In Eating Problems for Breakfast, Tim Hansel shares this fictitious letter that a modern day consulting company might have written to Jesus about his choice of disciples:
To: Jesus, Son of Joseph
From: Jordan Management Consultants
Dear Sir:
Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.
It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.
Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew had been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau; James, the son
of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.
One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.
We wish you every success in your new venture.
Sincerely,
Jordan Management Consultants
3 Questions to Think Through:
1) Why did Jesus pick people who needed training?
2) Where would these disciples be wihout jesus training them?
3) How does Jesus' selection of disciples encourage you?
The extraordinary can happen through the ordinary. Just to see what God did through the disciples after the Holy Spirit descends upon them is crazy as it takes the point of extraordinary through the ordinary to a completely different level. How encouraging is that message...
ReplyDeleteThe more I seek God, the more I appreciate that he wired me to be good at some things and really bad at other things. That’s what keeps me connected to all of you, rather than relying on myself. What a relief it is to hear Jesus say, “Lynn, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” (Feel free to put your name in there too!) I’m so thankful for each of you on the Student Ministries team and for all of our various abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. And I’m looking forward to how God will continue to train us and grow us as a team of student leaders!
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