We just began a series on the book of Jonah and I feel this need to win the book back from the Veggie Tale / Sunday school / cartoon-whale frame of mind, because it’s really a powerful book.

Running Away

The story begins with God telling His spokesman (prophet) Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capitol of Assyria, to announce the coming judgment to the city if they didn’t change their ways, but Jonah runs away! I know it’s easy to look at this and think, “Come on dude, you’re a prophet, get in the game”, but I wonder how often we’ve run away when God asked us to step up to the plate? Maybe it’s to involve ourselves in something out of our comfort zone, or to forgive that friend or family member. Heck, sometimes just crossing the street and extending ourselves to our neighbor is too much work. I think more often it’s the prophet, not pagan, who has the issue with running from God.

After Jonah boards the ship heading for Tarshish, there is a storm that redirects the next chain of events. We know that God is behind the storm and that mercy is behind God’s motives; mercy for those in Nineveh, for the sailors on the boat, and for Jonah.

It’s interesting how, because of a severe storm, so many significant things can change for the sailors in such a short time. They move from fearing the storm to fearing the Lord, from crying out to all their gods, to crying out to Yahweh, from asking Jonah to wake up, to asking him what they should do. And once again we see the prophet is asleep while the pagans are in pursuit of the answers

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The book of Jonah is many things, but I believe at its heart is the invisible hand of God clearly being seen and at work for the benefit of all involved. The love of God is much more dangerous than we think. It is furious and jealous and is willing to risk our physical and material comfort for an eternal and spiritual relationship, which is far better. As Jesus said, “What does it profit if you gain the world, but lose your soul?” I wonder how many times in the dark storms of life do we pray for our circumstances to change and it never dawns on us that what needs to change is not our circumstances, but us.

PRAYERS FOR THE BATTLE

How shall I pray?

Are tears prayers, Lord?

Are screams prayers,

or groans,

or sighs,

or curses?

Can trembling hands be lifted to you,

or clenched fists,

or the cold sweat that trickles down my back

or the cramps that knot my stomach?

Will you accept my prayers, Lord,

my real prayers,

rooted in the muck and mud and rock of my life,

and not just the pretty, cut-flower, gracefully arranged

bouquet of words?

Will you accept me, Lord,

as I really am,

messed up mixture of glory and grime?

TRIBES

I recently finished a book entitled “Tribes” which is about society’s need for leaders and how those leaders assemble, develop, and communicate with a group of people who have a common idea. At first I thought the book was going to be about leading in the business world, but it was far from that and surprised and challenged me in a many ways.

Tribes vs. Crowds

• A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.
• A crowd is a tribe without a leader.
• A crowd is a tribe without communication.

Many groups spend their time trying to gather a bigger crowd, but smart groups assemble a tribe. A crowd can rally around any idea, from moms praying for their kids in school (Moms in Touch) to building homes for those who need assistance, like Habitat for Humanity. The goal is not for the group to just get bigger, but for their idea to move forward. What good would it be if a million people belonged to Habitat for Humanity but not one home was ever built?

Managers vs. Leaders
Managers use resources (like people) to maintain the status quo. Leaders, on the other hand, are about creating changes that advance their ideas. If this happens in a faith community the pastor, instead of taking risks that move “the idea” (gospel message), may choose to manage the “crowd” and secure the establishment. Retreats, conferences, and luncheons become maintenance opportunities, self-focused to solidify who they are and what they stand for. Managers sound the trumpet and circle the wagons, leaders the trumpet to advance.
Managers are also more concerned about controlling the environment than empowering the tribe and are committed to the system or religion of how things are done. Managers raise up assistant managers; leaders empower their tribes to make change. For example, Martin Luther was labeled a heretic when he nailed his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg door, but he didn’t change his faith, he sought to change the environment. He translated the Bible into the people’s language, enabling the “tribe” to further the cause of Christ, not just those who spoke Latin. If you are going to lead, you can’t be afraid to challenge the status quo of the religion to help the idea move forward and you can’t be afraid of empowering their tribe.

Risk / Change / Fear
Risk, change, and overcoming fear are all part of leading; fear you will fail, fear of change, fear that you don’t have what it takes, or fear that the status quo will reject you. A leader needs to push through all of these things because the idea is worth the risk and too important not to move forward.

To further ideas effectively there needs to be a tribe. A tribe needs to communicate the idea. A tribe needs a leader. Maybe you?