All Hands on Deck!

March 13, 2012

“All hands on deck!” You’ve heard this term before. It comes for the shipping world.  It’s one of the terms sailors use that we can speak and write about without getting in trouble.  This is an important one, though. I’m no marine expert and I certainly don’t know much about the mechanics of ships. But we all know that it takes many hands and efficient teamwork to operate one. Operating most ships is often too big of a job for one person. 

Part of the team strategy on a ship is to recognize when each role and task must become secondary to the most important need at hand. It’s not that the other roles are less important. It just that effective teams know that a concentrated and saturated effort in one location, towards one task, is often needed.  On a ship, the difference can mean life or death. In a church, the difference can mean succeeding or failing on a Sunday morning. 

Last Sunday was a sight for sore eyes. You see, after the second service I saw some 25 people or more respond to our worship leader’s request for help to tear down the stage. Lets face it, set up and tear down in portable environment is a hard and tiresome effort each week. When there’s a shortage of help guys can’t leave until late into the afternoon. Driving the trailers back to the offices takes another 2-3 hours on top of that each Sunday.

But when the “all hands on deck” call was asked for by Alan last Sunday, you guys responded. You responded not as individuals doing their own thing, but as fellow shipmates, on the same boat, who needed to bring focused attention and effort to the here and now need. Tear down was done within 45 minutes or less that morning. 

According to the Bible, the church is to operate like a team sport. Listen to this insight from the team playbook: 

Under the control of Christ, each part of the body does its work. It supports the other parts. In that way, the body is joined and held together. (Ephesians 4:16) 

You lived that out last Sunday. Way to go BridgePointe! Like operating most ships, BridgePointe is too big for one person. This is not my church; it is our church. Thank you for being astute to the needs of the ship we are all on as mates. Contact the church office if you can be in the rotation for the driving of our trailers, either to or from the school campus on Sunday. No special license needed. (wendy.synder@bridgepointe.org)

We are most likely to succeed as a church when “all hands are on deck” when needed.

God's Story Behind Being Passed Up

Introduction
   
Week of February 19-25
“God’s Story Behind Being Passed Up”
Esther 2:19 - 3:4
1.    We all have imperfect people “passing us up” everyday of our lives. The experience of being “passed up” comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it means not being seeing, appreciated, praised, thanked, rewarded, or recognized. This results in us feeling anger, disappointment, or frustration. As a group come up with common, yet fictitious, scenarios of what it might look like to be “passed up” by the types of people listed below.
• A boss / co-worker
 • A customer 
• A spouse 
• Friend / neighbor
• Your children 
• Kid’s Coach / Kid’s teacher
 • A friend 
• A stranger
2.    Why is recognition so important to us? Why do we hope to be seen, appreciated, praised, or rewarded?
3.    Share a personal situation where you were felt you were “passed up” in some shape or form where it effected you in a significant way.

                                       Study Questions 

1. Mordecai Does a Good Thing.
 
•    Read 2:19-22. 
•    In verse 21, we are introduced to conspirators against the King. What could be possible reasons
for the desired assassination? Hypothetically, what might the guards be disgruntled with?
1.    In verse 22, Mordecai does a good and right thing and reports the conspiracy he has overheard. He must have felt pretty good about potentially saving the King’s life. We tend to feel the same when we:
•    Do the right thing. 
•    Put in a great and sincere effort to do our best. 
•    Make someone else happy. 
•    Accomplish something significant.
 •    Care sacrificially about someone else and make a difference.
Share something that you did recently that made you feel good from doing one of the above.

2.    Mordecai “so happened” to be at the gate at the right time to overhear the conspiracy. The timing seems like God was writing his story behind the story. Share a past or recent experience where you felt the circumstances were beyond a coincidence and you felt sure God was in it.   
                         
 2.   Mordecai is passed up.
 
•    Read 2:23
•    In verse 23, it seems like all the right things were done in response to the news that Mordecai brings. It was investigated, the criminals were punished, it was officially recorded, but clearly absent was any recognition, appreciation, or reward for Mordecai. Put yourself in Mordecai’s shoes. What is he thinking and feeling? What are you tempted to do and think when you’re “passed up” like this?

