![\"Missions-Catalyst-no-tagline_large\"](\"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Missions-Catalyst-no-tagline_large.png\")
![\"Seven](\"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Seven-sins-1024x536.png\")
By Shane Bennett<\/p>\nBy Shane Bennett<\/p>\n
Quick, move on to your next email! A sermon on sin? What has come over me? This hasn\u2019t happened once the entire 15 years I\u2019ve been writing Practical Mobilization. Maybe it\u2019s the approach of Lent, reminding us it\u2019s healthy to lament and repent. Maybe deep winter has got to me. Another foot of snow will likely fall on my house tonight and football\u2019s over until August. Ugh.<\/p>\n
I could call this The Seven Sins of Shane. But if you\u2019ve read Practical Mobilization for a while, you\u2019re aware I abhor alliteration. And just maybe I\u2019m not the only one guilty of these things. Though guilty I am. I\u2019ve done (or am doing) them all to varying degrees. With Paul<\/a> I say, \u201cThanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.\u201d His mercy is essential, kind, and good.<\/p>\n Let me be straight here: These are detours from holiness to which I think mobilizers are prone. That doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re guilty of any of them. And, by way of reminder, your guilt is no match for the cleansing blood of Jesus.<\/p>\n Could James be any plainer? After specifically challenging our tendency to show preference for the rich, he declares, \u201cIf you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself,\u2019 you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors\u201d (James 2:8-9<\/a>).<\/p>\n But the guy \u201cwearing a gold ring and fine clothing\u201d clearly has more disposable income to direct to your fine work than the \u201cpoor man in shabby clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n If your work arrangement is like mine in that you depend on the financial gifts of others to pay your bills and feed your kids, you need relationships with people who have money to give. Ergo, you need to be nice to rich people. But somehow you can\u2019t prefer them over poor people.<\/p>\n Easier said than done, in my experience.<\/p>\n How many overseas trips does it take to cancel out the sins of your youth? Will learning a foreign language or two finally earn God\u2019s approval? Will disregard of your culture\u2019s main narratives of accumulation and status through wealth make God like you more?<\/p>\n Clearly not. But I\u2019d be dishonest not to admit that below the surface of my consciousness there lurks a bit of this notion that God likes us more when we do more stuff for him.\u00a0And that brings us to\u2026<\/p>\n Can we agree it\u2019s hard to preach a sermon on the heart of God or what God is trying to do in the world and not think, \u201cHmmm, I must know the heart of God!\u201d Even when our words are couched in scripture, as well they should be, we may believe we\u2019re the ones with a right understanding of the Word. Those we speak to need to have their thoughts tweaked, changed, or maybe even traded in for the new model.<\/p>\n Whenever we are sure we believe rightly about a given issue, lifestyle, political approach, or really anything, pride is waiting to jump us. Since God says clearly<\/a> that he \u201copposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble,\u201d my frequent prayer is this: \u201cFather, help me be humble! I don\u2019t want you to have to oppose me.\u201d<\/p>\n Is it possible we might value the work of God ahead of the God of the work? I\u2019ve wrestled with accusations of this from people I\u2019ve loved and trusted. \u201cYou\u2019ve made an idol of your ministry.\u201d I don\u2019t think so, but I get that sometimes such things are easier to see from the outside. I do know that I don\u2019t want to progress years down the road in my work only to look back and see God waving far behind me.<\/p>\n We\u2019re called to be passionate, self-sacrificing, and diligent. Our work can be hard and require attention and focus. May God give us grace such that while working hard, our chief focus stays fixed on the author and perfecter of our faith<\/a>.<\/p>\n A couple of Sundays ago I attended the first service at a pretty big church in Salt Lake City. At the conclusion, with no place to be, I sat in the lobby watching the service-one people depart and service two begin to show up. After a few minutes it occurred me that I was clearly judging on outward appearance, not like the\u00a0Lord who \u201clooks on the heart.