Erwin McManus spoke in the closing session at the Leadership Summit with an inspiring message from one of my favorite books: Chasing Daylight. Here are some of his thoughts:
“We need a mindshift, to change how we see reality, to change how we relate to the future.
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says that ‘everything is meaningless’ and ‘there’s nothing new under the sun.’ We’ve misunderstood though. Solomon was wrong!
Why do we let the person who sees everything as meaningless shape our view of the future? As a result, our misunderstanding is killing the church!
God has done new things over and over and over again. God warns us that we too often miss the new thing He is doing! (Isaiah 43:18) God is the God of the new!
Often we use the slogan: ‘Let’s make history!’ or even ‘Let’s change history!’ These are impossible! History has already happened! We fear the future. We are created in the image and likeness of God. We aren’t simply part of the created order, but we are created to be creative! We are God’s instruments of creating the future!
Good people wait patiently for God to intervene when He is wanting us to do something! Noah saved the world
What’s after the post-modern world? Whatever we choose! Why do we wait for someone else to create the better future?!
We need to become the stewards of human potential, help people become who God created them to be, and free them to create a better world.
‘Moses was no ordinary child.’ (Hebrews 11:23) Why is this? Because there has never been an ordinary child ever born on this planet! Unfortunately, many die ordinary. Something is lost between birth and death. The church needs to be the place where people are helped to become who God wants them to be. What if the world saw the church as the epicenter of human creativity?!
There is no conflict between our talent and God’s glory. Even at our best, we are not at all intimidating to God.
If we don’t allow God into our imagination, we won’t move towards the great things God has for us. We have more creativity than we know.We all have creative potential!
In an interview with an AP journalist concerning the Doritos commercial Erwin and his company created, Erwin was asked: ‘What is the message of our Doritos commercial?’ Erwin responded: ‘Eat Doritos! No subliminal message. We do believe though that creating something beautiful gives us the right to be heard.’ The AP journalist asked: ‘You really believe that?’ Erwin answered: ‘I’m talking to right now aren’t I?’ (For more on the Doritos story, go here).
Too often the truth is lost in a bad story and falsehood spreads through a good story.
The snow covered moutains don’t have a cross on them or ‘turn or burn.’ We aren’t confident that beauty will lead people to worship (See Rom 2).
It isn’t hard to help people follow Jesus when we can help them see themselves in the story of God. We need to tell the truth. We are broken and fragmented people who are brought together by a loving Creator and together we become a beautiful picture to the world.”
Check out the fantastic small group material on Chasing Daylight Erwin created with BlueFish here.
What is the new thing God wants you to do?
