Having A Problem With Authority

Recently I've been given the opportunity to submit to some new 'authorities' in my life. The purpose of my taking on a second job at nights was to earn money and pay off the immigration and adoption lawyers we must retain in order to finish our adoption of Maria and Merci. However, little did I know that God would use this opportunity to remind me of the importance of submitting to God delegated authorities in my life.

I've never thought of myself as 'rebellious', but after a prolonged season of being 'in-charge', and now being the 'low-man-on-the-totem-pole' at a secular work environment, I've been experiencing some interesting thoughts and attitudes. Some of which I'm none too proud of. Romans 13:1-2 talks about authority being ordained of God and about how whoever resists authority is actually resisting God. That's definitely NOT something that I'm interested in doing, so it's time to do some self-assessing.

Colossians 3:22-23 (New Living Translation)
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."

I believe that God establishes all authority in chains of command under Him. On this earth, from world governments to church governments, obedience to higher authority is ordained by God. Heaven seems to be run under a principle of authority: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, then I suppose the archangels, and then the rest of the angels (called cherubs and seraphims), who are submitted to authority over them.

What am I talking about? Well, if Michael the archangel tells an angel to go take care of a situation on earth, that angel doesn't say, "I don't think so. I only take orders from Gabriel." He would never do that, because he probably remembers very clearly what went down the last time a group of angels acted that way.

All offices of authority are set up by God, and the authority rests on the office, not the man. We are to submit ourselves to the office, whether or not we like the man in the office. If he missuses his office, we can pray for him to change or pray him out of it.

Having a 'boss' again has reminded me that in order to properly submit to authority, I must have a clear understanding that the authority rests in the office, not the man. For example, if a president is voted out of office in this country, he no longer has authority in what goes on. A former president cannot just drive up to the White House and walk into the Oval Office without going through the exact same security protocol that I'd have to go through. Why? Because he no longer is in authority.

In the Old Testament (Numbers 20:8-29) we see Moses and Aaron both in rebellion against what God had commanded. Moses angrily struck the rock instead of speaking to it, and Aaron stood with him in this rebellion. Well, as you probably know, Moses never got to go into the Land of Promise. What you may not remember is that God also told Moses to bring Aaron and his son, Eleazar, to Mount Hor. There, Moses was instructed by God to take the high priest's robe off of Aaron and place it on Eleazar. When that happened, Aaron kicked the bucket. Pretty crazy, huh? However, this shows us what happens when we misrepresent God before people. The authority on the high priest's office remained, but it was now on Eleazar.

When we submit to people and to authority, we submit to the office. The only right we have not to submit to authority is when that authority directly violates the Word of God. When we are asked to do something that is in direct violation of the Word, then we don't submit, because we have a HIGHER authority.

But let's be real honest,... that ain't usually the case, especially in the Church. Rebellion usually starts when we have to submit to the rules of the church nursery. That's where it begins. Then it goes into the requirements of becoming members, and when you finally get through with that, you are faced with what it takes to be on the worship team, or lead a small group, or be a part of some other ministry.

Outside of the church, in our secular jobs, rebellion can play a major role too. Wherever we work, unless we're the boss, we'll be faced with the kinds of authority that says, "That is the way we do it around here." It doesn't seem to matter whether you agree with the way things are done or not, you must submit if you know God wants you at that place of employment.

If we get mad and begin to speak against the boss or the other leaders at our work places, much like if we were to get mad and speak against the pastor and leaders of our churches, then we are in rebellion. We aren't coming against the people in those offices; we're coming against God. What if, when we had a real problem with something, we took the time and effort to go and talk with the leadership in an attitude of love and let them explain why they operate the way they do? What if we were to stop complaining and start praying? What if we simply made sure that we were on time and did a good job?

Remember that centurion who told Jesus to just "speak the word" and his servant would be healed? He understood authority. The centurion was a man in authority. He also was a man under authority. Jesus said He had not found anyone in Israel with this kind of faith. Why did that Roman centurion have such faith? He understood authority. (Matthew 8:9) He could tell that demons and disease were submitted to the authority of Jesus.

