[jesus, the middle eastern storyteller] chapter 7: the foolish builder

by Gabriel Morton
Luke 12:13-21

The Foolish Builder? I beg to differ. I believe a better title for this chapter is Selfish vs. Selfless. If you boil this chapter down to the nitty-gritty, that’s what it’s all about. Let me fill you in:
 
The central story for this chapter is a man who asked Jesus to mediate a family quarrel (Luke 12:13-14). Reading this with modern eyes doesn’t begin to explain exactly what’s going on. It simply seems like someone wanting their inheritance. Gary Burge picks this apart a bit more to give us a bigger picture.
 
He was trying to use Jesus’ influence. In Bible times, a rabbi, or Jewish religious leader, would be called on to settle minor disputes. We might pick up the phone and call a lawyer, but back then, they would find the modern day equivalent of a pastor. Rabbis would be trained in the Jewish laws handed down from Moses. Jesus was widely known as a spiritual teacher, with many people equating him with rabbis, though he had not completed formal rabbinical training.
 
The inheritance was likely land. These days, many of us rent or lease. Those of us who own will likely sell their house and move into a new one once, if not several times in our lives. The idea of a piece of land permanently owned by anyone, let alone a family is a bit of a foreign concept. Fact: in those days land was associated with prestige and honor – not just the monetary value of the land.
 
The man was likely trying to get his own way. He tried to tell Jesus what to do: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” He didn’t ask Jesus to look at the facts and make a decision of his own. He simply told Jesus what to say.
 
Jesus doesn’t take sides. The man was likely to lose the relationship with his brother if Jesus were to divide this land. Christ realizes the central fact in the dispute: it was over the love of money. He refuses the title of arbiter and speaks the next phrase: “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.” (God’s Word Version) I always thought that this was a mere lead into the next story about the man who tore down his barns for the sake of building bigger ones to hold his crops (Gary Burge talks about that too, but I’ll let you read it for yourself). Christ was commenting on the inheritance issue, and then clarified the statement with the parable that followed.
 
So what?
 
That’s my favorite phrase to say when reading a passage of scripture. I can dig into the Greek. I can dig into the context of the Jewish faith of Bible times. I can find thousands of commentaries online to pick apart a verse, but so what? Head knowledge is useless unless we apply it to our lives in some way. So here’s “so what:”
 
The legacy you leave will not be what you own, but the lives you touched. PLEASE don’t misjudge me. This is not a cry for you to go dump your money in the offering tray next time a missionary comes to your church (though we should support our missionaries). When most people read this scripture, they interpret it as though we should give away all we have to support the poor and needy. That is well and good – the Bible does call us to help the widows and orphans. But do we do it merely by tossing money at the problem?
 
The chapter, and for that matter, the book, closes with a true story about two men: one named John Bennett. He built mission agencies and traveled the world. At the age of 47, he died of a heart attack. The other was a friend of the author’s that lives in Chicago. He flew all of his children and grandchildren to Ecuador to cast the vision of helping the people in the country. After he dies, he wants his estate to be used for positive means. Both of these men live a life for others.
 
Personally, I’m reminded of my friend, Pastor Ramon Morante. He came to Indonesia with his entire family – a wife and three kids – to help reach the lost here. He was a man that always had a smile on his face. While he had very little most of the time, he would find a way to help those around him. He organized countless mission opportunities to reach out the countless poor of Jakarta.
 
Sadly, just last week, he went to be with the Lord. It was so sudden. One day, he’s there, ministering, sharing, loving, and the next day he’s not there. He will never be there. His memorial service was packed. The small funeral home was packed to overflowing – filled with the lives he touched.
 
I’m not saying that we have to pack up and sell off everything and go live overseas as missionaries. FACT: we are all missionaries. Every time we go to work, to the grocery store, gas station, mall, park, gym, pool, sidewalk, doctor’s office, restaurant, fast food joint, library, coffee shop, yoga class, sporting event, etc., we are all missionaries. We don’t have to try to get everyone we meet to kneel down and say the sinner’s prayer. Rather, we should be “the salt and light” to the world – with our words of love and mercy and with our deeds of compassion and grace.
 
Pastor Ramon was a good man. He lived life to the fullest. He lived life without regrets. We should follow his lead. You don’t know when your life will end, but when you live a life that reaches into the hearts of those around you, it won’t matter whether you know our not. You would be living a life without regrets.

