Jason Bedell Online

Main Session 3: Robb Bell

I know there is more than enough controversy surrounding Mr. Bell to last an entire year of blog posts. In my own RSS reader I probably see 3-4 posts a week from different people ready to string him up. That's not what these take aways from Catalyst are for. I am not a big fan of Robb Bell or have a "man crush" on him like some pastors do, but he had some good things to say while at the conference.

Here are a few of the things I was able to type away while listening...

• Recently talking to a pastor who said he wanted to quit, I asked Him why, he said "I'm just really burned out from all of this ministry work.
  
• So, he turned over a paper plate, turned it upside down, drew a pie chart on the bottom and asked, what you do? He explained the office hours, multiple services, counseling, events, time away form family, retreats... He spent close to 90+ hours a week on the church and little to no time with his family.
  
• He had only been the pastor a year and "every day I want to quit."
• Some of the other guys he talked to- preaches 5 services, craziness. Neglecting his families time and values
• Then the guy turned to Robb and said, "I have 300 people, but it’s nothing like what you are doing!" Robb responded, "as the French would say- "WTF?!?"
• "You have 300 people who are looking to you for guidance and they need a shepherd and you don’t think that is significant?" He urgently expressed to Him that God laid on him a calling to pastor/shepherd/and lead those people closer to Jesus.
  
• But... Is bigger better? Robb would answer no.
• You are a living Eucharist
• We are loved exactly as we are! Don’t be seduced by “The Big, The More…” Your Heavenly Father is not asking them to be you & you to be them… rather asking You to Be You!
• “Put the crack pipe down!” as it relates to Christian organizations ranking churches. Why are we putting out lists of who is better and bigger in the kingdom? Remember when Jesus said the last shall be first and the first shall be last. If you're on those big church, exciting churches list, do something to get off them- because Jesus said you are basically out of luck in the end if you're on that hip, cool, look-at-me list.
  
• John 6, Jesus has a crowd that is following him, verse 22
• Verse 66, “Many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed Him...”
• Sometimes the crowd thins and people leave (when the truth is shared)
• In the journey of God, if we are to choose between the cross and the flag, we choose the cross. Sometimes it's not politically correct, but we're not call to be P.C.- we're called to follow the Creator of the Universe.
  
• Sometimes everything is up and to the right. (like a diagram, we watch as we mathematically do the "right things" and se see movement and growth. But, those ideas don't always translate to the idea of "success" that all these big time guys promise. you can't melt down the growth of God's church into an equation. It takes out the power of God to do what He does)
  
• If you do “A” and “B” and “C”- then this and this and this will happen. Not true in the church.
  
• Jesus would say, "I love your desire and passion, and sometimes their are crowds and you find yourself with a parking problem, but the crowd will eventually thin and your methods aren’t always going to produce the “results” you thought.
• You might even think with some people, "I thought we were going to go the whole way together? I thought you were going to be here from beginning to end?" Unfortunately (or fortunately) some people only stay for a season. That is alright. Let them go. Keep moving forward.
  
• Luke 21, looked up, saw the rich, saw the poor widow drop two copper coins, widow put in more than all the others. All the peeps gave from wealth, but she from poverty gave all she had to live on...
• John 5, Deuteronomy
• "When you obey God- you won’t want anyone else’s life."
• So now, let’s talk about a couple things, love your neighbor as yourself. How are you doing with the "as yourself" part of that?
  
• Is there any possibility that you haven’t taken care of yourself enough and in turn you cannot love your neighbor as God calls you too?