Reputation

I’ve been thinking about reputation a lot recently and yesterday I was listening to a podcast from John Scotland….something he said caught my attention, it was along the lines of “when you’ve lost your reputation there’s nothing left to loose, it doesn’t matter what people say”. We spend so much time concerning ourselves with what people say and think it is utterly time consuming and enslaving, and we end up people pleasing rather than doing the business of the kingdom and the King.

Religion is all about image, it’s all about good PR, a good rep. But there’s no power in religion other than the power to bind, enslave and control, it’s a cunning deception.

Real power liberates. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free!

Jesus didn’t have very kind things to say to those who were religious, he called them hypocrites, our word actor comes from the same root as the word hypocrite, religion is all about the show, it’s all about making a good impression, but it couldn’t be further away from freedom in relationship with Christ.

I can have a rep, a good one or a bad one, it’s all subjective and can change on the wind. To allow ourselves to be defined by ones reputation is as foolish as building on sand, yet so much of our western “churchianity” is built on our reputation. We must blend in, we must not look different, we must be accepted, seeker friendly services, audio-visual presentations, large buildings, program after program, but to me that sounds like were living in fear not freedom. The early church had none of these things yet grew massively simply because they were consumed with the  intoxicating, powerful presence of God.

Without the presence of God manifesting in us and the kingdom manifesting around us we’re completely powerless, perhaps that is why we’ve spent so much time doing “stuff” and try to build our empires and a good reputation?

The sad thing is that my reputation is all about me, I am smack bang in the center,  I  / we  / our church, ministry or whatever is directly at the centre and by simple consequence, Christ is not!

It’s not to say a reputation is necessarily bad, it’s not down to me what others say, do or perceive,  but at times it can come between us and God, a reputation can become an idol, sometimes of our own making and we can consume so much energy trying to defend it.

The message of the kingdom IS complete foolishness, to believe that through Jesus’ life death and resurrection we can actually be filled with the very presence of God, the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead and can then commune with the living God who dwells within us  and to partner with him to bring about his kingdom here on earth is total madness to those who don’t know God or who have had no experience of God and no amount of religious activity is ever going to replace an encounter with the living God.

I think in our desire to seem less weird or to be cool we try to build a good rep, but consequently we compromise the freedom, fullness and joy of the gospel message.

The gospel is a spiritual message, received by faith, it has huge power to heal, deliver and transform and is full of joy but it’s not a head religion, the head may catch up but it’s the heart that “hears” the message. Jesus said “let all that have ears let them hear”, Paul said to the Ephesians ”I pray that the eyes of the heart will know”, revelation not information.

To be completely consumed by the presence of God is intoxicating and all consuming and the presence of God in our lives should be flowing through us and it will change us and change the things we do.

If we are pursuing the kingdom, if we are pressing for revival and transformation surely we must expect our reputation to be challenged and criticised, we must expect things to change, there will be pressure, and at times we must make choices that take our reputation and lay it down, but surely the joy of walking in a deep communion with the Lord is more valuable than any worldly reward.

Have we replaced the powerful gospel of freedom, liberation and joy with slick presentation and cool imagery because we have lost the presence of God that so utterly consumed the early church?

I do believe revival is here and there is new life emerging, but revival has to go beyond meetings, it has to lead to transformation, it has to ruin us for anything other than the real thing, it has to blow apart our reputation, and it has to reflect Jesus, after all it’s not about me it’s all about Jesus.

It’s all about him.

Once our reputation is ruined, we no longer have to be concerned about our appearance or our ministry or our ego, we can get out of the way and let God be God, we are off the hook, free.

After all freedom is the message of the gospel.

Just a thought