with girls who did. Uh, OK, I didn't really go out with girls at all . . .

Still today, I attend church regularly, with my Bible in hand, and I sing the hymns and choruses with considerable gusto. I pray over meals in public places. I embrace every fundamental Christian doctrine, and I can discuss most of them with at lease average clarity. Ask me what I believe, and I will give you an answer. Pretty good for a guy who has been in pastoral ministry 38 years! But, like the church in America, I am a mile wide and an inch deep.

“Something I never had” describes a depth of spirituality that has escaped me. It’s a spiritual depth that I see in Jesus, of course, and in early believers like Peter, John, Phillip, and Stephen. Why am I comparing myself to such giants? Because I have been claiming to be a disciple of Jesus for over 60 years!

When I speak of “depth of spirituality” I am referring to the fact that Jesus could see and hear things in the spiritual realm that physical senses could not have discerned. He did what he saw the Father do and he said what he heard the Father say. I also see that quality in the early disciples . . . they saw, heard, and knew things that others could not! The lived in dynamic relationship with God through His Spirit . . . they were spiritual!

“Something I never had” also describes the miraculous, supernatural manifestations evident in the lives of Jesus and His disciples. When I hear Jesus say, “He who believes in me will do the works that I do, and even greater works,” I have to wonder, do I believe? I’ve seen a few miracles, healings, and answers to prayer, but compared to the needs, sickness, and requests I’ve known, too few!

“Something I never had” relates to my desire for success in ministry that is not dependant upon anything from the vast libraries of canned strategies and techniques for church growth. And in my present ministry, there isn’t enough time, people, or money for most of those packages . . . I need something I can’t order from a catalog or find at a seminar!

I have been dissatisfied with myself and my ministry for sometime now. I’ve been hungry, longing, and searching for more for several years. I hinted at this in my first blog, “310project.” So, the cute little ditty I discovered in an e-mail helped to clarify the process I have been in for about 18 months.

“Something I never did” includes almost all of the spiritual disciplines. I realized that I needed to do some things just because I’m a child of God, not because I have a sermon to prepare or a church problem to solve. I made a fresh commitment to personal Bible reading in the fall of 2007. In 2008 I read the Bible through from cover to cover in six months and then read the New Testament through two additional times. In the past three months I’ve gone to bed early, like an 8 year old, so that I could spend a quiet hour with God. There are so many other things I never did and will be doing. It’s a process.

It’s true! I am already getting something I never had because I am doing something I never did. I’m enjoying being a disciple of Jesus Christ, just a child of God! And I have hope for more . . . more of God, more of His Power, more fruit to glorify Him!

I want to come back to that little proverb in another blog . . .