WEDNESDAY'S WORD - LANGUISH - SADELL BRADLEY -01/26/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD LANGUISH 1/26/2022 "The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body."― Mahatma Gandi WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY GOOD CHURCH: GOD IS GOOD TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST LIVE ON @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org A 2020 international study with participants from 78 different countries between April and June 2020, found that 10% of people around the world experienced languishing during the pandemic. What is LANGUISHING? It's defined as a living thing losing or lacking vitality, growing weak or feeble, failing to make progress or be successful; pining with love or grief; displaying sentimentality or melancholy; or suffering from being forced to remain in an unpleasant place or situation. Given those definitions, that number could easily be more than 10% these days. I've felt several of those things during the past two years, how about you? Languishing is a middle category between flourishing or thriving and depression. Been losing energy and feeling... blahs? that's languishing. This is not the first season in our history where we've languished. We've survived the Spanish Flu and other pandemics, World Wars, economic downturns like the Great Depression, 70's inflation, and the housing crisis of 2008. We've experienced feeling as if we were just treading water, not advancing. Languishing happens to individuals and entire societies. There is nothing new under the sun. Jeremiah wrote these words during a time of drought, famine, sword, and pestilence," Judah mourns, her cities languish; they wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem. The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns but find no water. They return with their jars unfilled; dismayed and despairing, they cover their heads. The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land; the farmers are dismayed and cover their heads." Israel, in that very hard time, understood they were under God's judgment. They needed to repent and return to Him and hope for His intervention. Jeremiah records them crying out to the only One who could rescue them, "Although our sins testify against us, do something, LORD, for the sake of your name. For we have often rebelled; we have sinned against you." (Jeremiah 14:2-7) I wonder if we as Christ followers are crying out to God now—or if we've acquiesced to just coping. Later in the book, the prophet reveals that God will restore Israel and Judah. Specifically, in Jeremiah 31:25, ESV he writes, "For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” This is what we're all hoping and believing to see. This time has caused all of us to reflect on what's important. Like the quote from Gandi above, many of us have found that taking care of our internal physical, mental, emotional, relational and spiritual health brings the most life satisfaction. We know and trust that our God will fill us up again!

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SYCOPHANCY - Sadell Bradley- 1/19/2022

WEDNESDAY'S WORD SYCOPHANCY 1/19/2022 "Sycophancy toward those who hold power is a fact in every regime, and especially in a democracy, where unlike tyranny, there is an accepted principle of legitimacy that breaks the inner will to resist."― Allan Bloom - American Philosopher

 WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY GOOD CHURCH: CULTURE PART 2—NONTOXIC TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST LIVE ON @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org

Former President Bill Clinton said, "Surrounding yourself with sycophants and bootlickers is the surest route to failure." No matter what you might think about his life or politics, this quote is real. A SYCOPHANT is a person who acts obsequiously (obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree) toward someone important in order to gain an advantage. Hanger-on, suck-up, and minion are synonyms. As a leader, even in the church, you don't want to surround yourself with 'yes' men and women, but some do. You want folks who will be truthful, but kind. One of the main characteristics of sycophants is flattery. In the Despicable Me franchise, though you see the Minions act in submission to their villain masters, they're not talking. Humans, on the other hand, who want to be in the good graces of power, often attempt to manipulate them with words of praise. Scripture tells us to be wary of these people, who are not really friends but enemies, in Proverbs 26:24-28 MSG, "Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend, all the while plotting against you. When he speaks warmly to you, don’t believe him for a minute; he’s just waiting for the chance to rip you off. No matter how shrewdly he conceals his malice, eventually his evil will be exposed in public. 27 Malice backfires; spite boomerangs. 28 Liars hate their victims; flatterers sabotage trust." If you've been observing Christian circles lately from all sides, you've probably seen some sycophancy—people just going along with the loudest, most dominant leaders in order to share in their power or gain prestige or benefits—whether they agree with them or not. It was going on with the Pharisees and religious leaders of Jesus' day too. In Matthew 15:14, He called them "blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." Sycophancy is not a recipe for success.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - CULTURE - Sadell Bradley - 1/12/2022

