the LORD is my grand master flash...
we are currently walking through the 23rd psalm on sunday nights, and someone recently asked me how God was using this study to teach me about being a pastor/shepherd. although there are many things i could list, one stands out at this point. one of my jobs as a pastor is to point people to the good shepherd, and remind them of his presence and activity in daily life. but, as many pastors have demonstrated (me being one of them), it is easy to slip into pointing them toward myself instead of God. there are churches all over the place that are known more for their pastor than their God. sort of like grandmaster flash (in the red sweatsuit). when hip-hop first started, the focus was all on the dj because he was the one creating and mixing the music. the mc's were there to draw attention to the skills of the dj and get the crowd into what he was doing. grand master flash's mc's were the furious five. somewhere along the way, mc's stopped pointing people to the work of the dj and started drawing all the attention to themselves (a la the fresh prince)... and rap stars were born. one of my jobs is to constantly draw attention to the amazing work of the shepherd. my prayer is that i will always know my role and live it out.
sorry if that made no sense at all... but it works for me
posted by the E's | 10/10/2005 02:08:00 PM
7 Comments:
hey josh - i totally don't get the rap/dj/mc analogy, but i do have an observation to throw out there for you. i have never seen you point anyone to you - only Him. people hear about the ring, come to check it out, and stay for a number of reasons - the love and commnuity in the room, your annointing to teach His word, the pure worship, the authenticity of the leaders... lots of reasons. His presence is very real there - i've never been to another service where the focus is more on Him and walking daily with Him.
the idea that the ring is about you is absurd. anyone who has taken the time to look into your heart knows that with certainty. one of the things that draws me to the ring is you - that only makes sense. but it's Him in you that draws me. it's your understanding of grace, your trust in Him, your God-given ability to understand and teach His Word in a relevant and useful way - these are the things that draw me to this ministry.
it all fits together - and it all glorifies Him. you, the e's, and the ring - you all point to Him because He shines brightly through each of you.
the fact that you are so open about your need to grow and apply His truth to your life more consistently is authentic, real and reassuring. if you had it all together, i'd be the first one out the door.
Referencing the Lord and Grand Master Flash in one post should make you part of some really awesome Google search results!
first of all, you can turn on the word verification thing in your settings and that should get rid of this spam.
second, i think your analogy is perfect. it's been a while since i've thought about the furious five (as in about a week), but i think we can all agree that the result of mc's constantly pointing to themselves has gotten pretty ugly. it becomes all about creating the persona and then living up to that persona.
how many rappers are the total victim of their own egos, and how many pastors fall down the same trap? it becomes this vicious spiral of living up to the crazy role you've chosen to play, and more and more often the actions become increasingly destructive (a la straight A student Tupac who becomes a "thug").
the only way to be free from that kind of stuff really is to point away from yourself and to the One that truly has the skillz.
I can see it now, Josh in a purple velvet track suit and a yellow Kangol hat, ah yeah.
I don't know that I've heard you point to yourself, you have always given God glory for what is going on. You ask for prayer that the message on Sunday night would be of Him and not what you think is cool and that He would guide you.
I pray that if I ever notice you pointing to yourself rather than giving God the glory that I would come to you out of the boldness and love of Christ to let you know. That is my understanding of how the Body works.
I'm too young to have any clue as to what you old folks are talking about.
Tee hee hee.
If points were still being given, you'd get a couple. 1 for referencing Grand Master Flash and another for using him to explain a church/ ego-centric pastor concept in a way that really does fit.
The idea of pointing others toward the Lord, through yourself, your influence, whatever... is the call of everday life for believers. But the coolest part is that pastors have the opportunity to do it in personal life and when they preach. The two have to coincide or it doesn't work. There are so many pastors who have been unable to "make it work," that a church whose pastor does both is going to birth people live life that way.
That was not the answer I expected. Which was really cool. I am blessed to see GOD move in you and the Ring. I am so excited about what is to come. The best part is the more you point to HIM the more I see HIM in you, and in my eyes you become more of a shepherd to the Ring. It is a blessing, and an encouragement to take leeps of faith and be brave and silly and all those things HE made me to be that I don't let people see. I'm gonna try a little pointing of my own. HE is worthy of that and so much more.
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