Dale Cresap's blog

What is the purpose of a church? Is it for you to join and be involved in, to support its vision and programs and ministry mission? Or is it to support you in finding your destiny and equipping you to carry it out? The answer is both. Have you ever been involved in a church that only emphasized one of these things; typically the first? That is a valid purpose, but it doesn’t exist in isolation from the second purpose. A healthy church will have a way in which you can serve, but it will look for a good fit for your own spiritual development. You can serve me by supporting the vision of your church, but in the economy of my Kingdom this does not conflict with having your own sense of purpose and vision and destiny. 

Have you ever heard of someone ‘going off the deep end’? This is a common expression and it is not meant as a compliment. It implies a loss of control. You have heard this used even in regard to the way people practice their faith. Yet do you want to go deeper in your Christian life? In this case depth is a good thing. So how do you go deeper in me without going off the deep end? I have provided safeguards for you if will use them. Recognize the authority of my word. Realize that I have given you people who can speak wisdom to you. You may recognize my voice even if it comes from unexpected sources. There is safety in a multitude of counsel. 

There was a garden of Eden in which I walked with Adam and Eve. Do you long for such a place? Yet they were expelled from the garden, and it was no longer available to them or their descendants. Instead you live in a world you refer to as fallen, in which you have to labor and toil for the earth to bring forth its fruit. Theologians have explanations for all of this – how it happened and what it implies – but don’t let that make you miss the most important point. For even in this fallen world I am available to walk with you in every place and circumstance of life whether you call your location paradise or not. 

Do you see a person’s appearance as a measure of their worth? You know that you shouldn’t, but you also know that attractive people find favor with others in ways that unattractive people do not. Intelligence may provide a better basis than appearance for considering others, but it is better still to recognize the worth of all people as intrinsic, for they are made in my image. And so you see the value of searching for and rescuing one who is lost regardless of their wealth or social standing. If you can see this in others, why is it so hard for you to see it in yourself? Why do you put so much effort into trying to prove that you are somebody? 

When the people you meet ask you what you do, do you respond with the way you earn your living? Do you ask them the same question and expect a similar response? People who are proud of their job are eager to announce it. But under these rules Paul would have said that he made tents. You have a complex and varied identity and how you earn your living is only a part of that. You may do other things that are more important than the means by which you pay your bills. Don’t evaluate yourself by the way you earn your living and don’t value other people that way either. 

Do you look forward to going to heaven? What do you expect it to be like? My word leaves many details unclear. The most popular notion is that there will be streets of gold. Is this a strong motivator for you? People want money, but does this image of heaven satisfy a deep human longing? I do promise that you will see me face to face and know as you are known. If your needs are met, isn’t this a stronger incentive than material wealth? Don’t you see this desire in the people you encounter, even in this world? You have my permission to extend this offer in my name to the spiritually hungry people you meet. 

My word teaches you to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. What does this mean? Is it a realistic expectation and goal? Do you know people who are perfectionists? Have you ever heard this term used as a compliment and do you think that such people come the closest to being perfect? Or have you found perfectionists to have control issues and limit their own effectiveness and success by their approach? If perfectionists aren’t perfect then who is? In your experience what qualities and virtues should you seek to develop and what type of people should you seek to emulate? 

Does your church have a worship leader or worship performer? Every church refers to its musicians as worship leaders and none will call them worship performers, but don’t be so quick to accept conventional terminology without consideration. You don’t make this decision by watching the musicians. You make it by looking out into the congregation. If the music prompts them to enter into worship then the musicians are truly worship leaders. If the people do not enter in then how can you make an argument that the music is more than a performance? Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye people. 

Do you think of eating as a social or spiritual activity? If you are eating with other people it can be both. Consider the Bible accounts of my teaching opportunities. How many occurred while I was a dinner guest at someone’s house, while dinner was being prepared, while I fed thousands who came to hear me, while I prepared bread and fish for my disciples on a seashore? Enough that I was accused of being a glutton and a drunk. Eating provides opportunities for human encounter and engagement. If you look for a  spiritual encounter along with the human encounter you will find it and you can partake of the bread of life when you break bread with others. 

Do you think of love only in the context of romance? This is a limited and false view based on a cultural understanding of love. It makes friends feel awkward about saying they love their friends of the same sex. I want you to have a larger and broader view of love, of which romance is only a part. My word is a story of every kind of love. I told my disciples that there was no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. There was nothing romantic about this. Let your understanding of love be without awkwardness or embarrassment. You can love because I first loved you. Because you are beloved, love one another.