Status Updates From The Clay Pot Conspiracy: Go...

Consider all the best moments of ministry. There’s always someone there to help us celebrate. God meant ministry to be communal and relational. There will always be costs and hard times, but, in the end, there will be no suffering, no pain, no tears, and no shame.

When we struggle, God looks at us with grace and mercy. Look how Jesus responded to the father’s cry, “Help my unbelief,” and to Thomas’s doubt. He met them where they were. God’s love is wavering and steadfast. He cares for us and his son, the GREAT Hopeful, encourages and helps us. Someday, the race will be finished. We will go home and the homecoming will be glorious. There is no suffering in the Celestial City.

Unloading your life story on someone new is a big turn-off, especially if you have a terrible past. 9. Caring is not a contest. It should come naturally. You don’t have to one-up others in encouraging. 10. Correct in a caring way. Nobody likes correction. It should be honest but caring. Bunyan spent so much time alone he valued companionship which is why Helpful makes sense. Hopeful’s nature points us to Christ.

That’s hard because I don’t think I have the right since I don’t have autoimmune issues like many of my friends. 6. Respond righteously when hurt. It’s easy to lash out when people wrong you. Showing mercy and spiritual maturity attracts Hopeful. 7. Encourage in ways that others find meaningful. That goes with the idea of love languages. Different strokes for different folks. 8. Don’t begin with vulnerability.

Be a living illustration of the Gospel. 3. Practice presence. Having a ton of FB friends is not the same as IRL friends. 4. Anticipate suffering which seasons us. We should not be surprised by suffering which allows us to embrace hope. God is present even when he feels absent. 5. Pair empathy and honesty. Yes, we ought to acknowledge pain but also press into greater trust and reliance on God. That’s hard to do.

If we look for that kind of friend, we’ll fail. It’s all about becoming. Vision attract visionaries. Courage attracts the brave. Hope attracts the cheerful. Atmosphere attracts friends like Hopeful. It’s basically a corollary of the Golden Rule. He gives a list of ten ways of becoming. 1. Be tender-hearted. When helping others, we reflect the encouraging spirit of Jesus. This is very CM. 2. Smell like Jesus.

God will never leave us nor forsake us. It’s then that Christian sees the King calling to him and encouraging him. Throughout his journey, God sent a cast of characters who helped and encouraged him along the way. Christian finished because he was not alone at the end of the race. When God sends us a friend in Christ, it is a sweet life. The Christian life is a communal life. But, how does find a Samwise Gamgee?

Christian is never alone because Hopeful is by his side. We all have a line of saints that have helped us along the way. We are not alone even in our darkest moments. Think of the police officer who kept the guy from jumping off a bridge in Jacksonville. Faith is individual (no one but Jesus can save us). Faith is communal (we have fellow Christians cheering us on). Hopeful tells him that trials are to test us.

There are legitimate reasons for dying well, so why would Bunyan paint Christian as such a hot mess. Hopeful is there. He is the encourager and he’s the one guiding the weak Christian. Christian is pathetic and embarassing and he’s full of doubt. Hopeful does not let go. Christian’s clay pot is fully exposed and he’s despairing and broken to the very end. His past sinfulness is ever present and he feels worthless.

Christian does not cross to the Celestial City as a conquering hero. He is the clay pot -- broken, wounded, helpless, stumbling, falling. They realize they must cross the river and there is no way around it. Christian asks if any part is shallower and he’s told that it depends on one’s reliance on the king. Christian begins to sink when he tries to cross. Wesley and Moody believed in dying well to encourage others.

Nearly every allegorical name in Pilgrim’s Progress was based on a real person. Every location was based on real situations that happened to him. He truly was a man acquainted with grief due to nearly every kind of suffering. The seventh wonder lies in the scene where Christian and Helpful swim across the river. Oh, my! Death!!! The author gives a quick synopsis of all the trials faced by Christian.

Seventh Wonder -- Finish TOGETHER. He refers to Pilgrim’s Progress. Our kids ADORE Little Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan was born in poverty and he lived a hard life. Wife died young. Eldest child was blind. He was a peddler. He felt called to preach but people mocked him for his lack of education. He did walk away from Christ. He was imprisoned. He was tested in every single way. He was the most fragile of clay pots.

Sometimes, a person is not a good fit. In that case, we wish them well in their next endeavor. That has happened and I always enjoy running into him. I do not enjoy bumping into those who left under a cloud of sin. It’s hard to be fake after someone stabbed you in the back.

Y - Yearn for Christ. This goes back to turning to the light. When it is dark, we look for Jesus and he will never let us down.

