Winning!!!

Charlie Sheen has been on a rant about winning for a few months to the point that "winning" has become a phrase in our culture tied to him.  Sadly, poor Charlie seems far from winning, but sadly spiraling out of control.  Hopefully not, but believing you are "winning" while your life collapses around you is sadly delusional and tragic.  I suppose Charlie is like most people.  Most people want to "win".  Most people desire to be "winning" in life according to their motivations and core beliefs.  I suppose its a cry of the soul to live a life of substance and meaning.  Life without it seems shallow and hollow...a cruel joke.  It's been said that "80% of success is showing up".  This famous quote has been used by coaches, athletes and motivated individuals in a variety of fields.  It is interesting that this quote originates with a rather quirky, yet brilliant actor, producer and playwright...Woody Allen!  His quote has traveled the world and speaks volumes towards a simple truth.  Step #1 in being successful at any endeavor is "showing up".  Obviously, if you ain't there...you are not going to have any opportunity to discover what "may happen".  Now there is no guarantee that by just "showing up" anything great will happen...but there IS a guarantee that if you do NOT show up you will never find out!!!  The early followers of Jesus got it...they showed up BIG TIME!  They didn't live as if Jesus was coming back in 2,000 years...perhaps its good they didn't know.  They lived a life of urgency.  Every day they lived as if it was their last.  They showed up and layed it all down for the task at hand..."sharing the good news of Jesus invitation of grace, forgiveness and relationship"...to all who would listen.  How ironic that they layed down their lives, possessions and personal agendas to share this Good News with such passion...while today's followers live a life of self serving complacency...with very little passion...sacrifice...or urgency.  Even more ironic, is all you need to do is take a casual glance at the news and you'll know we are living in urgent times, where biblical warnings of "end time events" are commonly shared as today's news.  You'd think we'd be "showing up"...passionately, urgently, sacrificially...laying it all on the line for the sake of those who have not received the Good News yet!  The early followers of Jesus should have been the one's sitting on their laurels...they were 2,000 years from it all.  Yet they showed up...day after day...sharing all they had...materially, financially, spiritually, relationally...even to the point of losing their own lives.   While we sit back, say we love Jesus...say we love people...but do very little about it.  We rarely "show up"....heck we rarely show up to our own churches, let alone in our communities.  A church gathering has become a self serving convenience for many.  Is it any wonder that those who don't know Jesus yet, keep their distance?  Because we do.  We don't show up...so why should they?  It's apparently not that important to "us'...so why should it be important to "them"?  And God forbid, if a not-yet-believer actually showed up at one of our churches, bravely going where he isn't familiar... in hope....that maybe you showed up.   Maybe you are the kind of person they would relate to...or perhaps your family is similar...or your field of employment...or school you went to...or simply the way you look or the music you like or...????  Who knows?  But if you don't "show up"...you will never know...and either will they.  Your greatest value is not "what you do"...or "what you give"...but "who you are"!!!   You are the only "you" on planet earth...and its a great loss when you don't show up.  God made it to be that way, it's His idea!  Your presence is the greatest gift.  That is why God tells us to "not forsake gathering together".  Because "showing up" means so much.  God's people...His church...His followers... can only be successful according to His design...IF they "show up".   The only way to "love others" is to show up and be around "others"...and in that "showing up" God's love flows from person to person as He has always intended it to.  At FRIENDS we are trying to learn to take our love of Jesus beyond ourselves and our homes...and into our community...and it all "begins" with "showing up"...at our church gatherings where we learn and practice together...and then in our city where we show up representing lives impacted by the love of God!

be God's!
Brian O
ECHO
Lead Pastor dude
Friends Community Church
Tyler, Texas