Leverage for Changing Lives

8/14/2023

What follows is an excerpt from a conversation among four brothers. One of the believers found himself needing help in sorting through temptations to value “being sought out for advice” and “in charge” of large projects among believers. Reminiscent of the struggles faced by James and John (and the other ten) so many years ago, these friends navigated the intricacies with candidness, patience, and discernment. Join in progress….

When I was a new Christian, I was part of a very large congregation in the Chicago area. Within three months, I was “running” the evangelism committee. This committee was made up of two leaders in the congregation, both of whom were vice presidents in their companies, and this one-year-old Christian. Why did they make me the centerpiece of that committee? Because out of the hundreds of people in the congregation, I was the only one who was sharing Jesus. “The only one.” So, they put me in charge. I had already, for my year plus of being a Christian, been making phone calls all around the country, gathering “bulletins” from famous or fast-growing congregations. I wanted to see what others were doing. I didn’t do that because I wanted to lead or be noticed or someday be part of some evangelism program. I didn’t even know what that was. I did that because I wanted to serve God and if somebody was serving God better than me, I wanted to know how and why.

Here's my point: all the work I did was not so I could earn a “patch.” I did the work because I cared about people, and I got my “patches” (chairman of the evangelism committee, in this case) by accident. I wasn’t after a patch and didn’t even ask to be on the evangelism committee. In fact, they didn’t even have an evangelism committee before I got there. They just saw I cared about things, and said, “We should have an evangelism committee.” They built it around the fact that I was sharing Jesus with people, regularly and effectively, and they wanted to tap into that. But I didn’t do what I did because of a committee or a position on it. I didn’t care who got the title. I didn’t care who was on it. I didn’t care if there was a committee at all. All I cared about was sharing Jesus with people.

At the time, I was a young executive with a lot of responsibility at work. I was being promoted and a lot of people were complimenting my work. But I didn’t find an identity in that. I didn’t care about the title or responsibility. I only cared about sharing Jesus with people. So, I would say to you: rather than caring about a role on the “evangelism committee,” care about evangelizing and ignore the rest of that stuff.

One of the temptations I face is placing value on having influence over a large group of people. When I do that, I envision it as a large faceless crowd. The size and scope of the project and the people involved becomes a “thing” and that thing is faceless. But what I am realizing now is that when I think about the individual people, I can see it differently. In that “crowd” are specific people I can care about. While I’m tempted to think it’s a “big deal” because it’s a “lot of people,” when I replace them with actual people, then I CAN care about them and see past what feels like an important work I’m missing out on.

That is GOOD insight. There isn’t a single person in that “crowd” of faceless people that doesn’t have a life that needs attention, input, and help. And, helping in that way, is a process. Personally, I am aware of needs with many of the people involved in the project, but I don’t need any “control” over them or over the project to still be able to carefully observe and intervene in their individual lives. Remember, changing lives involves patient observation and then delicate intervention with a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer. When I do intervene, I’m not trying to make people feel small, I just want them to change. I want them to embrace Jesus as their all in all.

So, to your point, this cannot be about a faceless crowd working together on a project for Jesus. This MUST be about the people involved, why they are doing what they are doing, and how they get to the decisions they make. In other words, it ONLY has to do with the faces. I’m glad you brought that up. It couldn’t be more important. The “crowd” means nothing. The “power” over the crowd is an illusion. If you cannot notice when someone is moving in a negative direction and help them, who cares whether they are part of the project?

Backing up, let’s put all of this into perspective. Regarding the project overall and ANY of our roles in it, unless what we are doing changes lives for Jesus, then it’s just an irrelevant topic. Everything that isn’t tied to opportunities to grow spiritually and to evangelize spiritually…EVERYTHING else is just static. It all MUST be a means to an end and not an end in itself.

Think about the concept of a lever. There is nothing about money or directed energy or healthcare or job titles or college degrees or “patches” from men – none of that stuff means anything AT ALL from God’s vantage point unless it is a means to an end. It is either LEVERAGE to changing lives or it is nothing. If we have things that should be leverage, and we are not using them AS leverage, then shame on us. Shame on us also if we view the thing (money or title or supposed influence) as an end in itself, rather than leverage for changing lives. That means the project we are discussing only has value to the extent that it changes lives and saves lives. The work you do, the money you make, all that stuff is a means to an end or it’s just useless. It’s static. That’s it!

