A Kind of Dream Come True...Sort of

It's No Secret - I have a short list of teaching pastors who quite frankly inspire me - period!

Rev. Michael Durso
Rev. Dr. John Piper
Rev. Dr. Tim Keller
Rev. Dr. AR Bernard
Andy Stanley
Mark Driscoll

...to name a few! My criteria is pretty simple:

Sound Doctrine
Intellectual Rigor
Creativity
Authenticity
Skill
Humor
Relevance
Longevity
Intentional Focus

As I mentioned, one favorite is Rev. Dr. AR Bernard.

In the last year or so, I've had the opportunity to collaborate on ministry projects with his church, the Christian Cultural Center - most recently on a co-sponsored event we did together called Bizarro World - a student & leaders conference.

Set up:

Growing up at Christ Tabernacle, there were three precious women in our church who started out in ministry with Dr. Bernard at Household of Faith. They would say to me all the time 'we love you because you're like our old pastor.' I found out years later they were referring to Rev. Dr. AR Bernard. I promise there is a point!



For obvious reasons, I've never told THIS story (because it sounds like a lie in my dreams) but after I preached my first weekend sermon ever at Christ Tabernacle - a man handed me a sermon at the end of service and said to me: 'please listen to this message, you remind me of him'! To my shock and utter surprise, it was a message from Rev. Dr. AR Bernard. After the compliment, I needed a thorn in my side to accompany my new found revelation.

Fast forward January 2010, I was leading a small breakout among a list of speakers at the conference we were co-hosting. Due to a last minute schedule change, my workshop was moved into the main sanctuary - no big deal, right?

We'll I've watched Dr. Bernard from a distance at services, conferences and on television - now I was getting the chance to teach MY workshop from HIS pulpit - no big deal, right? For me, a kind of dream come true...sort of!

I seized the moment and made one request which was graciously honored by the staff at Christian Cultural Center: I asked for the CCC engraved posted notes Dr. Bernard uses when he teaches on television - and thanks to Elizabeth Fernandez aka LizPix - I now have the proof forever. Thanks Liz!






Whether I LOOK like him or TEACH like him really doesn't matter - but I've treasured the 'kind of dream come true sort of' moments along the way because they encourage and challenge me to stay committed to the course...to stay committed to the call...and to stay committed to the craft of being the most effective communicator possible.

How about you? Do you take the time to consider and catch the little things God might be doing for you 'along the way'? I'm sure I've missed plenty of opportunities to appreciate the providence and sovereignty of God, but I'm glad this moment is recorded in the books - actually in the blog!

Luke 2:19
...she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Ralph

Greatness - Redefined!

Excert taken from The Drum Major Instinct. Sermon delivered by Martin Luther King

"...But that isn't what Jesus did; he did something altogether different. He said in substance, "Oh, I see, you want to be first. You want to be great. You want to be important. You want to be significant. Well, you ought to be. If you're going to be my disciple, you must be." But he reordered priorities. And he said, "Yes, don't give up this instinct. It's a good instinct if you use it right. It's a good instinct if you don't distort it and pervert it. Don't give it up. Keep feeling the need for being important. Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be first in love. I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generosity. That is what I want you to do.'

And he transformed the situation by giving a new definition of greatness. And you know how he said it? He said, "Now brethren, I can't give you greatness. And really, I can't make you first." This is what Jesus said to James and John. "You must earn it. True greatness comes not by favoritism, but by fitness. And the right hand and the left are not mine to give, they belong to those who are prepared.'
And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness.

And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant."

This weekend, some of the greatest minds and hearts in urban ministry convereged at Christ Tabernacle for RELOAD NYC - a one day training for leaders. Whenever I see great leaders (in their own right) willing to 'serve' in whatever capacity they're asked in order to accomplish a larger than life purpose and the task doesn't necessarily revolve around them - it is the most powerful example to me as an emerging leader in the game. Among many other things this weekend,(I'll blog later) I will cherish my rare moments with Larry Acosta, Harvey Carey, Bo Boshers and Dr. AR Bernard! Gentlemen, thanks for a glimpse of real greatness - in praxis!

Ralph