WEDNESDAY'S WORD CULTURE 1/12/2022 "The culture of a workplace —an organization's values, norms, and practices—has a huge impact on our happiness and success."― Adam Grant, Author  WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY GOOD CHURCH: CULTURE TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST LIVE ON @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." This famous quote from leadership coach Peter Drucker means that though strategy is important and necessary for any business or organization—CULTURE—the customs, attitudes, spoken and unspoken contracts, achievements. and behavior characteristics of a social group are more important. This is true in secular society, It is also true in the Church. Maybe you haven't noticed, but the Church has been getting a pretty bad rap lately. In a post-Christian society, people say they don't participate in "organized religion" or that they 'like Jesus, but not the Church." In that last few years the bold criticism and sometimes vitriol with which people refer to the Church and its followers is astounding. Nowadays they're not just disagreeing with doctrine/teachings or particular Biblical passages; they're taking a hard look at some Church cultures and saying, "If this is what following Jesus is like, I want no part of it." The political in-fighting, racism. segregation, lack of diversity, disunity, and the rise of star-making celebrity without holy lifestyles and accountability— among other thing—have left a bad taste in the mouths of folks on the outside and on the inside of the Church. People no longer want to "come or go" to our churches. They don't know that PEOPLE who are Believers in Jesus Christ, are the Church, not buildings. Even Christians who have been members for decades now post negative opinions about the Church on social media about people they once loved, and the Christ they vowed to serve. We as a Church won't get anywhere with all our strategies with a bad culture. From the initiation of the New Testament Church, there have been several cultural characteristics by which we are to be identified. Jesus said in John 13:34 AMP "By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.” We lost it right there didn't we. Luke described for us some of the practices that were the DNA of the Church in Acts. "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47) When we look at the Church in this time, is it at all reminiscent of these Scriptures? Sadly, no. I"m not just writing about your local Church, but about the universal Church (that's what the word Catholic means). Because.. as one Body in Christ, if some of us are not there...none of us are.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - RECALCITRANT - Sadell Bradley - 1/5/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD RECALCITRANT 1/5/2022 "There is in the human race some dark spirit of recalcitrance, always pulling us in the direction contrary to which we are reasonably expected to go."  ― Max Beerhbohm - English Essayist

 WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY GOALS TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST LIVE ON @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org

Tomorrow marks one year since the Riot at our Nation's Capitol. America's great socio-political divide was further exposed that day. Some claimed the uprising was an expression of patriotism, while other believed they were watching a horrifying display of defiance and recalcitrance. RECALCITRANT means having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline. The Latin word means 'kicking out with the heels.' Synonyms are obstinate, ungovernable, insubordinate, headstrong, and bloody-minded. Across the world people watched aghast as the "United States" looked anything but unified. Not only the building, but one of our most sacred governmental institutions—our Congress, was stormed. Our government's leaders and those called to protect and serve them were endangered. Whatever the motive or intent of the rioters or anarchists depending on your viewpoint may have been, five people died and hundreds were injured including 138 police officers. Hearings are still be held to unpack this sad and troubling tragedy that is now history, to find the truth, and dispense justice. Sometimes it takes Divine Intervention to confront our recalcitrance. I can't help but think of Saul, before he was met by Jesus with a blinding light on the Damascus Road. He was zealously persecuting and killing Christ's followers, including Stephen one of the first deacons. You couldn't tell Saul he was wrong. He thought He was doing God a service. In fact, Saul just KNEW he was right and righteous...until he found out he wasn't. Saul was so far into his stubborn, recalcitrant state that he couldn't even recognize the God he was claiming to serve and represent. Acts 9:5 records, "And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." Jesus was saying, you're fighting a losing battle here with the bull-headedness buddy. You can keep resisting, but ultimately I'm going to win. These days it's easy to point fingers at each other and say, "You (insert label here)...you're the problem with this Country, this church, this marriage/family, this workplace." It's harder to allow God to reveal the recalcitrant traits in our own hearts...and there are some in all of us.