A Challenge to Pray 10th February, 2010
Posted by Scotty in Bible, Ministry, Prayer.add a comment
“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” 1 Samuel 12:23
This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible and one that challenges me every single time I read it.
We are called to live in wholehearted obedience to God. We are called to be a people of the Word and Prayer. We are called to make disciples. We are called to depend on Him in all things.
Every time I read this verse I feel challenged. Samuel was called to lead God’s people, and he felt that He would be sinning if he failed to pray for the people God had called him to. I feel this same conviction. I feel so strongly about the importance of depending on God in every area of life it is sinful to attempt to lead His people without Him. How can we ever hope to see growth in our people if we are not fighting for them on our knees? We have to open our hearts to them, enter in to their pain and struggles and pray for them as if they were our own.
I am always challenged as I read this verse which has become something of a “life verse” for me. Do I pray enough for the people I lead and disciple? Do I pray enough for the community God calls me to minister in? I never feel like I pray enough. And I hope I never lose that! I’ll be in trouble the day I feel like I’ve mastered prayer. I pray (!) that I would always have the burning desire to increase the time I spend in prayer.
When evaluating my prayer life I always think of Jesus asking his disciples “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” (Matt 26:40).
I then look at each person and ask “Did I pray for them for an hour today?” If the answer is “no”. Then it’s not enough. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we should pray for every person for an hour. Some days it will be MORE, some days it will be less. But I think it’s a good goal to aim for. If you commit yourself to praying for someone an hour a day for a week… things will happen!
How badly to you want him to grow? How strong is your desire to see her come to know the Lord? How much do you want to be free of that sin? Are you really trusting God to provide for your needs?
If you add up the time you spend praying, I think you’ll find the stats show just how much you really want it.
I need to pray more.
The Discipler’s Heart 2nd February, 2010
Posted by Scotty in Heart, Leadership.add a comment
There is no doubt about it: God planted within me a discipler’s heart. Although it is tough… I love the process of discipleship. I love meeting people, discovering how far along they are in the process of Spiritual Maturity and then helping them deepen their intimacy with God and their desire to walk a life fully surrendered to Him. I love watching people fall in love with God’s Word as He reveals new things about Himself to them. I love watching them praying fiery prayers, fueled by that passion, and seeing them step out in faith, embarking on an adventure of total abandon to God’s will.
It is something akin to the joy of parenting as God intended it. Parents were to bring their children up to love the Lord and live a life fully surrendered to His Word (eg. Deut 6:4-7).
In the process of discipleship you become something of a Spiritual Parent to the people you invest in. I love how Paul describes it in his letter to Philemon. In talking about the runaway slave Onisemus whom Paul has been discipling he says “I appeal to you for my son Onesimus” (v10). Using the father-son relationship to define the discipler-disciple relationship.
You can see the way a discipler invests in a disciple in the line “I am sending him–who is my very heart–back to you”. I see two things in this: (1) he has invested in Onesimus so much that sending him away is like ripping out his own heart, and (2) Onesimus has been shaped by Paul so that both hearts desire God’s will, and so Onesimus has a Paul-like heart which will be modeled before Philemon.
I love Paul’s discipler-heart, for it resonates with the calling God has placed on my life.
There are some downsides to having a discipler’s heart. (And through these downsides I’m learning a lot about the not-so-fun parts of parenting!)
- It takes a lot of self-sacrifice to be a (spiritual) parent! Time spent with the person is all about them and not about me. The goal is to come alongside them in God’s work in their lives. Something that involves sacrificing time and energy to pray for them, listen to them, step out in faith with them, and to lead by example (especially by doing things you don’t really enjoy, to help them enjoy them).
- It is humbling! The not-so-great qualities about myself that I permit because they “aren’t so bad” suddenly become major areas of personal development when you realize they are being imitated by the person you are discipling. Now it’s not simply a case of dealing with my own issue, but of disclosing your error and correcting it in the other.