So, what's my point? Authority is here to stay. We will never graduate from being under authority. Even when we get to heaven, we'll still submit to authority. I think I'm finding that all those that have been given positions of spiritual authority - those who've advanced the Kingdom of God in radical ways - are always those who know how to submit and flow with God-given authority. God will never exalt us into a greater place of authority until we learn how to submit to the authority He's already put us under.

So,... may you and I learn to be those that willfully, joyfully, and non-rebelliously submit to ALL those that have been placed in our lives as authorities.

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What is it about the father/son relationship that tugs at the heart every single time?

Jeremiah 3:19 - "How gladly would I treat you like sons..."

DESPERATION Acrostic - Bullseye or not?

The other night I did something I've never done. I played darts... competitively. A friend had a birthday and invited Kelli and I out... and we played darts. It was way funner (is that a word?) than I thought it would be, and I actually hit the bullseye three separate times! Hitting the bullseye can be a pretty tough thing to do, in any circumstance.

An earlier blog of mine asked the question, "What one word describes our church?" I got some great responses that included, "bold, Jesus, real, weird, humble, different, Biblical, organic, freaky, and even futuristic. Reading these responses, I was reminded of an acrostic we had come up with a couple years ago that we hoped would help us define who we wanted to be as a church. I was surprised how those words are encompassed within this acrostic. I'll share it here if you've not seen it before. Is there any part of this that stands out to you? Is there any part that is or is not being 'hit'? I'd love to hear your opinions.

Different way of doing Church
We're in the radical pursuit of bringing glory to God. He has always been creative and original in His approach to loving and reaching man, why shouldn't we be?

Eyes wide open
Knowing that there is a worldwide need to know God and what He has done, we long to open our eyes and our hearts to practically love those that live all over the planet, not just within the walls of our church.

Stewardship of Resources
The church should be an example in areas of finances and conservation. Our budget, including a listing of all salary amounts, is public information. However, all giving to the church is considered a private matter between that person and God. Only our accounting department (no pastors are part of this department) has knowledge of an individual's contributions. We work hard to use the resources we've been blessed with as wisely and efficiently as possible.

Passionate Worship & Prayer
Prayer, praise and worship should be an intimate time of direct connection with God, preparing a place for Him to dwell with us. Worship and prayer are a big part of what we do each time we meet together. "Passionate", "Intimate", "Intense", and "Loud" are all words used in describing the worship at D.C. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Every Member Ministry
We believe that everyone in our community has unique gifts and abilities that God has given them in order to love and serve Him and others. We encourage everyone to get involved in serving God directly, rather than sitting on the sidelines. We do our best to equip people for their particular ministry.

Restoration
We understand that many today have experienced tremendous heartache in the areas of abuse, neglect and past relationships. Shockingly, we've found that many of these hurts were caused by 'the Church'. We want to be a safe place for people to heal and be revived and renewed in their relationships with God.

Accord with One Another
Desperation Church recognizes diversity among followers of God in nonessential areas. We do not press for uniformity in these areas, but rather encourage people to search the Scriptures, seeking balance, mutual understanding, humility and love. Additionally, we seek to respect one another's differences without a quarrelsome, arrogant or divisive spirit, and to return continually to the great commandment, to love God and one another.

Teaching directly from the Bible
God speaks to us in the Bible. It is our privilege to hear God's message as we seek to understand and apply it responsibly to our lives. The entire Bible is completely true and accurate and it is our standard in all we say and do. God's unchangeable Biblical message ought to be presented in relevant and contemporary ways, free of religious jargon and understandable to the people of our community.

Intimacy in our Relationships
It's our desire to be a community of people who love God and others authentically. Part of the process involves just being 'real' in close personal relationships. Small groups, Focus groups that share common interests, and various Accountability groups all help cultivate this kind of environment.

