When your job stinks...

What do you do when your job doesn't reflect what you really love?

It’s helpful to think of a particular job (the thing that brings home the bacon) as a divine appointment or commission.  It may be for a few months or longer; but for that time and place, and to those people, God is asking us to bring our unique presence.  They need you there -- even if they don't know it.

The problem is, most of us don’t know whether or not that particular job is God's divine assignment for us:   It might be.  It might not be.  What if God's not asking you to stay there?  It’s always helpful to ask God the question: "Is this where you want me for this time?"  

When the job gets particularly tough or the people you interact with become particularly frustrating, it will strengthen you to know that God has sent you there [if he, in fact, has], for at least a time.  It’s a lot harder to put up with those things if you don’t know you’re supposed to be there.

He's also training you for what is to come.  Not punishing you ... training you.  Your going to need what you'll gain in this time of development and cultivation.  You don't want to rush the field without the proper training:  Many have and many have lost heart because of it.

Ask God whether or not he's assigned you there... then trust.

Podcast - Calling Series -"Mystery" -- guest Gary Barkalow joins Jim

Calling Series - part 2- "Mystery"

Guest Gary Barkalow (www.thenobleheart.com) joins Jim again. Confusion is a normal part of the journey.  How do we walk with God so that we don’t conclude:  “God isn’t speaking to me,”  or “I must be blowing it.”?

[Also available on iTunes.]

Related posts:

Calling Series - part one -"Orientation."

E-book available - "RECOVER YOUR GOOD HEART"

It's possible to be forgiven, yet not free. 

Many Christians are living under very damaging assumptions about their heart.  I wrote the book to expose those assumptions and to help readers believe that their heart is now truly good and noble.

My book, Recover Your Good Heart is available in E-book format below.  You can also find it in print on Amazon.

RECOVER YOUR GOOD HEART

'HOW TO SHAME A CHRISTIAN' -- mini-movie

I created this mini-movie to expose some of the wounding, shame-based messages Christians hear. 

Why you've been selected for Special Forces

Army Special Operation Forces

"They free the oppressed...They win hearts and minds...They assure support." 
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Would you rather have a police squad or a special ops unit protect you? 

It depends upon the context, doesn't it?  Each is appropriate for different situations:  You don't need Delta Force to protect your town, your local parks, or inner cities, generally.  You do need Delta Force to locate and take-down Al-Quaeda and insurgency groups who are able to exact large-scale destruction over mass populations, or who can infiltrate high-level targets within our borders.

The kind of tactical force you need depends upon the story going on.  If you believe we're living in Lake Wobegon, you need not be concerned with the hazards of living in that story -- save for the gossip flowing from the pulpit of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility. 

However, if you believe the unfolding Story that God has invited us into more accurately represents Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, or Marc Bowden's Black Hawk Down, then you'll need a different missional vehicle -- you'll need Special Forces watching your back.  God has an enemy, and therefore you do. God's enemy is never people:  his Enemy is the one who fell from heaven, and the angels that fell with him. 
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Here's the unnerving news:  you've been assigned to Special Forces.  God could use the angelic forces, and he does; but he quite specifically chooses you.  Your unique capacities and the effect of your presence there is directly related to the needs of the unit, and to the outcome of the Story.

Furthermore, each gender has been selected, and every generation as well.

What do you bring?

Podcast - CALLING SERIES - part one - "Orientation" - special guest Gary Barkalow

ORIENTATION - Calling Series - part one - special guest Gary Barkalow joins Jim.

Many Christians love Jesus, but have no idea what their place in the Story is.

How do we become oriented to our location in the Story?  Gary talks about three points of orientation that keep us "alert and oriented" to our place in the story:  story - desire - journey.  (This is part one of a 7-part series Gary and Jim will do.)

Gary Barkalow spent 7 years with the Ransomed Heart mens' team and is well-known for his teaching on calling.  Visit his site:  www.thenobleheart.com. 
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Leave your comments below!

Myth: "My calling is just to love whoever is in front of me."

Myth:  “My calling is just to love whoever is in front of me.”

Your calling has broader implications for the surrounding culture and what God is doing in the world.  What you can offer is not simply to impact who ever might cross your path at the time.  Don’t underestimate your place in the Story by thinking too casually,  “My calling is just to show God’s love wherever I am.”  It includes that dimension, but more.

God is not casual or haphazard in his efforts to redeem all of creation from the ground up.  If you are too casual about your place in the Story, whole groups of people may live without what you uniquely can offer them.  God doesn’t want to have to send them someone else:  you’re the best fit.  

This isn’t about pressure or guilt – it’s about getting perspective.  Even the devil doesn’t underestimate you. 

“Some Christians prefer to keep their faith to the level of the personal, the relational, the spiritual, and the simple.  I believe that such a view of faith is misguided.  Calling is certainly a truth that touches our personal lives intimately, bit it also touches cultural life potently.  Calling is more than purely cultural, but it is also more than purely personal.” (Os Guinness, The Call)   

Guinness laments further that

“…second only to the joy of knowing [Jesus] has been a sorrow at the condition of those of us today who name ourselves his followers.  If so many of us profess to live the gospel yet are so pathetically marginal  to the life of our societies and so nondescript and inconsequential in our individual lives, is there something wrong with the gospel, or does the problem lie with us?”  ( The Call)

What you are called to individually, is directly tied to what God is currently up to in human history.  It's that important.

