Dorsia's thoughts on Mark 1

Here are some “Bullet Points” that stuck out to me in my readings of Mark Chapter 1

- The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news…SO, I guess that the good news of God is “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR” and that we must “repent” to “believe” this good news

- And what’s up with the camel hair clothing, leather belt, and eating locusts and wild honey….WELL, check out 2 Kings 1:8 and see how the great prophet Elijah was described…

- Vs. 38, Jesus says that the reason he has come is so he can “PREACH” in nearby villages too…even though he was teaching and healing people where he was….

- In vs. 14-20, Jesus invites Andrew, Simon, James, & John to follow him…and they drop what they are doing, and follow him… obey his invitation…

In Vs. 25, Jesus commands an evil spirit to come out of a man…and the evil spirit does what Jesus says… obeys his commands…

Yet in Vs 43-45 Jesus gives a “strong warning” to a many he has just healed from leprosy, and tell him not to tell anyone…but the man DISOBEYS and tells others, spreading the news…

My question is this…why do evil spirits obey Jesus, some men obey Jesus, yet other men don’t?

- Vs. 35. Even after a busy day of teaching, healing, and casting out demons (vs. 21-31) and an even busier night of work (vs. 32-24), rather than sleeping in and catching up on his sleep…Jesus was up before sunrise to be alone with God to pray…I think this is a good example of someone “practicing what they preach” …Maybe I should do the same

“A good plan, LOVINGLY executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week”

The plan for the “Big Celebration” is coming together, but it seems like it is far from perfect. “T’s” not crossed, “i’s” not dotted, “details” not “detailed” enough to give me a sense of comfort heading into one of the “Biggest Days” in the life of LifeSpring. Volunteers are starting to step forward, excitement is building, but what about our plan.

We’ve prayed over it, we’ve revised it, we’ve poked holes in it and it still floats…but it’s not perfect. …It’s a good plan for sure…but perfect? No way. THE PLAN IS NOT PERFECT

Then I saw this quote by George S. Patton, U.S. General 1885-1945 (man, God is really using the quotes of others for me to hear his voice)…

“A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week”

Now I am not big on the word “violently” that Patton uses here, but I do believe other words could be used that apply to us as Christians. How about…

“A good plan, COMPASSIONATELY executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week

or

“A good plan, LOVINGLY executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week”

We HAVE a good plan. I believe that God has been a part of the development of the plan. We have good people to follow the plan.

Now we must COMPASSIONATELY and LOVINGLY execute this good plan NOW, loving and serving those we invite as Jesus does for us.

Yea, there is a perfect plan that could develop next week…but this good plan that we have right now, with the Perfect Savior leading us, will do just fine!

Leaders are Infectious

Recently I was being interviewed for an article for the local newspaper to explain: “Why Statesboro needs another church?” and “What makes our church at LifeSpring different than all the other churches in town?”

The reporter listened to me and made notes like;

“to introduce people to Jesus Christ”,

“to meet, serve, teach and lead people to become mature disciples of Jesus Christ”,

“to love people where they are”

“to expand God’s Kingdom”

After pouring my heart out to the reporter, I asked if he had what he needed for the article.

“Well, yes and no” he said. “I hear what you’re saying, and you seem very passionate and convicted about what you believe, but quite frankly, I could hear those same things from most any pastor in town talking about their own church.”

Oh my gosh! I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. I thought to myself, “Man, you don’t know how close you are to “SEEING” my passion & conviction ‘up close and personal’ in a way that I promise you’ll never confuse with another pastor”.

As I loosened my grip on the table and caught my breath I said, “you know, you’ve got a good point there”.

As a leader, we must have an “infectious” effect on those we come in contact with that leads people to the hope of what “could be”.

Our hope and vision of what “could be” must be lived out in ways that others are infected and changed. Our energy, passion, and conviction to what we believe to be true, is to be transferred to others through our words and our actions. It’s at that point others will begin to embrace the hope, the vision, and the truth of what “could be”.

As a Christian, I believe that Jesus is the solution to the problems facing our society. I believe that Jesus is the answer to the deepest hurts and disappointments of the human heart. I believe Jesus’ whole ministry steamed from a deep love of God and humanity resulting in Jesus’ belief, his hope, his vision, and his truth that things don’t have to be like they are.

Jesus spent his life on earth teaching, sharing, and modeling the love of God for humanity of what “could be”. Jesus’ love infected and changed others. That love led to the development of followers who spent their lives infecting others with the same loving truth of what “could be”.

