This year marks the 40thanniversary of Mars Hill Productions! In this devotional series, president, Fred Carpenter is reflecting on the important lessons of God that have guided us in ministry and led us into a deeper understanding of His ways.
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. – 1 Kings 19:11-12 KJV
Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. – Isa 30:21
It was the first weekend in September 1987 when a friend invited me to join him and his son on a fishing trip to Colorado. We would fly out of Houston in a private plane the next Saturday. I had been dealing with some difficult issues at Mars Hill, and my friend thought I needed a break. It was a very appealing invitation, but I didn’t have a peace about it, so I asked if I could let him know in a few days.
I prayed about what to do, and I weighed the pros and cons. But, aside from all the reasons for and against, I just could not get a peace about going. On Wednesday night, I still did not have an answer for my friend. I asked God to do something to make it clear to me why I should or shouldn’t go. I did not want to tell my friend that a lack of peace was really the only reason I couldn’t go.
That night, something strange was going on in my ears. It was the sort of thing that might happen if you had a sinus infection. But I felt good. I knew I wasn’t catching a cold. My only symptom was that my ear canals seemed to be blocked. I had never experienced anything quite like it before. The next morning I called my friend. I explained my concern that if I went up in a small private plane, then whatever was going on in my ears could get worse. He understood and told me his wife would take my place on the plane.
All day Thursday and Friday, my ears were clogged, but no pain. On Saturday morning, I went to the Mars Hill studio to work on a project. There was no change with my ears. About mid-morning, my wife, Nancy, called. I could hear it in her quivering voice; something was very wrong. She told me that another friend of ours, a Delta pilot, had just called her. He seemed to be very distressed and asked if she was OK. A strange question she thought. “Sure, I’m good. What’s up?” He then asked, “Where’s Fred?” Nancy told him I had gone up to the Mars Hill studio. “Are you sure?” “Of course, I’m sure. Why are you asking me this?” Continue reading →
This year marks the 40thanniversary of Mars Hill Productions! In this devotional series, president, Fred Carpenter is reflecting on the important lessons of God that have guided us in ministry and led us into a deeper understanding of His ways.
Part 2 on The Importance of Honesty and Authenticity in Team Communication
Last week, in our devotional, we discussed the need for honest and authentic communication in the Body of Christ. This week, we’re going to dig a little deeper into this issue, focusing on the idea of “authentic communication.” What is it, what is the basis for this kind of communication, and what does it look like?
What is it?
If you Google the term “authentic Christianity,” you’ll get 121,000 results . . . books, articles, sermons, blogs, etc. Most all of them have to do with what a person does . . . performance.
Because the word “authentic” does not appear in the Bible, I turned to Webster. Authentic means – of undisputed origin. Applying this definition then, we can conclude that authenticity is really more a matter of nature and identity (origin) than performance. Just as we should expect an apple tree to bear apples, so also, we should expect an authentic Christian to communicate in an authentic manner.
So, what is it about being a Christian that provides a basis for this kind of communication?
Chapter 4 Ephesians of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians has a lot to say about unity in the Body of Christ. To lay a foundation for today’s subject read Eph.4:20-25.
Eph 4:20 But you did not learn Christ in this way,
Eph 4:21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
Eph 4:22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
Eph 4:23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
Eph 4:24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Eph 4:25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.
Verse 25 tells us that Christians should “SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you.” The word “speak” here is a present active imperative indicating that we are to make a habit of speaking the truth . . . of communicating in an authentic manner.
Verses 22-24 tell us why we should communicate in this manner. Like an apple tree bearing apples, it is simply something we do, if in fact we are laying aside the old self and putting on the new self . . . if we are being renewed in the spirit of our mind.
Stephen Mcalpin, Lead Pastor of Adorn Church in Los Angeles writes, “Authenticity in the Church is the quality of our exposure of brokenness and adornment in God’s grace. An authentic person is one who is both privately and publically putting off the old self and, by God’s grace, putting on the new self.”
Christ followers are a people caught in between two worlds; one that is broken and one that is adorned in the glory of God’s grace. If we are not OK with living in the tension between these two worlds, we will live a dishonest life. We must fully embrace both realities, for that is Truth.
I’ve always been intrigued with a certain aspect of the Chronicles of Narnia. The children who traveled to the world of Narnia found themselves in the middle of a fierce war. And like all wars, it was violent and ugly with life and death consequences. All the while, the children knew that Narnia was not their home. It was not their ultimate reality. And yet, with arrows flying and swords flashing they fully embraced their role in the battle for Narnia.
How about us? Are we OK enough with living in this fallen world that is not our home that we can be honest about our pain and struggle, and at the same time honest about our true identity in Christ and our citizenship in His Kingdom?
What does authentic communication in the Body of Christ look like?
This question is answered for us Ephesians 4:26-32.
Eph 4:26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Eph 4:27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
Eph 4:28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
Eph 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
Eph 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Eph 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
People of Truth are not fake. They communicate what is really going on in their lives, but they do it in ways that are appropriate, not grieving the Holy Spirit, and being sensitive to the one to whom they are speaking.