Outrageous Fun
We approach every ministry, every meeting, every relationship, everything creatively. We believe that if you're not having fun loving, obeying and serving God… then there's a problem!

Needs based Ministry
Our heart is to make a loud noise for the cause of Jesus in our community. We strive to do this by identifying and meeting the needs in our neighborhoods. Recovery groups for addictive behaviors, Outreach Teams and monthly service projects (DC-W.O.W) are just a few of the ways we do this.

If It's All The Same To You...

On Monday I was able to hang out with two new friends.

The first, John Monk, is a master tattoo artist and a guy I’ve gotten to know over the past few months. He’s been attending Desperation Church with his wife and kids, and has brought numerous friends with him. John stands out in a crowd. He is covered with tats and can be a bit intimidating when you first meet him. I really love this guy, and not only because he’s done well over $1,500 worth of work on my arm for free, but because of his passion for life and for the Lord. John’s past is something that would make a great movie, although to be totally honest, it would be a movie you wouldn’t invite your mother to watch. Whenever I spend time with John Monk I am encouraged and inspired. He has an affect on each person that comes in contact with him that I admire greatly.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever gotten a tattoo, but if you have, you know a few things that the un-tatted just don’t comprehend. First, it hurts! Don’t listen to those who say they fell asleep during the process, or that it “sorta tickled”. That’s bull. It hurts. Second, it’s addicting. Once you start down the road of ink-dom, it’s hard to stop. Third, you get a chance to meet some awesome and extremely interesting people. All kinds of people just stop by and talk with John. I’ve spent hours now in his shop, and during that time I’ve had the privilege of meeting some amazing folks. Each and every one of them are made to feel special and cared for by John, and many of them stop by to talk as if he were a caring bartender… or a friendly priest.

Being a pastor, it is not often that I find myself in an atmosphere where curse words are used in almost every sentence as adjectives, verbs, and even the occasional noun. However, I found it genuinely remarkable that when somebody dropped Jesus’ name “in vain” that they were quickly and lovingly reprimanded by this pierced and colorful artiste.

One time I was praying with John and when we finished, he wiped tears from his eyes and said, “I love how God hears our f***ing prayers, even when we’re such f***-ups.” There was something so authentic and sincere about that statement, as it came out of his mouth I found myself not offended in the slightest, but wholeheartedly agreeing with him. Listen, if you ever need a tattoo then I strongly suggest you stop by Revelation Tattoo and talk with my friend John Monk. He’ll do you right.

The second new friend I got to hang out with on Monday is Cisco Guerra. Cisco is one of John’s friends and like John Monk, he’s a guy that is enormously tatted… and I’m a better man for knowing (that's his picture at the top of this post). As I sat and listened to Cisco’s story, I was blown away. He was a well known and highly esteemed bouncer, bodyguard, professional fighter and hard-core partier. He lived, what he refers to as, a “Rockstar” lifestyle for over a decade. He walked away from all of that in order to pursue a life of greater meaning and significance. Today, Cisco is on a mission to help equip, empower and encourage people on their own quest for a better life. He is a radical Jesus-lover and God-follower and I look forward to hanging with him in the future, as hopefully our stories collide much more often. You can check Cisco out and even order his autobiography, ROCKSTAR, by visiting him at: Cisco

I am learning that God did not make us all the same. He has created some beautiful, talented, and super passionate people that don’t look or act anything like me. It’s the differences in us that adds color, texture, variety, and beauty to the human condition… and to the Body of Christ.

I think it’s not easy to be abnormal in a culture of sameness. Society is not kind to the abnormal, the strange, the different, the broken, and the outcast. But Jesus is. Sophisticated culture doesn’t like outsiders and rejects. But Jesus likes us. Most people wouldn’t choose abnormal people, but Jesus chooses us.

I think that when the world looks at us and says, “Christians don’t look or act like you!” that perhaps we should start responding, “Well, they do now.”