Maxie Burch continued Crash’s first series of fall 2009 entitled “The Character Gap” on Sunday, September 20. Maxie focused on the story of Daniel in the book of Daniel, chapters 1-6 to help us wade into the idea that God is concerned and focused on shaping and transforming our character, effectively narrowing “the gap within us.”
Maxie’s Big Idea was “God can and will shape our character through people and places we do not choose.”
I will try to encapsulate some of the key ideas of his talk below…
-If Daniel’s story was a movie, he would pull some sort of coordinated rebellion, uprising, ruse or elaborate plan to overthrow the Babylonians. (in prep, Maxie said we expect Daniel to go Steve McQueen like in The Great Escape). Yet Daniel stays true to himself and serves the Babylonians.
-MPTP (Maxie’s Point to Ponder): Why is it that we recognize, value and admire true character we when see and experience it in other people’s lives, but when the experience becomes our own we tend to despise it?
-”I have the power. Whoa.” (referring to the fact that Maxie ran his own Keynote slideshow via the iPod touch on Sunday night)
-”Like Daniel, we find ourselves in the midst of difficult environments and the choices that face us define how our essential character will be shaped.”
-”Those choices look like: Humility/Anger; Courage/Fear; Wisdom/Arrogance; Integrity/Manipulation; Trust/Control; Resolve/Passivity”
-”Why would God put me or you in places and with people we would never have chosen for ourselves and then give us the skills, ability and intellect to learn from them and serve them?”
-”Am I open to what God is doing with me and in me even if it means sacrifice and loss in a place and among a people I did not choose or want?”
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-”When doing God’s business, be true to yourself and wait for God to vindicate you. Ultimate trust is about exercising integrity when it may cost you something, maybe everything. What is worth everything?”
-Where is your Babylon? Who are your Babylonians?
-This is not theory for me. This is my actual life today.
Great stuff from Max. Check out the podcast here if you get a chance.