"Something more glorious"

 “For God is not merely mending, not simply restoring a status quo.  Redeemed humanity is to be something more glorious than unfallen humanity.” – C.S. Lewis

Here's the key part of that quote:  "something more glorious than unfallen humanity."  At what point in history did we have unfallen, untarnished humanity?  Of course we have to go way back to Adam and Eve.  Is it possible that we today, as restored by Jesus work, have a capacity that Adam and Eve did not -- even in their unblemished and shame-less state, prior to their Fall?

So how can you have people that are better than Adam and Eve began as?  Well, we can't say that these "more glorious" ones Lewis is talking about would never sin like Adam and Eve; because even in our redeemed state as Christ-followers, we may still sin.

We also can't say that we now have God at our side to help us, for they enjoyed the tangible presence of God as well.

So what's our advantage over our unfallen Parents? 

Alongside vs. Inside:  While God may have walked alongside Adam and Eve in the Garden, he now moves inside us  - on a permanent basis; inextricably bound to our bodies, hearts, minds and souls.  He has enmeshed and entangled himself in us, through the restoring work of Jesus for us. We are now flesh of his flesh and he flesh of our flesh, spirit of our spirit, mind of our mind.

"Christ in you, the hope of glory" is not a description of the future alone:  it is who you are right now.

What is better about this inside-you, God-bound-to-you, gift we were given?

1. Because Jesus cannot die, you cannot die.
2. What Jesus knows about living well, you can know as well.
3. Jesus' capacity for living well is yours now.

Do you see any other ways in which we in Christ are "more glorious" than unfallen Adam and Eve?  (Leave your comments.)

You are more than your job.

It's not about a job, employment, or an occupation.

In his book, Working, Studs Terkel realized...that working is about the search for daily meaning in the struggle for daily bread.  Most people, he found, live somewhere between a grudging acceptance of their job and an active dislike of it.  But a recurring theme in [his] interviews is a yearning for a sense of meaning that comes when calling precedes and overaches work and career.  -- from The Call, by Os Guiness

What if you lose your job:  Do you lose your calling?  What if you leave (or are asked to leave) a 'ministry' position:  Do you lose your calling?

Not at all.  As Gary Barkalow says, "Your calling can't be contained in any single job."  Why?  Because you take your calling with you wherever you go -- to work, home, friendships:  It is your particular splendor - the impact and affect of your life on those around you.  It is how you, in particular, shimmer.

Note:  "Shimmer" will be the title of my upcoming book on identity.  I'll try to give you bits and pieces of it here on the blog as the book takes shape.

Ideally, your 'job' will line up with your calling.  Yet there are times, when God (for good reasons) assigns us to a job that doesn't seem to match -- yet he still needs you to bring your splendor and unique brilliance there.  Don't underestimate the importance of what you bring, wherever you are.

Is 'grace' the new secular humanism?

I'll tell you why I raise the question:  For many in the grace movement (of which I consider myself a part), there is the subtle transition away from the distinctive work of Christ for us (and the radical problem of personal evil it solves) towards a secular-humanism with a nod to Jesus, (but a revised Jesus.) This new 'grace' is a constraint-free, fully-permissive grace (but not 'profitable') that permits the adherent to believe whatever suits him or her.   

This revised grace flows from a reconstructed version of Scripture that no longer values absolutes:  Everything is now fluid and flexible.   This has happened in large part because of postmodernism's affect upon the Church, as much as anywhere else.  It has resulted in the deconstruction of everything, leaving many in the Church to develop their own stories piecemeal, and according to their own tastes...and wounds.  (Our unhealed wounds lead us far more than we know.)

This new grace is also a reaction to the failures of institutional ideals (and there are many).  I  myself was deeply wounded by the institutionalized version of the 'gospel.'  In many ways, an initial polarization against the things that once bound us is completely normal....as long as we don't stay there.  Healthy development means continuously reassessing our current position so that we are lead to truer and deeper freedom in Christ. 

Grace is a great thing, but it is not license to construct our own versions of the Gospel.   I'm not even sure you need Jesus with this new and revised grace, nor do you need the testimony about him and his cure for the human condition as described in the scriptures.   Many no longer even hold the Scriptures as the final authority against which all other voices are measured.  (God does speak to our hearts outside of Scripture, but never in contradiction to it.  So how do you evaluate what you hear if you've discarded the template altogether?)

Secular humanism, under the guise of 'grace' doesn't lead us into reality any better than the storylines we followed before we met Christ;  for it becomes unhinged from the actual person and restoring work of the actual Jesus.  This altered humanistic distortion of grace reconstructs the Gospel, leaving each of its adherents coccooned in their private plot-lines and fragmented narratives.  How is that helpful?

