Scott Harris

My definition of a pharisee is someone that keeps the law but neglects the spirit of it. They love the law but lost touch with the One to whom the law was to point to. Their obsession with law-keeping blinds them to the higher calling of justice, mercy and compassion.

So are you one? Well, we all are to an extent. But most of us think we’re not.

I think there’s a simple test: What offends you?

Allowing the sick to stay sick because our “rules” keeps us from engaging them? Or healing when doing so requires us to reach outside the bounds of our traditions?

To simplistic? What do you think?

Like you, I’m a little numb by the images coming out of Haiti.

I’d love to wax eloquent about how those of us with much (by world or Haitian standards) should give to help. I won’t.

Please give something.

At least as much as you’d spend on coffee in a month might be a good place to start!

Definitely worth looking at. And maybe read the book…

Rob Bell Interviews Shane Hipps About Technology from Deadly Viper on Vimeo.

Does your appetite for significance flow from your pursuit of God or drive your pursuit of Him?

There is a difference. A big difference!

The former is about making Him great. It’s about His Kingdom first. His glory. The latter is about me. ME. ME!

One is about worship and the other about attempting to get God to perform so I can feel good about my time on this planet.

The ironic thing is that pursuing God first always leads to significance. Always!

I found out that the “blizzard” I blogged about in an earlier post was actually the result of what’s called the lake effect. Admittedly, I was puzzled by this unique experience. It came on suddenly and in full force. Being from the Northwest with all our beautiful mountain passes, I’m used to driving up and over and consequently through snow storms. But this place is flat. I mean pancake flat!

Lake Effect snow is the result of warmer Great Lakes water providing the moisture and a strong South wind funneling it toward land or what they call a “snow belt”.

In the church world there are Lake Effect Churches too. These are those anomalies that no one can predict and get all our attention. Their pastors become rock stars with gazillions of Twitter followers. And we attempt to replicate their success in our settings.

But the conditions have to be just right for the Lake Effect: Freezing temperatures, warmer than freezing water and a nasty horizontal wind. All of which are the result of our Creator.

I’ve got this theory: Just like the conditions of the Lake Effect, church growth is a result of the many coniditions being in alignment and spiritual conditions is just one category.

I’ll be exploring the others in future posts.