- It is heart-breaking! One of the greatest causes of sadness in my life is watching people make poor choices. This causes a huge degree of emotional turmoil when I see poor decisions being made by someone I feel God has given me a degree of spiritual responsibility for. I have experienced many days of spiritual angst, on my knees in prayer for someone, because I know how much the decision they are making will hurt them in the long run. It isn’t easy to watch them ignore your advice, and to have to step back and allow them to learn from their own mistakes.
It isn’t easy by any means. It is a process of inviting someone to enter into your journey, pouring heart and soul into them, only to send them off on their own adventure. It is an ongoing grieving process. Yet it is an incredibly rewarding process.
As I ponder the discipler’s heart I am struck by the Truth that God is the ultimate discipler. When we make poor decisions He experiences pain and grief in an infinitely greater measure than we do. But what must the shouts of joy be with every choice we make to surrender our lives to Him… for His joy is infinitely greater than ours.
What a gift it is to be loved by our Heavenly Father, infinitely patient as we make mistakes, infinitely gracious in walking with us and helping us learn lessons, and infinitely joyful as we make choices to live for Him.
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power for ever and ever” (Rev 5:13b)
First Things 27th January, 2010
Posted by Scotty in CRM.add a comment
Right now I’m sitting in a training room in the CRM headquarters, halfway through “First Things”, the New Staff Orientation and Support Raising Training. It’s an intense week! Saturday was an all-day spiritual retreat… and this week we are at the office 8am-5pm covering all the details of Purpose, Vision, Values and Structure of the organization, as well as a lot of hints tips and helps for raising support.
I’ve been struck by a couple of things over the course of the last few days:
- God’s calling upon my life is clear! I have had to share, share and share again what I am going back to Glasgow for. Numerous times I have had the others declare their excitement at what God is going to do through me!
- I’m thankful for God’s provision. Over the last 4 years I have been truly blessed. God has brought so many people around me who love and support me, providing for me emotionally, spiritually, prayerfully, practically and financially. It’s overwhelming!
- God will provide! I have an unusual degree of faith in God’s provision. God has called me, and He will give me everything I need to do His work.
I can’t wait to get back to Scotland! It will break my heart to leave here, but I can’t wait to be there continuing the work had me doing before I left to attend Multnomah.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU!
Thank you for being with me Mon and I on this journey!
It Feels Official… 19th January, 2010
Posted by Scotty in CRM, Ministry, Support.add a comment
Well now it looks and feels official…
You go to the CRM website, type in Burns… and you end up here:
We’re off to Southern California next week to attend a training course…
… I guess it’s really happening. We’re coming back!
How Great Is Our God 2nd January, 2010
Posted by Scotty in Life.add a comment
What an amazing way to usher in the New Year… I went with a group of friends to a Phil Wickham concert. He’s an amazingly talented worship leader who’s been churning out some amazing worship songs over the last couple of years. He’s such a dynamic performer and gifted worship leader.
Just before the clock struck 12, he started the chorus of Chris Tomlin’s How Great Is Our God, and so a room full of young believers poured their heart out God as the New Year rolled in.
I’m excited about all that is in store this year!
Half of it will be in the States, and half in Scotland.
Lots of change ahead!
Happy New Year! I pray 2010 is a year packed full of moments where your eyes are opened to the reality of how great our God is!
Next Steps! 22nd December, 2009
Posted by Scotty in Leadership, Life, Me, Ministry, Mission.1 comment so far
After a very comprehensive application and assessment process, I am please to say that Monica and I have been accepted to be part of Church Resource Ministries (CRM)!
Almost 5 years ago I “randomly” met a group of CRM Missionaries in Starbucks in Glasgow. A week later I was being mentored by Brian. 8 weeks later I was planting a church. 18 months later I followed in his footsteps and headed to Multnomah Biblical Seminary to experience a journey of faith and growth.
I came here to be equipped to return to Scotland to work with Re:Hope, my church in Glasgow, but have always wondered if God was going to ask me to stay here. For the last 6 months I’ve been offered some amazing jobs should I decide to stay, and so I wrestled and explored my heart and my calling, hoping to discern what God wanted.
It was clear though. My heart burns for Scotland. It has been confirmed in a thousand different ways, including CRM accepting us as missionaries.
That means the goal is set. But now the hard work begins.
