Posts by: Brian Dolleman

We’ve been watching some new playground equipment go up.

It’s one of those “big toys” with multiple slides and stuff.

As Shari and I stood outside the playground admiring the new big toy, she said: “Future generations of kids will enjoy this playground—children that Lance and Dorothy will never see.”

Who are Lance and Dorothy?

They’re the ones who paid for the playground installation.

They love the church.

They’re investing in things that will continue long after they’re gone.

Lance and Dorothy are in their 70‘s. They won’t be playing on the big toy.

Their children are in their 50’s. They won’t be playing on the big toy.

Their grandchildren are in their 20’s. They won’t be playing on the big toy.

Their great-grandchildren don’t live in the area. They won’t be playing on the big toy.

Lance and Dorothy choose to give beyond their own borders.

They see beyond their circle. They want to be a blessing to others—even those whom they’ll never know.

When the great cathedrals of Europe were being built, people dreamed, gave, and worked to create something that wouldn’t be complete until many years after they were gone.

Several years ago, I was in York, England, and toured the York Minster.

This amazing cathedral took 250 years to build, between 1220 and 1472…

And it is still there, 790+ years later.

Amazing.

I want to be like that.

I want to be like the builders of York Minster.

I want to give beyond my own borders, stretch outside my circle, see past my own lifetime.

I want to have been a blessing to future generations—to those I will never know.

There’s a funny line in the Bible describing people who can’t see beyond themselves and the immediate:

“…these flat-earth people who can’t think beyond today.” (Psalm 17.14 MSG)

I don’t want to be a flat-earth person.

I want to be like Lance and Dorothy.

When I hiked the Grand Canyon, I kept noticing goat trails.

These weren’t hiking trails created or maintained by the Parks Department—they were made by mountain goats.

The animals walked the same route so many times that a trail was beat into the ground.

When I lived in Yakima, I made my own personal little goat trail.

I went from my house to Starbucks to the office to the gym to the grocery store to my house to Blockbuster Video and back to my house again…

Repeat.

Every day.

It felt like I was beating a trail into the ground.

I was doing the same things and going to the same places day after day.

If you connected my stopping points (house, Starbucks, office, gym, grocery store, video store) on a map, you would draw a circle.

And my life was lived within the boundaries of that circle.

I think we tend to do this with many areas of our lives…

Like relationships. Don’t believe me? Check your frequently called numbers in your cell phone.

Like our personal disciplines. Disciplines are good—they build the life we live. They can also limit and contain us.

Like our work. When was the last time you took on a new responsibility, invented something or developed a new solution to a difficult problem?

God doesn’t want us to spend our lives within a static circle.

His Kingdom is an ever-expanding Kingdom.

He calls us to look beyond our borders.

Think about it.

We’re here today, saved by His grace, because His followers pushed outside their borders some 2,000 years ago.

If they hadn’t looked beyond their borders, the church would only have existed in Jerusalem.

Do you remember the prayer of Jabez?

“Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I might not cause pain.” (1 Chronicles 4.10 NKJV)

Let’s believe like Jabez—that God will help us to look beyond our borders and enlarge our territory.

It’s time to add some new stopping points and redraw the circle…

It’s time to beat a new trail!

Have you seen the YouTube video Charlie Bit My Finger?

It will change your life.

Not really.

It’s kinda cute and funny.

This viral video has nearly 400 million views.

My daughter has the Charlie Bit My Finger iPhone App…

So I’ve heard quotes from the video about 125,000 times.

I wonder if Charlie’s parents ever dreamed their little home video would spread so far?

I don’t know what the original intent of the Charlie Bit Me video was, but I do know that God always intended for the Gospel to be seen, heard, shared, expressed, demonstrated, and spread throughout the world.

The Gospel has spread around the world and has continued to grow for 2,000+ years now.

An estimated 6 billion Bibles have been printed and distributed.

The Bible has been translated into more than 2,500 languages.

The Gospel was never meant to be contained.

It was always meant to be shared, given… to go viral.

We don’t want the Gospel to only be experienced by a small, exclusive circle of people.

We want the circle to always be expanding, reaching, and including.

“We hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working.”
(2 Corinthians 10.15, 16 NLT).

Do you really think your excuse is any better?

Gideon was insecure.

Noah got drunk and naked.

Jacob cheated and deceived.

David had an affair.

Paul murdered.

Jonah ran.

Thomas doubted.

Miriam gossiped.

Martha worried.

Sara was impatient.

Peter swore at a little girl, cut a soldier’s ear off, and got called “Satan” by Jesus.

Elijah was moody.

Moses stuttered.

Zacchaeus was short.

Rahab was a call girl.

Jeremiah was young.

Abraham was old.

Lazarus was dead.

None of these “excuses” prevented God from calling, choosing, or using these Bible characters.

Do you really think your excuse is any better?

It was his time. It was his turn.

He was from a wealthy, influential family.

He was tall, strong and really good looking.

Saul had been selected by God to be the first king of Israel.

The prophet Samuel anointed him. The Spirit of God rested on Saul, and he began to prophesy.

The Bible says that Saul became a new man—that God gave him a new heart (1 Samuel 10.6, 9).

On the day of the big ceremony, all Israel gathered for the crowning of their new king.

The prophet kicked things off with an important speech.

The time had come for Saul to take the reigns and become the king of Israel.

It was his time. It was his turn.

The prophet makes the big announcement: “Our new king: Saul!”

Deafening applause. Shouts of joy. Cannons shooting confetti into the air. Fireworks exploding.

The band begins playing Rock Party Anthem. Dancers dance…

And everyone looks around awkwardly.

Where’s Saul?