Emptying ourself of power is death to self (like what Christ did in taking on flesh and in dying on the cross). When we do that, there will be a resurrection.

H - Help the weak who need support. We have to separate sin from weakness based on human imperfection. When people are not castigated for honest efforts that failed, they are more willing to try again. We need to be patient with the weak who are not sinning.

She saw us listening to an almost total stranger with rapt attention. She was a sister to us and we hugged her at the end of her story. It opened the student’s eyes to the spiritual word in a way that seemed more real than ever before. She is not yet a believer but the turn has happened. It looks like it’s about building up courage to say yes. Talking less means emptying ourselves. Becoming small like Galadriel.

T - Talk less. Guilty as charged especially when people process more slowly and are more careful with their words. A neat moment about words was watching a student who was tuned out and did not care about school. She changed almost overnight when she was waiting for a ride and witnessed teachers in a circle talking. The substitute was giving a testimony of God working in her daughter’s life.

Sometimes our ego gets in the way. Rather than look at the mission, we look out for self-interest and we do stupid things. What would God want me to do? What puts God in the best light? It’s not looking out for yourself. Keeping the Great Commission in mind will help us look after others better. Others may get the credit. Resources may go elsewhere. What matters is futhering God’s kingdom.

In a Communist society in which strength is revered and weakness is covered up, people lie and they cover up their mistakes. When a leader admits to mistakes, people are more free to be honest. People also feel deflated, disillusioned, and disenchanted when a leader lies and then is outed later. It kills morale.

L - Look after others. Jesus gave the example of servant leadership when he washed his disciples’ feet.

It’s do as I say, not as I do. Leaders must encourage first. I also think that non-believers or the extremely lukewarm who don’t care about the mission probably don’t respond to encouragement. It sticks when appreciation becomes a habit and a posture toward others.

Acknowledge weakness - What did Paul do in prison? He admitted to his weaknesses. Our weakness shows God as the hero. Weakness levels the playing field.

To be specific we must use the habit of attention to study others. It begins at home. Johanna is a great role model. Honoring others means we acknowledge our dependence on others and helps us feel less alone. Every story has a band of heroes. We have to put aside our pride in order to do this.

Encourage others - We honor publicly and we encourage privately. Words can sting or enable others to soar. They inspire.

We always live in fear even though we know God is always faithful, every single time.
H - Honor others
E - Encourage others
A - Acknowledge weakness
L - Look after others
T - Talk less (zip it)
H - Help the weak
Y -Yearn for Christ

H - Honor others. We honor Jesus when we openly praise him (instead of giving lukewarm lip service). We must use our voice to honor others. Being specific gives it impact.

Jesus didn’t listen to Peter who did not understand the strength yielded through weakness. Leaders like to deal from a position of strength and get fast results. God often bears the most fruit from overlooked, small things. If we are not reenacting his death on the cross, we are not fully embracing the mission. I know that I face the cross every spring when we start looking at enrollment numbers.

Wonder 6 - Jesus is the Good Shepherd and, in spite of his superb leadership, his dumb sheep didn’t get it. They were blind to his messages and asked a lot of stupid questions. We can study his leadership skills all we want but we will learn the most when we study his death and resurrection. Our reason tells us the wrong thing as when Peter rebuked Jesus for talking about death. Satan tempts with reason.

Jesus said to beware of the leaven of the priests. Why? Perhaps, what we really need is the leaven of faith in God which grows where as the leaven of the priests may rise, but it will also fall. It reminds me of Prince Caspian. Aslan became easier to see once they started looking for him.

Sometimes God asks us to do something that doesn’t make sense. It turns out to be what we needed. It is not our right to seek vengeance even if we have been made to suffer. Obedience demands that we walk the tough path of forgiveness, requiring a strong will, not the weak path of hatred, which is willfulness. When under spiritual attack, turn your eyes upon Jesus. Take up the cross and let the light pour out.

Trials happen because the cross happened. If God saw Jesus through the cross, he will see us through our troubles. Because of Christ, we can live in the mystery of what and when God will do. Singing of God’s power points us to hope and trust rather than anger and vengeance.

Stanza Seven - We might be so low that we cannot feel we can keep going, much less obey. Actions often cause feelings and desire to change.

When things are dark to our anxious minds, we should look for the light. It’s there. David did this through God’s Word; we can do it through the Psalms especially. There is a vertical reality that we cannot see in our horizontal earthly plane. Praising God in troubled times points to the light in dark times. We sing BEFORE things change. God will see us through and singing his praises reminds us of what God can do.