Twisted Christian

I used to think I could go through life with Simon and Garfunkel’s “I Am a Rock” as my theme song.

I am a rock,
I am an island.
And a rock feels no pain;
And an island never cries.

This was how I thought I could live my life. I figured I could get by doing everything alone, relying on others as little as possible. I had a very private faith, and I didn’t think I needed to go to church every week. Christianity is about a personal relationship with Christ, right? What did I need other people for?

Then God introduced me to the woman who would be my wife. Through her, he started to show me this amazing thing known as “community.” I learned that life is better when you aren’t alone. That life is easier when you aren’t alone. When you have someone to high five during the good times, and to support you during the bad, living, and by extension serving, becomes much easier.

We’re not made to go through life alone. We’re social creatures, some more than others, but we all require social interaction to some extent, and this need increases when we serve. Serving isn’t always easy. Serving isn’t always rewarding. But it is a whole lot easier when we have someone with us.

In elementary school, my teacher picked up a small stick and easily snapped it in two. She then grabbed a handful of sticks and attempted, unsuccessfully, to break them. This lesson may have been to illustrate how physical objects are stronger in groups, but it is also a lesson we can apply to many areas of our life, including serving.

Through the first 13 chapters, Dino lays out the various aspects of a servolution: what it is, how to do it, and what to remember, along with a ton of great advice and interesting stories. One constant that came up numerous times and stood out to me: his wife, DeLynn. DeLynn was there to support him from the very beginning; she shared in his joys and supported him during the tough times.

For Dino this support network started with his wife, and as Healing Place Church grew so did his support network of friends, family, staff, volunteers and so on. They are there to keep you going when things get tough. They are there to keep you accountable. They are there to bounce ideas off of and to help your reach greater heights than you could on your own.

Jesus’ ministry wouldn’t have had the impact it did had he tried to go at it alone. Sure, he would have amassed quite the following, and he would have had people flocking to him hoping to be healed or to see one of his miracles, but imagine what a lonely journey that would’ve been? Jesus understood the importance of serving with others.

He also understood the importance of choosing the right people for the job. All of Jesus’ disciples were somehow connected to one another, and they formed a tighter, stronger web than if he had picked 12 random dudes off the street. It’s much easier to get through the tough times when you have people who understand the importance of solid committed relationships.

From the very beginning, God destined us to be with others, “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’” (Gen. 2:18) So build up that support network and get out there and serve. As Dino says early in the book, “whatever, whenever.”

So I decided to leave my comfort zone and do something new. I'm taking part in an online group blogging project over at bibledude.net on Dino Rizzo's book, Servolution. There are 15 of us involved including Dan King, the host and organizer; @bibledude on twitter. When he first posted about it I was excited about it and wrote an email expressing my interest, but I didn't send it. I was full of self-doubt. I figured he'd want people like pastors and ministers and seminary-type students to take part in it, not some IT guy who just wishes he was a pastor. So I didn't send it.

The next day he was twittering about it some more, and I figured, "what the heck, I may as well give it a try. if he doesn't want me then he'll let me know." So I fired off the email I had written the previous day and received a surprising reply, "I was actually hoping that you would see this and be interested!" With that I felt more than a little relieved, and have been super excited about it ever since. We are each assigned one chapter on which we are to write a little review. These are then posted, one a day, for two weeks. I have the honor of closing things out with Chapter 14 on July 2nd. I'm looking forward to the comments that will stem from the reviews we each write, so while the reviews are the meat and potatoes, the comments are where things really have a chance to get going.

I think what has me most interested (other than the content of the book) is the diverse nature of the contributors. We are all Christians, but range from one end to the other on the spectrum, bringing a wide range of viewpoints to the table.

Yesterday Dan got the ball rolling by starting it off with the introduction AND I received my book in the mail! (each contributor that didn't have the book was mailed a copy) I love new books, and so far this one has been awesome (i'm on chapter 2).

Today's post is by Jim Blake who is the National Chairman of Concerned Christians Canada. He does a great job of summing up Chapter 1 and giving us some stuff to think about it.

So come on over and join us and be inspired to go out and live like Jesus did! I'm excited what the coming weeks will bring, and the time following that for those that feel the pull to go out there and start a Servolution.