3. Mordecai is further frustrated when someone else is promoted
                                         
•    Read 3:1-4
•    Verse 1 stands in contrast to Mordecai being overlooked. Haman, the King’s official, is promoted for seemingly no recorded reason. Share a story, personal or not, where credit was not just passed over, but it was given to someone who didn’t deserve it, adding insult to injury.
1.    Verse 2 states that everyone was to honor Haman by kneeling down to him. Verse 4 explains that Mordecai refused to do so. He explains his refusal by explaining that he is a “Jew”. Haman stems from a people called “The Agagites” (v.1) Historically, the Jews and the Agagites have had a 600 year feud with each other. But it seems far fetched that Mordedai is courageously taking a stand for his spiritual roots and his faith. He has already advised Esther to keep silent about her nationality. (2:20) He did nothing to discourage Esther from sexual and marital compromise with the King. He did not discourage Esther from eating forbidden food given to her. Chances are the primary root of Mordecai’s attitude and anger stems from being passed up.
•    Describe how easy it is to have bitterness linger over misplaced credit, or a lack of reward for deserved effort, or being overlooked. How does does this effect us relationally?
•    It might be that Mordecai feels like God fell asleep on the job. He must have felt the rug being pulled out from under him. This can be spiritually disillusioning for any Christian. Describe the last time it felt like God fell asleep on you.

Life Lessons

God is writing his story behind the story of being passed up. We know that Mordecai will ultimately be elevated to the king’s right hand man with more authority than Haman ever had.
For a sneak peek at what’s to come for Modecai read: 8:2, 14, & 10.
But for now, he only sees what is right in front of him- his story. More often than not, our story is the only story we are temtped to see. We will need some help to wait patiently for God’s story of being “passed up” to unfold. Here are 3 truths that will help:

1.God sees what is unseen by men and will reward in heaven.

•    Read Matthew 6:6 and Hebrews 6:10. Share an unfair situation in which you only had the applaud from an audience of One- God. Why is it often hard for this to be enough?
•    Read Hebrews 11:24-26. Rewards, in all shapes and sizes, are effectively used in parenting, at work, with school, law enforcement, in marriage, and in any situation where there are demands placed on us. Share a practical example of where you see rewards being effective in life.
•    Why might it seem strange or seemingly out of place for Christians to speak positvely about being motivated to serve God and his ways with rewards in mind?
Read Mark 9:33-25 and 10:42-25. What is applauded by men on earth, may not be applauded by God in heaven. And what is applauded by God in heaven, may not be applauded by men on earth. What is something you have done recently that was applauded by God in heaven, rather than applauded by men on earth.
•    Read Colossians 3:23-24- When we serve God as our audience of One, how should that change the way we see and do things?

2.  God’s timing is based on what we don’t know in our story.

•    Read Ecclesiastes. 3:1, 11, I Peter 5:6, and Pslam 75:6-7.
•    Give an example of some frustrating circumstance of timing, but then in retrospect saw God’s story of “later” being better.
•    Everybody starts in any venture not knowing what they don’t know. Time to grow and mature is a natural and necessary life law God programmed in life. Share a time when you were glad you were held back or passed up because you later realized you were not developmentally ready. What do you know now, that you didn’t know then?

3. God values roles that are only seemingly insignificant.

•    Read 1 Corinthians 12:14-27. What is point that is being made about the different abilities, giftedness, and roles that God gives us? Give an example of how size, status, and popularity, and salary and does not reflect significance.
•    Some people’s abilities and talents will not be best utilized in a position where they are seen by others. They may have a role where they accomplish more working behind the scenes. What will ultimately happen if we try to go after a role that is more openly seen by people, but not reflective of our true abilities or giftedness?
•    What are some creative, simple, and everyday ways we can expess intentional credit, recognition, or appreciate to someone who has earned recognition as a co-worker, child, teacher, neighbor, boss, spouse, parent, leader friend, or church member?

Esther Discussion Questions

Introduction

Esther Discussion Groups

Week of February 12-18

“The Story Behind the Ordinary”

Chapter 2:1-18

1. Share a favorite movie that reflects the “Cinderella Story” in some way.

2. What is it about a “Cinderella story” that interests us and captivates us?

3. We all have an “approval addiction”. Psychologists say that it takes 10 positive affirmations to overcome 1 hurtful statement made about us from others. This is not to suggest that we should never say anything negative to people. But what does this suggest about people’s self-image?