This year marks the 40thanniversary of Mars Hill Productions! In this devotional series, president, Fred Carpenter is reflecting on the important lessons of God that have guided us in ministry and led us into a deeper understanding of His ways.
Part 1 on The Importance of Honesty and Authenticity in Team Communication
I have always been amazed at the way a flock of birds or a school of fish can move together in perfect unison. This synchronized movement is called murmuration. And while scientists are getting closer to understanding what kind communication makes this possible, there is still much that is unknown about murmuration.
I believe that this natural phenomenon is a picture of the way the Body of Christ should move in this world. I pray that this is how the team at Mars Hill would move, under the divine orchestration of the Holy Spirit, as we pursue the mission to which our Father has called us.
Honest and authentic communication is key to this kind of Spirit-led, coordinated movement. This is the first of two devotionals on this subject.
29 It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. – Exodus 34:29-30
34 But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take off the veil until he came out; and whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of Israel what he had been commanded, 35 the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone. So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him. – Exodus 34:34-35
12 Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, 13 and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. 14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted because it is removed in Christ. – 2 Corinthians 3:12-14
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. – 2 Corinthians 3:17
In 1980, Mars Hill released a short film called Face Value. That film was inspired by the example of Moses as recorded in Exodus 34 and 2 Corinthians 3. When Moses personally spent time in the presence of God, his face actually began to shine with the glory of God. Because of this, Moses hid his face behind a veil when he returned to be with the people. He did this for two reasons.
Reading the Old Testament account, we learn that Moses did not want to cause fear in the people when they saw his shining face. Reading the New Testament account we discover the second reason. Moses did not want the people to witness the fading of this glory.
Like a veil, a mask is used to cover one’s face. In the movie, Face Value, the characters wore masks to hide what they were really thinking and feeling; their fears, insecurities, and sense of unworthiness. Such feelings are common to all people, but for fear of rejection, few are able to be honest about them and reveal them to others.
Living our lives behind masks creates distance between us. And in that space, the enemy has room to move, fostering mistrust and indifference. It is certainly not the kind of relationship that creates the unity a team of people needs in order to move in Spirit-led unison to pursue their mission.
The accounts in Exodus 34 and 2 Corinthians 3 illustrate the difference between the temporary glory of the Old Covenant and permanent glory of the New Covenant. Paul likens the veil over Moses’ face to the spiritual veil that covers the hearts of those who are under the Old Covenant of law. And in verse 14, Paul writes that this veil is removed in Christ.
Moving down to verse 17 we read, “. . . where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” That is the key to transparent and honest communication! Because Jesus has purchased our forgiveness with His blood on the cross, we have a basis by which we can be forgiven by God, we can forgive each other, and we can even forgive ourselves. From Romans 8:1 we read, “. . . there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We don’t have to fear rejection. Now you may be thinking, “I believe that to be true, so why don’t I feel that I have that freedom?”
Unpacking verse 17, a little further, consider the phrase, “. . . where the Spirit of the Lord is. . .”
Now any astute student of the Bible will tell you that God is omnipresent, He is everywhere. And in Colossians 1:16-20 we read of the pre-imminence of Christ. He is before all and He holds everything together. So, is Paul just being rhetorical when he uses this phrase, “. . . where the Spirit of the Lord is. . .”? No, he is not.
God is everywhere, but we must allow Him to have His way in us and among us. He does not bypass our will to receive His forgiveness, nor does He bypass our will in forgiving others, or ourselves. In Paul’s terms, the Spirit of the Lord is where the Spirit of the Lord is welcomed.
What can we do as a team to foster the kind of unison that is modeled for us in the natural world of birds and fish? Trust the Spirit. Drop the masks. Get real. Pursue transparent and honest communication. Create a culture of forgiveness. “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” – Ephesians 4:32.
Read Part 2 on The Importance of Honesty and Authenticity in Team Communication.
It is the most annoying word in the English language,
but one of the most powerful in the Bible!
Every year, Marist College in New York conducts an opinion poll to determine what word or phrase Americans consider to be the most annoying*. For the past six years, “whatever” has topped the list.
Of course, inflection and context affect the meaning of “whatever”. But when this word is used as a holophrase (a single word sentence), the result is never edifying. It may be spoken in an argument to admit that you are wrong without admitting it, thus ending the argument. It may be said to convey and an attitude of indifference, apathy or disrespect. It is one sure way to kill a conversation, or perhaps escalate the tension in the room.
Use of the word, “whatever” can also be an indication of frustration. A person using this word may not see the value of being understood or understanding the other person. Or perhaps the path to achieve this goal just seems too difficult, if not impossible, or even painful. Communication is hard work!
In a culture where apathy, disrespect and the inability to communicate effectively and authentically is pervasive, it is easy to understand why the word “whatever” has become so commonplace. But what about a different context, one in which purpose, respect and meaningful communication are held as high values? Is there a higher purpose for this word? Continue reading →
devos from the hill 