Thoughts & quotes from the book "Mad Church Disease" by Anne Jackson

I’m reading an interesting book by Anne Jackson titled “Mad Church Disease - Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic.”

Very interesting reading and well worth reading by anyone in church or full-time Christian ministry/work.

Here are a couple of quotes from the last chapter I read today:

“...we can never rid ourselves of the past - the good or the bad... The successes, the failures, the joy, and the pain are all beautifully woven together to make you who you are at this moment... We should look at our past as a gift and not a burden. And as such, we should steward it like any other gift we’ve been given... By taking our focus off the dysfunctions of our past, and changing it to how God can work through us as He uses our life journey - our history, our present, and our future - we are less likely to burn out.”

And here’s a quote that she uses from Oswald Chambers, “If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Hime, and He will make use of you every minute you live - yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.”

Godliness with contentment is great gain...

Don’t you hate that word “contentment?”

I’ve been challenged all of my life to be content. Be content with what you have; be content with who you are; be content with where you are in life; and more.

But for someone who likes to push the envelope, to find his limits, to go faster, farther, do better, more, bigger, it’s not easy to be content.

BUT

There are times when the Lord is able to push through my thick skull and communicate HIS desire in a given situation.

2.5 years ago was one of those times. At the time, I owned a perfectly good Apple Powerbook G4 laptop computer. It was 3 years old and I had no problems with the machine - well, except for the fact that it was “old” in computer terms. The newer machines were out and - wow! I lusted after a new MacBook Pro. I drooled. I wanted. And I was no longer content with my rock-solid, dependable Powerbook.

The short version of the story is that I did work through my discontentment issue with the computer I had. No sooner had I truly become content with the Powerbook, it was stolen from me! And, due to the blessing of a supporting family in the US, I received a brand-new MacBook Pro less than 1 month later.

Well, discontentment has again raised it’s ugly head - but this time, it was defeated in “short order.”

Last Monday, Linda & I went to look at a car to purchase for our use. It is a 1998 Lexus. The car was owned by a man who had another Lexus (a 1999) that was his daily driver, but cost $1000 more than the ‘98. Initially, when I talked to him on the phone, I had a very good sense about this purchase - very different from the other owners & cars we had met and driven.

We had pretty much decided on the ‘98 and told the seller so, but there was one “issue” with the car that we wanted him to work through to finalize the purchase.

On the drive home, I began to do my usual “wangling” regarding the newer, nicer Lexus for more money.

“Linda, do you realize that we are only $200-400 short of the price of the more expensive Lexus? We could probably manage to scrape it up during the week.“

Linda countered, ”We decided on a limit and the 1998 is at that limit. Besides, we need money to buy a bed, pay for my 1-semester of schooling and other settling expenses when we move into the rental on August 1st.“

As much as I didn’t like it, I knew she was right and even right then admitted it. ”You’re right. I will be content with the ‘98. It’s a nice car and the price is really good anyways.“

Well, the seller called on Wednesday evening to inform us that the problem was different than he had thought and was going to have someone check it out and would get back to me. I told him that we were committed to buy the car still and just wanted to know what the problem was before we bought it. He said he would get back to me later in the week.

Today, he called.

Short version? He sold the ‘98 to another couple that came to look at the car last night (Friday). They were willing to take the car “as is.”

HOWEVER,

He told me that he liked the work that we’re doing for the Lord and that we “seemed like nice people” and, therefore, would sell us his 1999 for the price that he was selling his 1998.

When I told Linda, she wept. I wept with her. We have such a great & awe-inspiring God!

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

So, on Tuesday, we’ll be going up to Phoenix to purchase a newer, nicer Lexus than we had thought we would be getting for the same price as we had already decided that we could afford.

When Doug, the seller called, he said, “I usually give $500 from every car sale that I make to a local church. Since I’m selling 2 cars (the 1998 Lexus ES300 and the 1999 Lexus ES300), it would be $1000. So, I figured that instead of giving the money to a church, that I could bless you guys by selling you the 1999 for $1000 less than the 1998. What do you think?”

“We’ll buy it!” I blurted. “Thank you!”

“Well, don’t thank me. I’m the one getting blessed here and it’s really cool!” he said.

“Isn’t that the way it is with blessing others?” I said. “The giver is blessed and the receiver is blessed. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it?”

It doesn’t, does it? You see, when our hearts are free from the entanglement of the “more is better/bigger is better/newer is better” trap, several things happen:

        God is free to bless.
        Others are free to give.
        You are freed to be blessed, bless and rejoice in God’s work, not your own “wangling” and manipulation.

Wow, I only wish I had learned this lesson a lot earlier in life!!!