Are You Willing to Make People Uncomfortable?

By Jenni Catron, Executive Director of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN

Great movements occur when a leader gets discontent enough to make others uncomfortable. 

We’ve seen them throughout history…

Joan of Arc

George Washington

Mahatma Gandhi

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mother Teresa

Winston Churchill

We’ve also seen them in our communities… church planters, community leaders, founders of non-profit organizations, moms who fight for health, eduction and safety.

Great leaders are comfortable making others uncomfortable for a vision of a greater good. They understand that keeping others happy perpetuates the status quo.  And they’re willing to risk being liked for being extraordinary.

Where are you settling for status quo? 

What movement has God inspired you to lead?

Quoted

“If we use technology for the right reasons, then we can potentially be the generation that actually evangelizes the planet before the second coming of Christ.” – Christine Caine

When Christians Get It Wrong

Here’s a portion of what Adam Hamilton wrote in his article, "When Christians Get It Wrong"..

"Pharisees are religious people who struggle with wrong motives, with being critical and judgmental of others, with missing the point and with being two-faced, then I’ve got to confess, I am a recovering Pharisee who often falls off the wagon. Everyone I know, religious people and atheists alike, struggle with these four tendencies. It is so easy to do the right things for all the wrong reasons.

It is so easy to point out the sins of others while ignoring our own. Most of us are experts at “majoring in the minors” while failing to do the really important things God demands of us. And which of us has never put on a face and pretended to be something we’re not? It is only in recognizing our tendency to be Pharisees that we have any hope of remaining in recovery. My experience with non-religious people is that they do not expect Christians to be perfect. In fact, one young adult said: “I don’t mind that you Christians don’t live up to your ideals. I don’t live up to all of my ideals either. In the end, I guess we’re all hypocrites. It’s just that I and my friends recognize that we’re hypocrites. It seems that many Christians haven’t figured this out yet.” Again, the hypocrisy of Christians is most troubling to non-Christians when we point out the sins of others."

Life is hard. But, take heart, Jesus has overcome the world!

I hope to begin blogging on a regular basis again. While I'll definitely share from my personal life, a big part of this blog moving forward is going to be me sharing with you many of the most helpful and inspiring readings I've come across.

This first post is from one of the blogs I follow faithfully ...Refine Us by Justin & Trisha Davis. Justin & Trisha are passionate about helping marriages thrive. They use their story of pain, loss and redemption to bring hope and healing to couples all over the country. Their blog is one of my favorites.

"Take Heart"

By Justin & Trisha Davis on their blog ... Refine Us

"Why are we surprised when life gets hard? Life has problems. Relationships are destined for conflict. Financial stability is never guaranteed.

For some reason, we assume life with God means life with ease. That isn’t the case at all.

Friendship is hard.

Marriage is hard.

Integrity is hard.

Parenting is hard.

Leading is hard.

Family dynamics are hard.

What I’m reminded of today is a transformational truth: God never promised easy, He promised His presence. God never promised comfort, He promised to be comforting.'

Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.”

Life is hard."

Click here to continue reading.

Isaiah 53:2-6 (The Message)

Read Isaiah 53:2-6 this morning in "The Message" paraphrase of the Bible. Never heard it stated quite this way. Very powerful picture of what Jesus did for us! 

Isaiah 53:2-6 (The Message)

"The servant (Jesus) grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried— our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed.

We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him."

Great Quotes on Dreams

“Vision without action is daydream. Action without vision is nightmare.” -Phillip Daniels

 “Fact: You’re capable of far more than you think you are!!” –DC Curry

“Dream more than others think practical. Expect more than others think possible. Care more than others think wise.” Howard Schultz

“God uses frustration to shape a dream.” - Ben Arment

“If God is your partner, make your plans large.” - D. L. Moody

“Dreams come a couple sizes too big so you can grow into 'em. “ -Rev Run

“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” -John Barrymore

"Dreams are what make us who we are" -Sir Ken Robinson

“No one can pay the price for your dream but you.” -Bil Cornelius

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” -Muhammad Ali

“Leaders are paid to be dreamers. In fact the higher u go in leadership, the more your work is about the future.” -Hans Finzel

“Martin Luther King gave the 'I have a dream' speech, not the 'I have a plan' speech.” -Simon Sinek

"Fear is the dream killer, the silent voice that pushes us to lose our passion in a vain attempt to seek safety." – Seth Godin

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” -Earl Nightingale

“Just because your dream is delayed doesn’t mean it’s denied.” - Pete Wilson

“Some people "dream". Some people "do". Every once in a while someone special comes along and does both.” - Pete Wilson

Quotes on Perspective (Perspective of God and of our circumstances)

“Most of our problems are mostly a matter of perception & perspective.” - Steven Furtick (See 2 Kings 6:17)

“We get discouraged because we are comparing our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” – Steven Furtick

"God never gives you more than u can handle. NOT TRUE! God often gives u more than u can handle so u can depend on HIM!" - Steven Furtick

 

“God is more concerned about preserving His purposes than preventing our pain.” Rick Warren

 

"All of God's great men have walked with a limp.” – John Stott

 “When God wants to make a mushroom, he takes 6 hrs. If he wants to make an oak tree, he takes 60 years. Which do you want to be?” - Rick Warren

 

“God will allow suffering, pain and trials in order to detach your reliance on other things and reconnect it to Him.” – Pete Wilson

“If God was small enough for you to completely understand him, he wouldn’t be big enough for you to completely trust him.” - Rick Warren

“God's promises are greater than life's circumstances...no matter what happens, He IS faithful & His Word is true!” – Perry Noble 

“When you know the size of your God, the size of your giants becomes irrelevant.” – Jim Larche