Saturday, September 26, 2009

I Am Second

Has anyone seen the new "I Am Second" media campaign in their city? I love it! It's sheer genius. It's compelling and its to the point. Much like the Batman media blitz about 10 years ago. We weren't sure what the advertised symbol's were on billboards everywhere, so we just had to rush home to check the website to see what the messages were referring to. Remember those, first you saw a circle, then the bat sign..etc.

Well, the concept of these messages are similar in that it does create the desire to find out more. And the strategy is simple; various people in all walks of life acknowledging Christ as the driving force of their existence. Actors, politicians, singers, housewives, business people, average teenagers all giving their testimony of overcoming different challenges and obstacles to find the answer to their striving's in Christ. When they surrendered their lives, took a back seat and made Jesus their Lord, he became first and they became "second".

It's an interactive website, where you can post your story or scan many others just like yours and acknowledge your faith among the Internet, YouTube community. It's refreshing, cutting edge and at the forefront of a new generation of evangelistic tools for a technically savvy generation of seekers. I applaud the genesis behind this medium and encourage my readers to check it out at http://www.iamsecond.com/

Lastly, let me say that I am so encouraged and excited to finally see a billboard somewhere that does not feature another airbrushed minister and his wife smiling down from some over sized glamour shot advertising their self professed gifting's and anointing. I don't mean any harm in that statement but I just think we're doing what we see others do and quite often we forget that it was never about us in the first place. As ministers and leaders when we put ourselves up on a throne its a really hard position to uphold. We set ourselves up to fail because in the end there is only one king and we are all in need of his constant grace and mercy to walk this walk with any kind of authenticity.

Because of the kind of work that I do, I more than many understand the fine line that exists between telling people about your ministry and promoting yourself over the message of Christ. I've had to balance it many times with clients in the Christian sector. I just think we need to more vigilant in not mistakenly crossing over it in our zeal to attract attention to our vision.

C'om folks except the Lord build a house its all in vain any way. We can smile all we want and buy all the designer duds we can afford. We may be well coiffed, poised and camera ready but none of that will guarantee his anointing for this new level. Its still about him. "He that wants to glory...let him glory in the Lord, for not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends" 2 Cor 10:17-18.

I'm praying for the eyes of our understanding to be opened. We need a fresh revelation and a new anointing to sweep over the body of Christ, whereby we fully understand what is the hope of his calling. It's time for us to begin to decrease so that he can increase in this shifting season. It's time to take ourselves off of the thrones and put Jesus back in his rightful place in our churches and our lives. We've gotten our order a little out of whack. He's got to be first and we've got to become second.

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