A quick reminder that tomorrow, October 10th, I will be Lisa Shaw’s guest on The Whole Woman Radio Show. We will be talking about Faith, Character, and Holiness. The show airs online at 11am. I’d love to have you join us. Here is the link to listen:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cwa-radio/2013/10/10/the-whole-woman
Last week I attended the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. Catalyst events seek to bring together Christian leaders for a time of refreshing worship, powerful teaching, and relationship building. The theme of this year’s conference was KNOWN.
I registered for the conference almost a year ago, feeling that I was supposed to be there. I went alone, not knowing if anyone I knew would be attending. As it turned out I didn’t run into anyone I knew in the 10,000 attendees.
The first speaker on Thursday morning was Andy Stanley. I have always enjoyed Andy’s teaching and preaching, and let me tell you, he brought it! He entitled his message KNOWN Survivor: Surviving Your Appetite for KNOWN.
I knew from the very first sentence that Andy’s message was going to be GOOD! The first thing I wrote down was this:
An appetite is never fully or finally satisfied. Each of us has an appetite to be known.
Whoa! Um, yeah! Even little kids have an appetite to be known. Stanley illustrated that by saying that every child wants to be watched/known by his or her Mommy or Daddy. As we grow up, our appetite changes from wanting to be known by Mommy or Daddy, to wanting to be known by teachers, peers, and others.
Here is what slayed me. Andy said that few people ever say ‘I don’t want more _________________.” Fill in the blank from your own life, friends.
“I don’t want more MONEY.”
“I don’t want more SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES.”
“I don’t want more FACEBOOK FRIENDS, OR TWITTER FOLLOWERS.”
“I don’t want more BLOG COMMENTS.”
“I don’t want more CUSTOMERS/PATIENTS/CLIENTS.”
“I don’t want more YOUTH IN MY YOUTH MINISTRY.”
“I don’t want more PEOPLE TO JOIN THE CHURCH I PASTOR.”
He’s right. Few people say those things, because we all have an appetite to be known. When the Lord called me into ministry in late 2007, a teeny part of me (okay, well maybe bigger than teeny) was certain I was destined to be the next major women’s ministry speaker. I gauged my WORTH as a speaker and writer by things like number of speaking engagements, blog comments, article acceptance letters, and Facebook friends and comments. Imagine my dismay when an editor from a MAJOR, and I mean MAJOR in the world of Christian publishing, burst my bubble by telling me that while I had great writing, I didn’t have name recognition, therefore, they would not be interested in publishing my writing. Well!! How rude of him!
Andy Stanley cracked me up when he said; “We all have a little Lady Gaga in us.” Lord, have mercy, he’s right!
So, what do we do with this appetite to be KNOWN?
We remember Who known is from, and Who it’s for! I want to make sure you got that, so let me say it again. We remember WHO known is from, and WHO it’s for.
Stanley said, “My appetite for KNOWN will only be satisfied by a NAME, a WHO, Jesus. That should energize everything we do in ministry.”
What wisdom! Very few of us in ministry do not struggle with KNOWN. It is a product of our flesh to struggle with KNOWN, but the flesh does not have to win the struggle.
Although my goal in ministry has always been to POINT to JESUS, Andy’s message was a reminder of the reason God called me, and everyone else who serves HIS kids, into ministry. I want to be KNOWN for making Jesus KNOWN, and that necessitates that I regularly ask myself this question: “What is more important to me: that I be known, or that Jesus be known?”
MEDITATION MOMENT: If you are in ministry or other positions of leadership, whether secular or religious, have you ever considered your desire for KNOWN? What thoughts come to your mind as you think about your own walk with KNOWN?
