Ordination: Been a running theme lately...it finally happened Sunday Evening! It was a very sweet service! The praise band played and I got to be drum in the band (as I normally do) but wouldn't normally being the ordained. It went well, however! There was a sweet spirit in the room, my family and grandmother was there, and many friends!
The best part for me was the laying of hands by all the ordained men (deacons, pastors, respectively). I heard many great words of encouragement and great prayers were cast over me. I only pray that I may be the man worthy of the calling set forth.
Sin: Sin is a big deal and is talked about a lot. I touched on this in my last post. I realize that everyone sins. I realize God calls us to hold each other accountable. But I have also come to realize, maybe even in these last few moments, that among others, 3 considerations need to be made before confronting someone's sin.
Motive
Heart
Love
Motive: Why are you confronting this person? Is it because of this sin? Is there some other reason? Is it for their benefit, or yours?
Heart: While motive may seemingly fall into the heart category, what I mean by Heart is, are you sinning the same sin your confronting? Speaking in the last post about the thing you talk about the most is the thing you struggle with the most, what I meant by that was positive or negative.
Those who speak so highly about their lives, how humble they are, how great their marriages are, et cetera, may very well have no humility, (or very little) and have a poor marriage. But they speak it because they desire it. Think about Pastors who have failed morally. Most spoke against it, and very adamantly so! Did they not believe what they were saying? NO! They knew it was wrong, but sometimes we project guilt and call out sin to push it off of us, so we feel better about ourselves. You MUST check the heart.
Love: This is my BIGGEST struggle of the three. The Bible says we should confront others about sin, but to do so in LOVE. What kind of Love? God's Love. What does that mean? Well, basically it means that our interaction with them serves to not only call out sin, but to edify and encourage someone to turn away from it, and to restore them in the right direction.
Alot of time when we confront someone, we leave them battered and broken, spiritually, if no other way, and feeling guilty and burdened. That is NOT the purpose of confrontation. We should confront sin, but we must LOVE the sinner. Part of loving them is helping them through the issue we felt so strongly to condemn.
WinterJam: On a lighter note, WinterJam is this Sunday, and my students are stoked! I know Tony Nolan, the speaker who has already led over 11,000 THIS year through WinterJam to Christ, and I am hoping to hook up with him there, and meet some of the bands in the youth pastor sessions!
Those are my treading thoughts; any thoughts of your own?
-Brian
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