John Markum

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The Pain of Obedience

Posted on by johnmarkum

“If anyone will be my disciple, let them deny themself, take up their cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

I think that the reason there are so many fair-weather church goers is largely because of unmet expectations. Whether the expectations are set by a pastor, friend, or their own assumptions, many people are falsely under the impression that once they “give their life to Jesus” everything gets easier. Nothing could be farther from the truth…

It is painful to follow Jesus.

I suspect this is not the word of encouragement you may have been hoping for. But the fact remains the same. While the gift of God is free, the cost of receiving it is high. In fact it’ll really only cost you one thing: everything. As a follower of Jesus, God will call you to do things that are outside your comfort zone. From trusting Him with your tithe, to sharing your faith, changing your major, breaking up with a boyfriend, inviting a total stranger to church, or relocating your family. It is painful to obey God.

But pain doesn’t have to just hurt. Pain has the ability to push us to do something different; to step out in faith and trust God as we boldly follow His leadership into the unknown and uncomfortable. When we do this we get to see not just what we are capable of, but what God is willing and longing to do through us. I don’t know anyone who God called to do ordinary, mundane things:

  • Abraham: “Leave everything familiar to you and go to a place that I will show you after you leave.”
  • Moses: “Demand my people’s freedom from the most powerful man on earth.”
  • Joshua: “Lead your army into battle against overwhelming odds.”
  • Jonah: “Go to a city you hate and preach to them.”
  • Mary: “Endure criticism and ridicule for being unwed and pregnant.”
  • Joseph: “Marry the woman who appears to have been unfaithful.”
  • Peter: “Step onto the water during a raging storm, in the dead of night, and walk to me.”

And on we could go. Obedience is painful. But the pain of obedience is far less than the pain of disobedience. God’s way is always better than my way. This is when faith gets difficult, but this is where faith counts. When we are at the brink of leaping into the uncomfortable or turning back into complacent disobedience God summons us, “jump!” Whatever we stand to lose pales in comparison of what we stand to gain when we get to see God move!

Don’t hold back! Be reckless! It might hurt. It will definitely cost you. But it’s so worth it! Endure the pain of obedience.

Blessings,

John

When church is just a building…

Posted on by johnmarkum

This past week I was out of the Quad Cities with a team of 10 people going to Wichita, KS on a missions trip. We were there to spread the word about Audacity Church, beginning September 11 this year. We came down during RiverFest, a citywide annual event where 200,000+ people are out and participating in concerts, family activities, and a variety of other things.

Last Thursday, we were planning on doing a flash mob just before a Tony, Toni, Tone concert at the RiverFest. Just before we were to go into the concert however, we were interrupted by the sound of tornado sirens. On the horizon, we could already see the wall clouds descending in the shape of a funnel. Immediately across the street from where we were was a very large Baptist church where people seemed to be running for shelter. So our group followed. We got inside where others were gathering and hoped to ride out the storm. We were there no more than 10 minutes before someone, presumably a staff member of this church, came and informed us that we couldn’t stay there. They then told us we had to leave. Immediately.

Now, I’m in church leadership, and I get it. There are risks to taking people into your building. Insurance liabilities and the like. But doesn’t it seem like there’s a bigger picture to look at in the middle of a tornado?!?

We got outside and the sirens continued warning of the incoming storm. We took shelter with a few thousand other people in the basement of a massive convention center. We quickly realized that this was still a great opportunity to make some people smile and get the word out about a church coming their way this fall.

The response was overwhelming! People were getting in the middle of it with us, having dance-offs, while we provided water to many of them, and invited them to check out the church. People were grateful and friendly toward us as we ministered to them, perhaps in a very abnormal setting.

While one church had the opportunity to be a place of shelter and safety, they kicked people out. Another church (that doesn’t even have a building) brought hope and encouragement to their city during a storm.

I’ve been in enough churches to know that many are focused more on keeping the carpet clean, than touching hurting lives. Quite discouraging, these churches are little more than brick and mortar. For them, church is just a building.

But I’ve also seen enough to know there are many churches -churches like Audacity- that see people instead of insurance liabilities. These churches realize that we are most like Jesus when we get dirty serving our city, not when we’re wearing our “Sunday’s best.”

I later discovered that this unnamed church, despite it’s perfect location in the city, had long since forgotten their first love and were little more than a historical landmark to the 500,000 + residents of the Wichita metro area.

We have the most life-giving, life-changing message in the universe! Let us be busy building His Kingdom.

Blessings,

John

PS – On a lighter note, here is a video we were able to throw together on that day:

 

How to Gain Favor with Your Leader

Posted on by johnmarkum

The following comes from the blog of Herbert Cooper, the senior pastor of People’s Church in Oklahoma City. I found this very applicable, whether you are on church staff following your pastor, in the corporate world, or even the military.

1. Understand their vision and heart.

2. Exceed expectations.

3. Praise them publicly and challenge them privately, not the other way around.

4. Put the team’s success before personal success.

5. Submit and line-up your vision with your leader’s vision.

6. Don’t cause your leader problems by doing stupid things.

7. Bring your leader solutions and not just problems.

The phrase no pain, no gain has been a mantra for athletes and fitness junkies for years. And what they understand about physical pain needs to be broadened to a much more general use in all of our lives. Pain hurts. That's the whole problem. No one enjoys it, and if someone does, we rightfully

The Premium of Pain