Ministry Toolbox (Rick Warren) Response

In response to Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox article I received this week, I sent the below reply. (If you haven't read Rick's article yet, check it out first HERE)

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RE: "Maintaining God's Blessing" article

Hi, Rick - greatly appreciate your heart for God's family and your gracious support of His Church.

I want to share an observation - it seems to me that the purity, maturity, and unity you point to as a means to maintain God's blessing are in fact God's blessing themselves. It is only by grace - that is, His work, not mine - that I have (or maintain) purity, maturity, or unity. In fact, my trying to be pure is my flesh. My trying to grow is a focus on me and not a focus on Him as the author and perfecter of my faith, and my trying to bring about unity is sure to be divisive instead of you and I focusing on Christ and enjoying the by product of that unified pursuit.

Scripture certainly calls us to these things - as descriptors resulting from my abiding relationship with Christ. But surely our quiet time doesn't cause us to grow, my attention to detail doesn't make me pure, and my work to be at peace with others doesn't build unity any more than my trying to be good made me right with God.

In fact, when I read Ephesians 1:3-4 (or 2 Peter 1:3) and Eph. 1:15-17, it seems that God is more eager that we would know what we already have than He is for us pursue those things by our actions.

Of course, my faith LET'S Christ DO by grace all this and more. I just don't want to confuse who is the Doer, and who is the receiver. :)

Just my thoughts. Thanks again for your consideration and faithful work with pastors and churches, Rick!

ridiculously graced...

-mike.

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...so what are YOUR thoughts?

-md