"The Motivation Proclamation"

I spent a couple of hours in Borders today with the intention of working on Greek, but since my computer only works when it is plugged in I grabbed a book I have been wanting to read off the shelve. "The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher" by Rob Stennett is about a struggling real estate agent who, in order to increase sales, begins to market to Christians, claiming to be a Christian realtor. He has lost of success and begins going to church in order to gain more insight into his clientèle. After a few visits, Ryan decides he and his wife should move to a small town in Oklahoma and plant their own church.

I didn't get to read the entire book, but I was struck both with concerns for the Church as a whole, and specifically for our efforts in Fargo. Ryan is clear that the purpose behind planting a church is for people to admire him and also to get money. Obviously he wasn't too aware of the fact that church planting rarely leads to yachts and vacations in Dubai (my dream), but the first motive struck me. I had to ask myself, are we moving to Fargo and planting a church for some other reason than transforming the city through the story and message of Jesus? Am I seeking to create my little Kingdom where people admire me and hold me up as if I am something great? What is my motivation?

I am not going to lie, I struggle with right motivation and pride when it comes to church planting in Fargo. Whether it be a desire to do something great and become a "church planting rockstar" (trust me we have some); or it is an attitude that I am going to be the savior of Fargo, as if I was a gift of some kind.

Ultimately I know I am called to this work and that Romans 10:9-15 is my motivation, yet Satan is crafty and knows that pride is a weakness I have. I realize that my abilities and aptitude is not up enough to be apart of God's mission in Fargo, but that God's call and the Holy Spirit's presence is more than enough to complete all He desires of us there.

My challenge to those who may be reading this is to question your motives. If you are a believer, why do you do what you do? Are you motivated by Christ's example or by desires of the flesh? Do you want people to look at you as a good Christian, or do you wish to be Jesus to someone else? Read through the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 and seek out what pure, righteous motives really are.

If you are not a believer, first I apologize for the back example we Christians have been to the person and message of Jesus Christ. Some have said if Jesus came back today He would not be apart of many of the churches here. But also I ask you to consider your motivations as well. Are you motivated by greed (the desire for wealth)? Are you motivated by fame or popularity or power? Why do you do good things? We believe God created all things for His glory and fame, so we can only be satisfied in our doing good when we do it with the motivation to make him known to others. I encourage you to read the Sermon on the mount as well, and the entirety of the gospel of Matthew, you will see who the real Jesus was.

Pray for John and I and our families as we seek to be rightly motivated.