\u201d I\u2019m not proud of my thoughts: \u201cThose guys are cool. Those guys are weird. Those guys are trying way too hard to be cool.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s so easy for mission mobilizers to fall into judgement. God has called us to call the attention of his body to those for whom his blessing has yet to arrive. Most won\u2019t respond as we wish. Some will not care at all. How do you deal with that? Have you ever shaken your head and seethed just a bit? I sure have.<\/p>\n Jesus soberly warns us that the way we judge is the way we\u2019ll be judged. That gives me pause. So, in this case, do the words of Bren\u00e9 Brown: \u201cI know my life is better when I work from the assumption that everyone is doing the best they can.\u201d<\/p>\n Someone not answering my call to live among the unreached? If that\u2019s cool with them and cool with God, it should probably be cool with me, too.<\/p>\n To think that mission-y people might not be compassionate seems a little crazy. Why else would we do what we do? Well, I for one, have a long list of sub-par motivations. But what I\u2019m referring to here is this: In our passion to complete the Great Commission, we may give short shrift to the Great Commandment. I know, I know, the best way to love someone is to tell them how to spend eternity with God. I just want to be sure I\u2019m willing to share my sandwich while I\u2019m doing that.<\/p>\n I also recognize in myself a deeper, more driving concern for Muslims, Turks, Indians, refugees, and basically most brown people far and sometimes near than I have for the white people who live in my town.<\/p>\n I\u2019m happy for God to give gifts and vision to each of us as he desires. None of us can care enough for everything and everyone who needs care. But I don\u2019t want to not love anyone Jesus desires to love through me.<\/p>\n Haven\u2019t faced days of despair in your life or work as a mobilizer? I\u2019m happy for you. For me it\u2019s sometimes hard to shake the sense that it\u2019s been a long time since Jesus said, \u201cThe time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand.\u201d Yet the kingdom\u2019s not here the way I wish it was. Too much injustice. Too little compassion. Too many living and dying without hearing of a God who wants them desperately.<\/p>\n I know, deeply know, that the hope of God is the only way I can survive, but despair lurks in the shadows. As Stephen Foster says, \u201cLong have you lingered outside my cabin door.\u201d As God warned Cain, \u201csin is crouching at your door;\u00a0it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.\u201d<\/p>\n Since I\u2019m feeling pretty despair-free these days, reach out<\/a> if you like and I\u2019ll juice you up! You can return the favor later.<\/p>\n May God give us all grace I\u2019ve been praying lately<\/a> for the million-plus Uyghurs in Chinese concentration camps. Some experts say if the coronavirus reaches the camps the results could be devastating. I\u2019m also concerned for their kids who\u2019ve had to make their way to relatives or been shipped to orphanages. I can\u2019t imagine what things might be like for them.<\/p>\n Will you join me? Consider putting a note on your bathroom mirror or the dash of your car that simply says, \u201cRemember Uyghur kiddos.\u201d Take a shot of it and share it on Facebook or Instagram to invite others to join you in praying.<\/p>\n God loves those munchkins. Let\u2019s join him in that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Shane Bennett Quick, move on to your next email! A sermon on sin? What has come over me? This hasn\u2019t happened once the entire 15 years I\u2019ve been writing Practical Mobilization. Maybe it\u2019s the approach of Lent, reminding us it\u2019s healthy to lament and repent. Maybe deep winter has got to me. Another foot … Continue reading Seven Sins of a Mobilizer | Practical Mobilization<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-practical-mobilization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9098,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9096\/revisions\/9098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Pandering to the Rich<\/h3>\n
2. Self-righteousness<\/h3>\n
3. Pride, the Ugly Brother of Self-righteousness<\/h3>\n
4. Idolatry<\/h3>\n
5. Judgement<\/h3>\n
6. Lack of Compassion<\/h3>\n
7. Finally, Despair<\/h3>\n
\nto walk in holy freedom with him,
\nhumbly obedient to carry out the good works
\nhe has prepared in advance for us to do.<\/em><\/p>\nSubversive Mobilization: Remember Uyghur Kids<\/h3>\n