 

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About the author: 

Gabriel Morton is a husband, father, teacher, and youth pastor. His passion is changed lives. He loves it when he sees churches uniting in spreading the message of Christ’s love across the Globe. Want some mental floss? Check out his blog Christ in 3D.

[my picture testimony] by gabriel morton

 

 

Check out more photos and details about this series at [picture testimony] challenge.

[servolution chapter 12] servolution street: the neighborhood where jesus lives

by Gabriel Morton

When blogging about a book, especially only one chapter, you have two options: give a summary, or tell how you apply it in your life.  This will be (mostly) the latter.

So far we’ve talked about a lot. From the cost of a servolution (your time, among other things), staying on course (learning when to say no), and finding a need to fill (sometimes in your own backyard). This chapter is a call to pastors everywhere – don’t just get your people involved, but appreciate them for it!

Maybe you’ve experienced this – you give up a hard-earned Saturday morning to do some volunteer work with your church. You show up on time, if not early, and things are a mess. No one is really sure where you can serve, so you get tossed into a menial task you just don’t care for. You know that you could be more effective doing something else, but you just grit your teeth and say to yourself “it’s for the kingdom.”

As the work shift comes to a close, the leader seems preoccupied with making sure all materials loaned out get returned. You drive home, but stop at a fast food restaurant for lunch because it was either missing or coming late at the site. 

Don’t mistake me for being bitter. Really, I’m not. I wish I could tell you that this story was fiction. It’s not (okay, maybe a little – it was a Sunday afternoon, not a Saturday morning). The key – making sure your volunteers go home with a big “thank you” feeling in their hearts.

Not all churches are like the one I mentioned. I’ve had the privilege of volunteering with my home church back in the US – LifeChurch.tv – and I must say that every time I served, no matter how small or large, someone always said “thank you.” I remember my last week at LifeChurchbefore moving to Indonesia. To my surprise, I opened the room where we kept the things we needed to serve, and WOW – it was decorated just like a birthday party – photos taken over the last year were printed and hung – there was even a cake! They threw a going away party, just for me. I will always remember how much I was appreciated serving as part of the team at LifeChurch.

But where does that leave you? Does that mean you have to do buy a cake every week and find a reason to celebrate? Maybe not. Start small. Dino outlined a few key points – great each one with a warm welcome, acknowledge their sacrifice of time and energy, don’t waste their time – make sure every serving opportunity is well planned, and thank each volunteer before they leave – thanking them for their specific contribution. He listed several other great ideas – ways of saying thank you publicly, for example, but these were the most personal. If people don’t get the one-on-one appreciation, they won’t care about the appreciation in front of the masses.

Dino listed a few other points about how everyone has something to offer, serving helps you overcome past hurt, and that there is a place for everyone. These are all true. It is also true that serving through tough times builds camaraderie.  Dino expounds on these points, and I recommend you take the time to read through the chapter in full. But without that feeling of being appreciated, volunteers will walk away. No matter how great the fit, the easiest way to lose volunteers is to forget a simple “thank you.”

Appreciation builds loyalty. Not just any kind – but the kind that multiplies. People naturally want to bring others to share in the appreciation. It happened in the early church. People were thanked and it gave them the endurance to face tough times. Most every letter Paul wrote ended in some variation of “I thank God for you and all the things you do.” Wow – he didn’t just say thank you – he got God involved! Its like he was saying “Thank you, God, for creating this person just the way they are! Thank you for the talents you gave them that they can use to serve you, God!” He was publicly thanking not only the person, but the creator of the person. That’s one heck of a thank you!

Take a moment now, and think about how you can thank those in your life. For pastors, this will be your congregation and volunteers. Business owners and managers: your staff. For others, let’s see who in our lives we can appreciate. Even if it’s just the clerk behind the gas station counter, let’s start saying “thank you.” When we do, we’ll see God open doors for sharing His love with others.

That said, THANK YOU for reading!  

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Get the book: Servolution: Starting a Church Revolution Through Serving (Note: Buying it here helps me feed my family! Thanks! :-) )

About the contributor:

Gabriel Morton is a husband, father, teacher, and youth pastor. His passion is changed lives. He loves it when he sees churches uniting in spreading the message of Christ’s love across the Globe. Want some mental floss? Check out his blog Christ in 3D.