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John of Kronstadt was a 19th-century Russian Orthodox priest at a time when  alcohol abuse was rampant. None of the priests ventured out of their churches to help the people. But John, compelled by love, went out into the streets. People said he would lift the hungover, foul-smelling people from the gutter, cradle them in his arms, and say to them, "This is beneath your dignity. You were meant to house the fullness of God." You were meant to house the fullness of God but somehow, somewhere along the way they either never knew or they lost their identity. They had lost sight of who they were.

Who am I? Am I what I do? Am I what I wear? Am I how I fail? Am I what I achieve? Am I who you say I am? No really, who am I? That's the question for this episode.

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At the end of the last episode, I said that our vision is shaped by the stories we hear and even more so, that stories we rehearse. Remember I asked, "What stories do you tell and what stories do you hear?" In this episode, I will share four stories that shape our sight. These four stories are not just run of the mill common narratives. These are four stories about Jesus that have the power to change our life. I don't know which story you have landed on, but perhaps you will find yourself or one of your friends who is stuck somewhere before the fourth story.

I'm praying that we all make it to #4!

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If we want to live our one and only life in an uncommon way, we must gain uncommon sight. We need to be able to see what is truly real. We need spiritual sight. So ask yourself the question, "Where am I missing the uncommon sights that lead to an uncommon life because I'm living life blind? Nobody had, nobody has better vision than Jesus. When he looked at people, he saw the mess, but he also saw the glory. He saw the effects of sin, but he also saw the work of God. Jesus had amazing eyes and uncommon vision. John 9 gives us an example of that. 

This is one of those seven miraculous signs that reveal something about the heart and power of God and it makes me say, "I want to see like Jesus sees!"

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In our teaching series at Calvary, we've been making our way through four  different portraits or roles of a Jesus-Apprentice. The first portrait was Beloved Masterpiece. You are what God does. You are deeply loved and shaped by God to be like Jesus, and He's preparing you to do good stuff, make a difference. Secondly we are called to be courageous leaders. Courageous leaders are those who love others more than self. They are more in interested in developing people  than merely achieving tasks. The third portrait was the bridge-builder. My  goodness how our world needs humble people willing to be walked on from both sides in order to close the gap, with a sacrificial heart. 

The fourth portrait is the front-yard missionaries. We are on a mission to love our neighbors all the way to life, all the way to Jesus! That's what this episode is all about!

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For the last few days, about 70 participants and 30+ coaches, speakers, and leaders have been advancing their leadership, uncovering their calling, while discovering who God is shaping them to be. One of key verses has been Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's masterpiece created in Christ to do the good works that he has prepared in advance for us to do." Now I love that truth that we are not what we do, we are what He is doing. We are God's masterpiece. He's shaping us to be like Jesus so that we can do the good works He's prepared in advance for
us to do. He's preparing us, uniquely shaping us. But he's also preparing good works for us to do. In other words, God is uniquely shaping us to make a unique difference in the world.

That unique shaping to make a unique difference is called "our calling." Each of us is called. I am called. But in this episode, I want to talk about our...  FIRST CALLING. Our first calling is not just first in time, but first in priority, because it's the calling that reminds us that if there is a calling...there's a caller. And for us the caller is everything. 

This episode is for anyone, but especially those who went through Leadership Advance with me this year. It's the talk that was in the books, that I didn't give. 

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In this episode we will hear Jesus say, "If you abide in my word, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."  If you dwell in, and get connected to my word; if you let your soul saturate in my word, you are truly my disciples. You can’t be an apprentice of Jesus if you don’t live in his Word; the words of the WORD.

I don’t think I’ve noticed before how almost every chapter, John in his words or Jesus in his words and his example bring us back to the importance of the words of God. We need more than bread to thrive. We need every word that comes from the mouth of God. Right?  We need to listen, learn and lean in. It starts with listening, but if that's where it ends, we're lost.

It's not enough to listen, we need to lean in!

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We live in a world filled with darkness. And into this world of darkness Jesus came. In John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." Like the worship song sings, "There is a light, his name is Jesus. He's the light of the world. But here’s the amazing thing. Don’t miss this thing. Of all Jesus’ I am statements, six of them only apply to him. There’s only one "I am" statement where Jesus says, and so are you.  He says, "I am the light of the world. And so are you." 

Jesus is the light of the world, and so are you!

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In this episode, I'm going to talk about the beauty of the sound of dropping stones. You will hear it, in your heart, as you listen to this episode, the sound of dropping stones. Did you know that you can recognize by a sound, whether or not you are following Jesus?  Do you know what sound you hear when you start living and  loving and becoming like Jesus?  It's the sound of stones dropping.

I used to have this rock that I kept in my office. It was large enough to write on it the words, "first stone."  It was a reminder to me of the fact that I can't throw stones at people who have blown it, if I don't want stones thrown at me when I blow it.  And when I blow it, when I make those choices I wish I could undo, I so love to hear the sound of stones dropping.

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Who are your untouchables? We spent a couple of weeks at Calvary talking about being bridge-builders. I think one of the most vital gaps we need to bridge today is the gap between you and whoever your untouchables are because we still have
untouchables today, don't we? How long has it been since you went out of your way to be around the friend who betrayed you?  Has she become untouchable? If someone invited you to go with them to do prison ministry, would you go?  Would you sit and talk, share the good news of forgiveness to a child molester? What about those on the other side of whatever political divide is your gap?

See the word "judgement" goes with the word "untouchable."  In fact the greek word for judgement literally means to seperate.  To be judgmental is to seperate, divide and condemn. It's all about building walls instead of bridges. So who are your untouchables?

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This is a long one. But I think worth it. It's a conversation that I'm having with Harold Mckenzie, who recently retired from the lead pastor role at Unity Church. Pastor Mac is one of the best bridge-builders I know. He has bridged racial gaps, cultural gaps, community gaps, church gaps, and more. If you want a little mentoring on being a reconciler, a bridge-builder, I can't think of anyone better than Harold. Settle in and listen with your heart and mind open!