We have some CRM trainings to attend, but in January we will begin the process of raising support to return to Scotland as full-time missionaries, working with Re:Hope. It feels crazy to tell people that I’ll be a missionary in my home country… it’s strange to think of raising support again having thought I would be done with that after I was finished in the States. God has a plan though… and I’m excited to see where we’re heading.
God is leading the way, and with the backing of all our friends, family, colleagues and our church, Grace Chapel, we will be leaving Portland at the end of August to begin the next stage of our adventure!
I’ll tell you more soon!
Everyday Greatness 15th December, 2009
Posted by Scotty in Books.add a comment
I just finished reading this surprisingly enjoyable book. I say surprisingly enjoyable because it is not the kind of book I would usually read, and when it arrived in the mail I wasn’t too thrilled to start it. But once I dove in, I had a hard time putting it down.
Everyday Greatness is a compilation of interesting stories gathered from various issues of Reader’s Digest which are organized around key character traits that Covey feels make up everyday greatness: Contribution, Charity, Attention, Responsibility, Courage, Discipline, Intergrity, Humility, Gratitude, Vision, Innovation, Quality, Respect, Empathy, Unity, Adaptability, Magnanimity, Perseverance, Balance, Simplicity, and Renewal. This of course is not “greatness” in the way so much of the world pursues it, but the kind of “greatness” that comes through selflessness. It is a greatness not wrapped up in status, power, and wealth, but in love, selflessness and humility.
The book is well organized. The traits are gathered in triplets under broader headings. Each section begins with some words from the author defining the importance of each trait, and then very poignant and inspiring stories from the issues of Reader’s Digest serve as illustrations of these traits in the lives of ordinary everyday people. At the end of each chapter are some closing remarks, questions to ponder, and a few pages of quotes to reflect on and apply.
The book challenges the reader not to simply go through live, but to be a catalyst of transition, living with purpose and inspiring others to live purposefully too. It encourages us to be people who take the negative and neutral aspects of life, have a positive attitude towards them, and learn for the future.
The book is sensitive to non-faith oriented people, describing and illustrating these traits with very little mention of God. That for me is it’s main weakness… for in all these inspirational stories I believe that it is He alone who is worthy of the glory, honor and respect. And it is only through cooperation with His Spirit that we have the ability to become people of Everyday Greatness.
Jim & Casper Go to Church 18th November, 2009
Posted by Scotty in Books, Church, Spirituality.1 comment so far
I just got done with Jim & Casper Go to Church, a book that frustrated the living daylights out of me through my oscillation between loving it and hating it! The basic premise of the book: Jim Henderson, a pastor of 30 years hires Matt Casper, an Athiest, to go to with him to various churches to evaluate them. Jim’s goal is to dialogue with “Casper” and learn how church looks to an outsider.
Why do I love this book?
- It acknowledges that “The Church” is far more than just a Sunday morning show.
- It pushes us to ask the question: Is how we do church really fulfilling Christ’s vision?
- It validates the need for more one-to-one discipleship.
- It challenges the church to be less focused on self and more aware of needs around us.
- It calls Christians to live what they preach and break the hypocrite stereo-type the church has become known by
- It shows some of the great things churches are doing around the States,
- It gives some ideas of things churches could do to more effectively reach people outside of the church.
- It exposes some false teaching
- It encourages Christians to love and listen to those who don’t hold our beliefs, rather than trying to “prove they’re wrong”.
- It advocates for authentic relationships.
- It challenges us to think about the terms and practices we do that are foreign to those outside the church
Why do I hate this book?
- It is successful in critiquing aspects of the church… but to a fault.
- Casper’s viewpoint is often portrayed as general Athiest opinion, when he is only one person.
- Casper is very vocal about pros and cons of the churches, but clearly has a style preference which affects his views.
- Rating and Critiquing churches enhances the performance mentality that is the downfall of many.
- Visiting and evaluating the churches feeds our current Consumer Christian mindset.
- It dismisses events and roles that are (for some) critical elements of their role in serving God.
- It downplays the fact that Scripture explains that God’s Word is foolish/offensive to people who don’t embrace the offer of salvation.
