be like me, be like me, be like me, lie to me

i'm pretty convinced it is ingrained into our nature to expect others to be like us. in other words, we crave uniformity.

when you are a certain type of person, you tend to feel this more than others. i think creatives feel this a ton. creatives tend to be stereotyped to oblivion...they're lazy, unorganized, messy, late, procrastinators, with untucked shirts, uncut hair, pierced everything, and no money.

these are of course are all lies, but are all true. i have been lazy, unorganized, messy, late, procrastinated, left my shirt untucked when it was 'appropriate' to tuck it in, left my hair ragged even when it makes people uncomfortable, pierced my ears 5 times and my eyebrow and can be known as something of a mooch.

now. i have been these things, and many 'creatives' have been these things, not nearly always all of them at once, and even if they were, why are some so uncomfortable with it? the answer is often, but not always, uniformity.

i have a friend that works at a large church and has been there for around 8 years. she is a creative to the very fiber of her being. she has been overlooked, ignored and devalued time and time again over the course of that time. after as long as she has been around, she is starting to gain some ground. after nearing a decade, the need for her to look the same, act the same, be the same, has started to decrease...dare i say some have even celebrated her.

i knew another creative that was basically told 'if you would cut your hair and dress nicer you would probably be on staff at this church already.'

and yes, creatives do it too...judging the straight lace.

we walk about life saying 'be like me, be like me, be like me..." and what we are really saying is 'i'd rather you lie to me.' we are more comfortable with people lying about themselves to fit in than celebrating who they really are.

so who are you?
are you willing to let people tell the truth?
be like you

Insane Campaign Explained Video...

pass this on to everyone you know by copying and pasting this link...
http://www.hurl.ws/472w

things i've learned (am learning)

a couple days ago i went through all of my journals and made a list of important things i've written down in the past 8 years or so... many are from people i look up to, some are from moments i've had with God... let me know which ones resonate with you

• callousness is the devil's home
• seek God first before everything else
• buy wisdom
• bow your soul
• submit to leadership
• be aware
• be careful about being too smart
• you don't learn grace only once
• obedience is highly valued
• God wants your character to rise to the level of your ability
• its about knowing the Father
• be genuinely interested in others
• be diligent with what is in front of you
• grow in competency 
• it takes 2 years to work your first day and 4 years to really know someone
• confess to God and man
• as soon as you're afraid to lose it, you've lost it
• be a living tool
• the sabbath is a matter of life and death
• there is peace in serving others
• God resists the proud
• structure is key
• don't succeed at something that doesn't matter
• don't ask for "staying power", but for His power
• let God do what God will do
• a fool is full of opinions
• discipline is the bridge between desire and delight
• what will your sin cost me?
• there are no such things as secrets
• all my fountains are in Him
• feelings lie
• focusing on morality doesn't produce morality
• the kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is king
• add value to people
• stay on the altar
• being a christian is about becoming
• there are certain things that will never be your role
• in the absence of leadership, lead
• do little things well
• a spiritually bored church is boring to the lost
• judas couldn't sell the perfume, so he sold Jesus...what are you selling?
• it is always good to remember what God has done
• i get to choose how i believe
• let the peace of Christ rule in your heart
• the grumbler lives in a state of self-induced stress
• there is a direct relation between how thankful you are and the strength of your faith
• am i more concerned with God's kingdom or mine?
• couch yourself as a learner
• i am here to prepare others for acts of service
• we are unnecessarily dramatic people
• grow in awareness of the impact of every moment
• all the world knows He is God
• be supportive, not suspicious 
• His words are life and breath, so breath deep
• don't go to Hagar for what is promised in Sarah
• don't live on yesterday's faith
• when we get ridiculous we see things no one has seen before
• being disciplined harvests righteousness and peace
• don't answer when not asked
• don't confuse being a witness with being a participant
• if you have a problem mouth, you have a problem heart
• we live our lives through the window of eternity because faith is what convinces us we're not crazy
• there reason some pastors don't worship is they are used to being worshipped
• the holy spirit brings rest
• integrity can be caught
• you have to be a good follower to be a good leader
• connect with God through hiddenness
• you reproduce who you are
• innocence is important
• he is not like us
• like completes love
• we don't lead people to where we are but to who God is
• you will attract more birds with bread than with stones
• we represent the Father with every moment and every word
• its better to deal with it now, not letting it define you, than to wait and always struggle
• don't worship God with something that cost you nothing
• God doesn't want our information, but our realization
• careful when "evaluating" not to be "elevating" yourself
• do your best to value the people above the process
• unity requires intentionality 
• learn the difference between the need to "confront" and the desire to "control"

imaginary lines

We draw imaginary lines habitually, like an addict distracted from what is really happening in front of us because of our internal knee-jerk need to get a fix, we draw lines.

A good example is the Insane Campaign we are doing at The Vine. I sent the support letter to everyone in my email explaining how we are trying to finish a facility to benefit the kingdom of God in the area of Braselton, Georgia. One response I got basically asked me not to send this letter to anyone from “their” church.

A line was drawn because this person didn’t understand and they have good reason to think the people from their church wouldn’t understand why a person from one church would give dollars to another church in America.

Now, that same person or same church has no problem when a missionary to another country asks for dollars to help finish a facility to expand the kingdom of God in that non-North American area. Why the line?

Think about when Paul from the Bible would go on missions, the churches he had started helped support the ones he was now starting, and they all basically would have fit within a geographic location smaller than the United States.

Can you imagine people writing Paul back and saying, “We won’t be supporting this particular venture of yours because it’s relatively close geographically. If you however choose to travel further away, beyond our own country’s border, we would consider helping.”

Lines are stupid. God didn’t put these lines here. Its ridiculous.