Have you seen this dynamic at work?  Do you agree, disagree?

VideoBlog - LOSS OF IDENTITY

Use verbs that reveal your design

Choose verbs that reveal your design.

I have this need to figure out why something or someone exists,  their design or purpose.  Because of that, I've written countless memos to myself, scratching out statements and creeds that help me understand my own design.  Through this process, I've gained greater and greater clarity about why I'm here.  It's clarifying.

Here's my calling credo:  "I have consistently loved to create and reveal design."  And here's how that has showed up in my life:

• Loved to sketch as a teenager
• Loved to create high-quality music since a child
• Love identifying the layers of instrumentation in a song
• Love to create digital graphic design – website headers, images
• Love to help others see their design (purpose, identity, true heart)

Notice the two verbs that I used in my calling credo:  "create" and "reveal." 

Here's a credo sentence structure you can use to help you: 

"I have consistently loved to (verb/verbs) _______________________________."

Here are some common verbs.  See if any resonate with your heart:

lead, challenge, create, provoke, identify, develop, influence, train, support, comfort, heal, transform, encourage, prepare, invite.  [There are more common verbs here.]

Here are some sample credo statements:

• I have consistently loved to identify others strengths.
• I have consistently loved analyzing information in order to help organizations or people perform at their best.
• I have consistently loved encouraging and developing courage and confidence in children.

Of course, at the end of your credo sentence is the what that you want to see happen:

• "others strengths"
• "help organizations or people perform at their best"
• "courage and confidence in children."

What verbs would you use to describe what you consistently have loved doing?

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Related posts:

"Is there a specific calling for each of us?"

VideoBlog - CONCERNS vs. CALLINGS

Related posts:

• Podcast -- DISCOVERING YOUR CALLING - guest Gary Barkalow talks with Jim

God is committed to your splendor

What if God couldn't keep quiet about you?  Eager to show you off -- to expose not your sin; but your splendor and goodness? 

Your glory is God's mission.  Listen to what he says:

¹ For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
       for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet,
       till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
       her salvation like a blazing torch.

 ² The nations will see your righteousness,
       and all kings your glory;
       you will be called by a new name
       that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

³ You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand,
       a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

 ⁴ No longer will they call you Deserted,
       or name your land Desolate.
       But you will be called Hephzibah, [my delight is in her]
       and your land Beulah [married] ;
       for the LORD will take delight in you,
       and your land will be married.

 ⁵ As a young man marries a maiden,
       so will your sons marry you;
       as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
       so will your God rejoice over you.

Isaiah 62:1-5

Let him do this.  It's quite possibly backwards from what you've been taught your whole life.  Give him permission to show you off.

Jim is interviewed on "The Renegade Christian Entrepreneurs" podcast

Topic:  "Striving vs. Action."  When things aren't moving fast enough for us, how do we relate to God when we're feeling the pressure to make things happen?  This was a fun interview.   Thanks to Matthew Gillogly and Bob Regnerus, hosts of the Renegade Christian Entrepreneurs podcast for having me as their guest today.

VideoBlog - How experiences can color our perceptions

VideoBlog - STRIVING vs. ACTION

Podcast-Discovering your calling -- Guest Gary Barkalow talks with Jim

How do we move beyond the personality inventories and spiritual gifts test that often leave us unsatisfied and still looking for our calling?

Gary Barkalow spent seven years on the men's leadership and speaking team with Ransomed Heart Ministries when God called him to launch full-time into helping others discover their place in the Story. 

Gary's teaching on calling is the best and most helpful I've found.  You can learn more about Gary at his website:  www.thenobleheart.com.

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes.

Interview with Gary Barkalow on discovering your calling

Tomorrow, on BlogTalk Radio, I will be interviewing Gary Barklow on the topic of "discovering your calling."  Gary was formerly on the men's leadership and speaking team with Ransomed Heart Ministries. 

Gary's teaching on calling is the best and most helpful I've found.  You can learn more about Gary at his website:  www.thenobleheart.com. 

Here's the link to tomorrow's interview with Gary.

Photo of Jim's crest ring

A week or so ago, I showed you the design I came up for my crest ring.  A personal crest is a helpful visual reminder of our unique identity.  My design included very specific symbols that reveal how God has re-named me and called me.   [See previous post, "Creating a personal crest"  for the original design on paper, and an explanation of the different symbols on the ring.]

Below is a photo of how the actual ring turned out. 

As I worked with the designer, we decided to turn the sword sideways and have the blade wrap around the ring.  In addition, the musical whole-note is on the back of the ring and not visible in the photo.  I think it turned out really well.

The jeweler I worked with, deSignet International,  was fantastic and reasonably priced.  They have a website, but are physically located near Niagra Falls.  Their designers - Harry, Bob, and Reg - were very helpful and talked me through the process.  They were open to my ideas while providing the experience I didn't have to translate my thoughts into reality.  I have no problem recommending them to you.  On their website, you can see lots of designs for men and women, and they enjoy custom work, as they did for me.

Hope this gives you ideas for remembering your own identity.