There is another thing I wrestle with which this book pokes at… what is the role of The Church? Is it for either believers or non-believers? Does it not have a part to play to both?
Is it wrong to have a part of the week, (e.g.) a Sunday morning, that has a focus on the believer, while doing other work that reaches out to the unbeliever? If we choose to continue with a Sunday morning gathering should we cater ir for those who don’t have a belief in Christ so they are comfortable and provide other avenues for Christians to be taught… or should we cater Sunday mornings to those who place their faith in Christ, and create avenues for those who don’t believe to encounter Christians in another manner?
I agree that if all your church does is a Sunday morning entertainment session, and those in your church are focused on themselves… you are far short of what God has called the church to be. If a Sunday morning service is music and a monologue, and your only method of equipping your body, there is a problem. But if Sunday morning is one element of a number of ways you draw near to God, equip believers, and reach out to those who don’t accept our faith, and help those in need, then is it really that bad?
The widsom of the cross is foolishness to the world. To someone that doesn’t believe in God… my life, poured out for Him, should be CRAZY to them! The things I do should raise questions. If God is real, and I believe He is… and if His Word is true and powerful, and I believe it is… then should we not be doing what we can to engage Him, proclaim His Word, and do what it says?
I do not by any means want to write off those who differ in their belief (or non-belief) system, loving God and imitating Him I desire to reach out to them and introduce them to the God I deeply love. But I also realize that they will not understand unless the Spirit draws them. I read in the Bible verse after verse about the persecution we will face if we live the way Christ lives… but too many believers (myself included) naturally choose the path of being liked, over the path of being hated. We have to be willing to speak what God leads us to speak, thoughtfully and lovingly, knowing that it may not be accepted. At the same time, a life with Christ is a wonderful adventure, and our lives should show that in a way that makes our lives attractive and desirable to others.
I have lots of questions and few (if any) of the answers. All I know, is that every person, whether they have faith in Christ or not, lives a life that falls short of its full potential. For we are all sinful. But I praise God that His grace makes room for my failures as He works to make me more like Christ.
Uganda Bible Project 7th October, 2009
Posted by Scotty in Life.1 comment so far
I’m excited to blog about this! One of the guys from my church who I’ve had the pleasure of being in Life Group with for the last 18 months is launching an awesome project: Uganda Bible Project.com
2 years ago Lance was a rafting guide in Utah.
18 months ago he got involved in our church planning to head back on his Utah adventure.
15 months ago he surrendered his life to God, choosing God’s adventure over his own.
12 months ago he went on an exploratory mission trip to Uganda and God tugged at his heart.
8 months ago he became a missionary with Eternal Impact.
On his last trip he went praying that God would reveal to him a need that he could focus on, and he was captured by the lack of Bibles in Uganda. He had multiple conversations with non-Christians who expressed a desire to know more about “this Jesus” who the people serving their city are worshiping. Lance left with the reality of the need for Bibles impressed deeply on his heart. He knows that some of the people who he talked to will give their lives to Christ if they had a Bible (see Yusef’s story).
Lance made it his mission to raise money for the churches he partners with in Uganda to buy Bibles. Since it begun, he has shared stories of people he talked to who are now walking with the Lord because they eventually received God’s Word.
I love this because it is simple, affordable, and acknowledges the power and importance of God’s Word.
Mon and I, in an effort to make sure our wedding planning didn’t center around money, that we committed to taking the equivalent of 10% of the gifts we received for our wedding, and providing Bibles for people in Uganda. How exciting to know that for only $6, someone will know the Lord in an intimate way.
Lance, we’re proud of you. Thank you for honoring God by being a Rom 12:1-2 guy.
Baptisms 23rd September, 2009
Posted by Scotty in Church, Friends, Worship.add a comment
Once a year Grace Chapel does church out on Hunter Creek Farms: a fun day of church, food, inflatables, games, and baptisms. This year, I got to enjoy one of the coolest moments… I got to baptize some of the people I have been investing in over the last couple of years here. What begun as one friend asking me if I would be able to do her baptism became me getting the privilege of baptizing six of the Young Adults from Grace.
