Humbled
“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble' (I Peter 5:5).”
As a student of the Training Center (a church based seminary of EVBC), it is mandatory that we attend a certain conference for each of the 3 years before we graduate. As a very theological and doctrinally sound church, going to MacArthur’s Shepherds Conference last year was like putting gas on a fire. The second year however, brings a much different approach, and our course selection has led us to attend the Purpose Driven Pastors Conference at Rick Warren’s Saddleback. I have to say that going into it, I was very unknowingly arrogant and through the course of this week so far, God has been humbling me more than I can imagine!
I am so thankful to the people around me that God has used to help humble me since I am so prone to pride.
Firstly, I guess I should have known that God needed to humble me when about a month ago my second mom Lynne Paasch bought me the book “Humility” by Wayne Mack. I guess I just thought, “cool, another book for my collection,” without thinking about why she gave it to me and that I should read and apply it.
I did go into this conference however, wanting to get all I could get out of it and not trying to bash every single thing I didn’t like. However, I still had an air of pride plastered around me . . . I knew this full well when my good friend Josh Kellso gently encouraged me to not call the campus Disneyland or joke about not wanting to keep the purpose driven bag I had received. We prayed that God would keep our hearts humble and not allow even a hint of pride.
After sitting through the first two sessions though, I was back where I started . . . prideful, full of criticism, and looking forward to ditching the last session and going to the beach. What had happened to the humility I had prayed for? I guess good intentions if not backed by faithfulness and love only yield a pharisaical checked box that simply covers oneself in case of accusations of pride . . . this didn’t work by the way!
At the beach I was humbled yet again by losing a wager with Jerry Smith, which resulted in all but my head being buried in the sand, plus I think I have to wash his car sometime. Following that, I proceeded to put sand down his shorts and this 63 year old elder put me in a head lock for a good minute. I finally got out of it and was able to fill his shorts with at least a little sand, but it wasn’t as easy as I would have thought, and this was humbling.
The culmination however of all of this was when I got a call this morning from my mom. I eagerly answered hoping she would tell me how much she missed me and loved me, only to find her with a tone of voice that sounded as if she had been crying all night without any sleep because someone had died . . . part of this was true. She had been in tearful prayer throughout the night for me because she had sensed an air of pride when I had spoken to her the night before. WOW! That was a heavy conversation, and it really caused me to evaluate my heart. I found that though I had started with good intentions to be humble, it was simply for appearance sake. What is funny is that today was by far the best time I’ve had at the conference as of yet. Though I don’t agree with all of the theology or methodology at Saddleback, they are definitely doing some great things. Though I will continue to have discerning ears for error, I look forward to learning everything that the spirit would teach me tomorrow and Friday.
Through it all, I am so encouraged that I have people around me that love me enough to confront me in love. What a blessing the body of Christ is (thanks Josh, mom and Jerry)!
As a student of the Training Center (a church based seminary of EVBC), it is mandatory that we attend a certain conference for each of the 3 years before we graduate. As a very theological and doctrinally sound church, going to MacArthur’s Shepherds Conference last year was like putting gas on a fire. The second year however, brings a much different approach, and our course selection has led us to attend the Purpose Driven Pastors Conference at Rick Warren’s Saddleback. I have to say that going into it, I was very unknowingly arrogant and through the course of this week so far, God has been humbling me more than I can imagine!
I am so thankful to the people around me that God has used to help humble me since I am so prone to pride.
Firstly, I guess I should have known that God needed to humble me when about a month ago my second mom Lynne Paasch bought me the book “Humility” by Wayne Mack. I guess I just thought, “cool, another book for my collection,” without thinking about why she gave it to me and that I should read and apply it.
I did go into this conference however, wanting to get all I could get out of it and not trying to bash every single thing I didn’t like. However, I still had an air of pride plastered around me . . . I knew this full well when my good friend Josh Kellso gently encouraged me to not call the campus Disneyland or joke about not wanting to keep the purpose driven bag I had received. We prayed that God would keep our hearts humble and not allow even a hint of pride.
After sitting through the first two sessions though, I was back where I started . . . prideful, full of criticism, and looking forward to ditching the last session and going to the beach. What had happened to the humility I had prayed for? I guess good intentions if not backed by faithfulness and love only yield a pharisaical checked box that simply covers oneself in case of accusations of pride . . . this didn’t work by the way!
At the beach I was humbled yet again by losing a wager with Jerry Smith, which resulted in all but my head being buried in the sand, plus I think I have to wash his car sometime. Following that, I proceeded to put sand down his shorts and this 63 year old elder put me in a head lock for a good minute. I finally got out of it and was able to fill his shorts with at least a little sand, but it wasn’t as easy as I would have thought, and this was humbling.
The culmination however of all of this was when I got a call this morning from my mom. I eagerly answered hoping she would tell me how much she missed me and loved me, only to find her with a tone of voice that sounded as if she had been crying all night without any sleep because someone had died . . . part of this was true. She had been in tearful prayer throughout the night for me because she had sensed an air of pride when I had spoken to her the night before. WOW! That was a heavy conversation, and it really caused me to evaluate my heart. I found that though I had started with good intentions to be humble, it was simply for appearance sake. What is funny is that today was by far the best time I’ve had at the conference as of yet. Though I don’t agree with all of the theology or methodology at Saddleback, they are definitely doing some great things. Though I will continue to have discerning ears for error, I look forward to learning everything that the spirit would teach me tomorrow and Friday.
Through it all, I am so encouraged that I have people around me that love me enough to confront me in love. What a blessing the body of Christ is (thanks Josh, mom and Jerry)!
posted by Brent Klontz at 10:11 PM
5 Comments:
Today my previous thoughts on Rick Warren have been dramatically challenged. I have been so encouraged by his ministry and dedication to use the timeless principles of God's word in a very applicable manner. God is definitely using his ministry . . . I think some of the negative thoughts on Rick's ministry have been a result of seeing some of the misguided churches trying to implement what he leads at Saddleback; however, I have personally heard him for a few hours and have heard some excellent points!
Brent,
Thats great friend. Good to hear whats going on with you. Painful I am sure at times-all things God "has" to teach us seems that way I am sure. Oh, and I hope they took pictures after they burried you. Should have put a bucket over your head to top off the whole thing. Have fun on your last day.
Ah, Rick Warren and the Purpose Driven Life.
Yes I do agree, Rick does make some very excellent points about life and ministry. The problem is exactly what you said, his theology. My experience with Rick and his writing has shown me that his view of God is very performance driven and places guilt on people for not "living up to" God's "expectations."
Anyways, glad to hear that God is using all sorts of means to sharpen you and draw you closer to him!
Yeah JJ,
There were a few things I disagreed with, but I definitely took more good away from the conference than bad. It wasn't the "seeker sensitive" church I had thought it would be, and they had a lot of good theology. However, I had gone into the whole deal without having read his book or ever having heard the guy. I had built up a straw man based on others opinions of him and not personal experience or study. More than anything, this conference made me really think twice before judging someone else prior to knowing them and what their life and ministry is all about.
Brent,
Thanks for your response to my comment. I'm really encouraged that you allowed God to teach you even though you had a preexisting opinion regarding Rick. While you may or may not have been right, creating an opinion of someone without "doing the research" is a trap we can all, and do, fall into. Also, just because not everyone has seen the light of the Reformation doesn't mean they aren't saved. Even though, we are on the inside track, doesn't mean we should see them as "lower" than us.(Sarcasm implied)
(I'm just kidding by the way. I don't think that us reformers are on the inside track... :-) )
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