Lion Chaser’s Manifesto, part 3
This is part 3 in my impromptu Lion Chaser’s Manifesto series. Read the original post and part 2, if you’d like.
When I read this Manifesto from Mark Batterson for the first time, there were several things that jumped out at me. I thought they were worth elaborating upon.
Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.
“Criticize by creating“… I had to think about that one for a while. It seemed odd to use the word criticize (a rather pessimistic word) in the midst of all this optimisim. It’s a bit of an oxymoron - like “kill them with kindness”.
But it goes back to the earlier phrase “Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution.” So many people are quite happy to just complain, or at best, to simply communicate the problems. Don’t just bring your problems to me, bring potential solutions. Let’s talk about potential fixes, rather than wasting breath bemoaning the problem…
Is the status quo in your job/church/family/organization driving you nuts? Get creative and find a better way. Volunteer to fix it. Put your nay-saying energy to a better use.
What do you need to stop criticizing and, instead, start creating a solution to?
me…i need to be well rounded.
i have noticed cycles within my life and in the body of Christ for that matter. i am noticing that these cycles tend to focus intently on specifics. whether it be worshiping freely, accepting sin, reaching out, studying doctrines, and now i think there will be a wave of emphasis on missions. which is cool in light of my current dealings with God.
but, i think i need to be more intentionally focused as a whole. i could easily criticize mainstream Christianity but thankfully no one would listen.
creatively i could create a plan to focus on a specific aspect each day. like doctrine Tuesdays and snake handling Fridays.
And the last one. Probably… Part 4.
http://www.mandoron.com/2009/03/19/lion-chasers-manifesto-part-4/