With God’s help, LifeSpring will infectiously do the same!

A goal without a plan is just a wish

Several weeks ago, I began to share with our leadership team a vision of having a “Big Celebration”. A day where we go all out to invite as many people to worship with us at LifeSpring as possible.

Everyone was excited and encouraged even more when I shared with them that some friends from the Cordele area would come and prepare a meal for everyone who attended the worship service on that "Big Celebration" day.

“YES”, I thought, “with the support of this leadership team, God is about to take LifeSpring to the next level”.

A few days later, several of our LifeSpring leaders brainstormed ideas to get 300 people to the worship service on the “Big Celebration” Day. Creative ideas like putting up billboards, personally handing out invitations, offering rides, face painting, even painting encouraging invitations on our car windows, whatever it takes.

“YES”, I thought, “what great ideas, and we’ve set the goal high enough that it won’t happen without Gods power, this is gonna be great”.

Today, I was driving to work with a ton on my mind. I was consumed by the thoughts of all that needed to be done in preparation for the “BIG CELEBRATION” Day @ LifeSpring we had scheduled for 10/11/09. The anxiety of the moment caved in on me as the brainstorming ideas from the team have slown down, the teams schedules and other commitments are taking priority over the “Big Celebration” day, and those willing to volunteer are hard to find.

I found myself asking. “Why God, what did we do wrong?”

And then I saw it…the billboard at the local Library with the phrase that God used to center me again…

“A goal without a plan is just a wish"

(this was a quote of French writer Antoine De Saint-Exupery 1900-1944),

We had brainstormed what needed to be done, we had set the Goal for worship attendance that day (a lofty 300 people on 10/11/09)…

but we failed to plan HOW and WHO would do WHAT.

Then I remembered another quote that I use to have on my wall of my old office…

“What’s everyone’s responsibility is no ones responsibility”

The leadership team had been taking the approach that “everyone” would do something to make this “Big Celebration” a success. But we didn’t plan it out. We didn’t plan out assignments and responsibilities. We didn’t plan for accountability.

So, today we plan, tomorrow we plan, and this weekend we share the plan with the leadership team, and then we “work the plan”.

Now we will see what type of leader I really am.

Now we will see what type of leaders I have surrounded myself with @ LifeSpring.

Now we will see who will step up in action… who will step out in faith…. and who will side-step God’s call on their life.

Thank you God for your direction and patience with LifeSpring. May the "BIG CELEBRATION" day, be that... A big celebration of your love!

Rough Road ahead

I saw this sign when I first moved to Statesboro, about a year ago.  Just the other day while driving down the same road I saw it again.  Of course my mind began to ponder what I could expect as I continued to drive.  After a couple of hundred yards or so, I encountered the rough road…and it was rough, but only for a short distance. 

As the road smoothed out, I began to think more about the sign, who put it up, and why they put it up. 

Ok, some things are obvious; the DOT (Department Of Transportation) in Ga. put the sign up to identify a poor section of paved road and warn motorist ahead of time of this potentially dangerous stretch of road.  As I thought more about it, I wondered how many man-hours and cost the DOT had invested in designing, producing, and then erecting the sign in this location.  Not to mention they probably had to send a person out to verify that the road was actually “rough” and warranted a sign being erected to notify others.

It’s been a year, and I wonder - why DOT doesn’t just FIX THE ROAD and take the sign down?   They have the tools, materials, and manpower.  Isn’t that their responsibility too?  Not just identifying “problem areas” for others, but doing something about them? 

You know, some people in churches today do similar things.  They “IDENTIFY” problems in others lives, or in our community, and then put big signs on them that “warn” people about the things they have “identified”.  Then they do nothing about helping solve or correct the situation, even though many times they have the power and resources to positively make a difference.        Heck, even the disciples did this…

Matt 14:15

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."

The disciples identified the problems, and verbally were putting up signs of warning to Jesus about the problems that lie ahead.

But Jesus knew that through power of the Holy Spirit, these Disciples who had recently returned from “preaching the Kingdom of God” and “healing the sick” could take care of this problem too.  So, Jesus told the disciples what I believe he is telling his church today… 

 Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." 

In other words, don’t just “Identify” and put a sign up about the problem, but FIX THE ROAD.  Give them something to eat.

Tomorrow when your out and about identifying and putting signs up of all the “rough roads” that lie ahead for your family, business, church, community, and world, how about stopping for a moment, roll up your sleeves, and begin FIXING THE ROAD.  Make some WAVES of Jesus' love!