The celebrating stops. A search party is assembled. People start praying.

Finally, someone gets a word from God: “Go look in the janitor’s closet.”

They open the closet door…

Sure enough, there’s King Saul—hiding among the supplies (1 Samuel 10.22).

What a story!

Saul had everything going for him: He was chosen by God. He was anointed. People liked him and wanted him to be their king. He came from the right side of the tracks. He was photogenic.

And he was his own worst enemy.

I think this is true for all of us: we are our own worst enemy.

Usually what’s holding us back isn’t stuff around us, it’s something inside us…

Fear, insecurity, anxiety—wanting everything to be perfect, and a 100% guarantee of success before we begin.

So we hide in the janitor’s closet.

It’s quite silly, really.

“…From his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.”
(Ephesians 3.16 NLT)

It’s your time. It’s your turn…

Don’t spend it in the janitor’s closet.

Too many of us are waiting…

Waiting for the perfect me.

Waiting for the perfect time.

Waiting for the perfect training.

Waiting for the perfect qualification.

Waiting for the perfect endorsement.

Waiting for the perfect opportunity.

Waiting for the perfect situation.

Waiting for the perfect invitation.

Waiting for the perfect place.

Waiting for the perfect role.

Waiting, waiting waiting.

As long as you’re waiting for the perfect______________, nothing will happen.

Why?

Because we’re imperfect.

Here’s the good news: God chooses, calls, empowers, and uses imperfect people.

People like…

Jeremiah—who thought he was too young & felt like he had nothing to say.

Deborah—a woman who lived in a time when women weren’t really allowed to lead.

Moses—a murderer, stutterer, a guy who felt like a failure.

Abraham—thought he was too old.

Rahab—a prostitute.

Gideon—a guy who struggled with low self esteem.

Mary—a girl, a teenager

Matthew—a tax collector.

Peter—a blue collar fisherman who swore like a sailor.

Timothy—half Greek, half Jewish

Paul—former persecuted of the church.

God chooses, calls, empowers, and uses imperfect people, young people, old people, white collar people, blue collar people, prostitutes, murderers, has-beens, and failures.

And, oh yeah… I forgot one more on the list: YOU.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2.10 NLT)

“…From his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.”
(Ephesians 3.16 NLT)

God chooses, calls, empowers, and uses imperfect people—people like me, and people like you.

The wait is over!

If you are perfect, there’s no need to read any further.

But for the broken, stained, and scarred—there is good news for you.

“He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” (Psalm 147.3 NLT)

God’s specialty is restoration.

He invites the sin-stained. He welcomes the brokenhearted. He receives the imperfect with open arms.

So we come—broken, stained, and scarred.

He does what only He can do.

He causes us to be…

Restored.

In 2005, British rock band Coldplay released the hit song, Fix You…

When you try your best but you don’t succeed,
When you get what you want but not what you need,
When you feel so tired but you can’t sleep,
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face,
When you lose something you can’t replace,
When you love someone but it goes to waste,
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home,
And ignite your bones,
And I will try to fix you.

The song speaks of the loss, frustration, stain, scars, and pain that we struggle with in life…

And how there are things in our lives that need to be fixed.

We try to fix ourselves.

We try to fix our families.

Doctors try to fix our medical issues.

Counselors try to fix our heads.

Everybody tries.

Except God.

He isn’t trying.

He does (fix us).

“I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of destruction, out of the sticky mud. He stood me on a rock and made my feet steady. He put a new song in my mouth…” (Psalm 40)

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time…” (Romans 5.6)

My 1968 VW Bus restoration project ended in failure.

I wasn’t able to finish what I started.

The Bus didn’t get restored.

It was stuck in the garage for years…

Until my dad reclaimed his garage space…

Then the Bus got left outside to rust away in the rain.

My restoration project may have ended in failure—but God’s restoration project won’t.

He won’t fail you.

He will finish what he started.

You won’t get stuck in the garage for years.

You won’t be left outside to rust away in the rain.

Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, “God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?” (Hebrews 13.5, 6 MSG)

Ashley stopped by to talk with me.

She was visibly upset, already crying before she said anything.

She blurted out, “Nobody will let me be a new person! They’re all think I’m still boy-crazy like I was in 8th grade…”

Ashley explained how she felt trapped by her past. She was convinced that everyone saw her only for who she used to be, and not for who she is now.

At the time, I was a new youth pastor. I wasn’t around when Ashley was in 8th grade.

I didn’t know what happened then. I only could see what was going on right now…

And I was surprised by what Ashley was saying.

I’d never heard anyone talking disparagingly about her or her past.

I would never have thought she had a bad reputation.

I didn’t think she was boy-crazy.

I sensed that whatever happened in the past had chipped away at her confidence, worth, and significance.

Because of that chipping away, she was now expecting it—looking out for it with a suspicious eye.

Innocent comments and conversations confirmed what she was already convinced of.

She “knew” that people saw her as dirty, didn’t like her, and wouldn’t accept her.

I knew what I had to do.

I had to interrupt the chipping.

I told Ashley a different story about herself.

I told her that people didn’t see her that way.

I told her that she was valuable, significant, of incredible worth.

I told Ashley that she was popular and funny—that people wanted to be her friend.

I told her that she belonged, fit, and was right where she needed to be.

I told Ashley it was time for her to see herself differently too.

It was time to interrupt the chipping.

Part of being a Christian is to interrupt the chipping…

Our job isn’t to chip away at the honor, worth, significance, and value of others.

Our job is to restore and build-up—to give value and honor.

We’re on the building team, not the demolition crew.

We’re value adders, not value diminishers.

We interrupt the chipping.

And we tell a new story.

“We have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5.16-19 NLT)