Our only ambition is to change lives in any way we possibly can. Being “involved,” or orchestrating a project, or having “better” ideas or contributions than someone else has NO value if it doesn’t change lives.

And, since I know that you are looking to change lives rather than just “be involved” or “be in charge,” realize that all of those people who do have faces are accessible 24 hours a day. Sure, the project itself provides SOME opportunities through discipline and consistency and the interactions that come up. But all those people have faces the rest of the week. Work on that. Save someone’s life during the rest of their lives apart from the project. To your earlier point, give that person a face and then the meaning of life comes into focus.

Thanks. That helps a lot. I do struggle still seeing all of the energy and excitement some have had when they are involved in the project. How should I think about that?

You are right. Some HAVE had the wrong kind of energy and have been more concerned about their “job” in the project and whether they are visible. As a result, I’ve had some very pointed conversations on that topic. But that’s part of what we are talking about here. The project is an opportunity to deal with spiritual things. And I don’t need to be “in charge” or “involved” in the project itself to notice and help folks recalibrate around WHY they are involved or WHY they are excited about it. Because if THEY are not about changing lives, but are about “being involved,” then they are very guilty of focusing on something very small and we are going to talk about that. Seen correctly, excitement over this project, whether participation or leadership, is strange fire. You cannot know Jesus and have that strange fire too.

The whole purpose of life is teaching people how to walk in the Spirit. No one can walk in the Spirit AND have strange fire. So, I’m going to work on any kind of strange fire, not out of legalism or religion, and certainly not out of “control.” That’s all garbage. I’m going to work on a person’s strange fire because they cannot have both Holy fire and strange fire. That means, we are going to talk about why a person is sooooo excited to be involved. And it’s not because I am opposed to that person enjoying their involvement in the project or other things in life. No! I am not saying someone has to be morose. No! I’m talking about STRANGE FIRE. Jesus can chuckle, but Jesus isn’t going to cackle! Jesus can smile but Jesus isn’t going to be EXCITED to be INVOLVED in something. Why? Because His whole identity is in the Father. He can enjoy the molecules, but He is not ENAMORED with the molecules. He doesn’t care. All He cares about is “I didn’t lose any you gave me, Father.” Phew!

Thanks. I think I’ve allowed a lot of “muscle memory” to be built by valuing the wrong things, imagining situations that feel like they would validate my life. I see through that now, but am a little concerned that I’ll easily default back to those patterns of thinking.

When I first became a Christian, I had nobody to help me. I was in college, and I walked back into the fraternity house with 120 fraternity “brothers” who were singing vulgar songs and acting vulgar. I walked back into that world and found myself in situations where I had to make choices. Nobody told me what I was supposed to do now that I was a Christian. I had to recognize on my own what is not compatible with Jesus. So, “muscle memory” got me back into situations where I had to make choices, but I had to figure out those lines.

My point is that muscle memory is real. Mine was way more obvious than yours and I didn’t get it, even with every good intention. I just did not see it coming. You are going to have to stop yourself and recognize what is radio, what is echoes of radio, and echoes of echoes of memories of radio, and you are going to have to stop yourself and not let yourself get wound tight about those things. Take a deep breath and before you say or do anything, ask yourself, “Is this that?” It won’t be obvious to you. You are going to be tempted to react the same way, just like I was. My temptations were way more obvious than yours and I fell for it, so I get it! So, guard yourself as best you can and be open to ideas from other people: “Could it be this?... Could it be that?”

In summary, hold on to the fact that the meaning of life is NOT being in charge of anything. The meaning of life is helping real people with faces and names and histories and challenges learn to walk in the Spirit. What’s the best way to show someone Jesus in a way that they no longer feel the need to chase other things? It’s NOT by being in charge of a project or being visible or wearing a “patch.” It’s by paying the price to get involved with careful observation, patience, and delicate intervention.