Study Questions

1. The King who Returns from Battle:

• Read 2:1-2

• The decision to find another queen has been delayed for about 3 years, due to Xerxes’ war with Greece. Having been defeated in his war, Xerxes finds himself emotionally licking his wounds and reaching for his wife who has long since been removed as queen. In chapter 2:1-2, Xerxes has replaced his anger with depression and is likely to be looking for comfort.

• Put yourself in Xerxes’ shoes for a moment. When you get down and depressed, what do you find yourself turning to for temporary comfort?

2. The Bachellor Reality Show of the Ancient World:

• Read 2:3-4, 12-14

• The king’s advisers came up with the idea of forcefully enslaving young, beautiful, virgin women to compete for the position of new queen. There was no romance in this whatsoever. They were forced to perform to the King’s satisfaction. He would ultimately select the women who pleased him most. Although the culture towards women was very man-centered in the ancient world, this process was still degrading. This is an important part of the story because it stands to illustrate how some measure the importance and value of people in contrast to the way God sees them.

• What do you find yourself feeling most measured by? What is your self-image most threatened by?

• We live in a sex-saturated culture that is producing unashamed womanizers who see women as nothing less than sexual objects.

a. In your experience, what have you found to be overt signs that someone’s sexual outlook has diminished respect for women?

b. Have you ever been the victim of sexual harassment?

c. What kind of impossible standards do we measure the average women by?

d. What kind of pressure are young girls (and guys) being put under today when it comes to beauty and image?

3. An Ordinary Women:

• Read 2:5-11, 15-18.

• We are introduced to the third and fourth characters in the story: Mordecai and Hadassah, who is also called Esther. Hadassah in Hebrew means, “Myrtle”. A Myrtle is a small bush that grows 2 feet at its highest size. Her name gives us a window into her ordinary life. The name Esther means, “Star”. This name was most likely given to her after she became queen. The next Queen of Persia will go from “Myrtle” to “Star”, not because she meets the world’s image standards of success, but because God is writing a story behind the ordinary in her life. Esther is orphaned and her cousin, Mordecai, has adopted her as his own child.

• Esther has 3 “myrtle traits in her life. You might say they are her “Cinderella scars”: a. She had an unstable family upbringing (2:5-7)

• Often when there is instability in our upbringing, whether it is from a divorce, dysfunction, loss of a family member, alcoholism, or parents playing favorites, it leaves an insecurity that often linger with us as an adult.

• Was there anything unstable about your upbringing that has effected you and your self-image to this day?

• Why does our family upbringing have such a factoring influence on our lives? b. She was a victim of pressured abuse (2:8)

• Esther was forced into this sex slavery audition. None of these young women ever conceived of loosing their virginity in this way. No women dreams of a romantic future where they share a man with hundreds of other women. Esther is under prsssure to fight for her life and survival.

• Have you been the victim of someone hurting you that caused such an emotional blow that you found yourself questioning your value?

c. She morally compromised under pressure (2:9, 15-18)

Most controversial about the story is Esther’s lack of hesitation to come against orders that compromise her faith as a Jew. She likely ate food that was against her dietary laws; she sexually compromised and ultimately married someone who was spiritually incompatible. It’s important that the reader not blindly dismiss this. Just because they story does not comment on such behavior, it doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do.

There are significant insights to consider: • Put yourself in her situation. What do you supposed her thinking process was? • How can moral compromise in our past haunt us spiritually?

• It has been 103 years since the Jews were taken captive from their home land. What might Esther’s lack of hesitation reflect about where the Jews are spiritually with God at this point in history?

d. She was racially and socially looked down. (2:10-11)

Being asked to keep her Jewish nationality a secret is insight into a Jew’s self image at the time. When we feel “less then”, we are tempted to do things that will cause people to think better of us. This fuels and approval addition that is difficult to overcome.

• What is it that makes you feel “less than”? What tempts you into an approval addiction in which you think to yourself, “If only I was ___________________ (fill in the blank) people would see me differently and I would feel better

about myself.

• What are the “murtle traits” in your life that tempt you to think you are not extrorinary to God or that the God of the universe saves his plans for greater people?

Life lessons

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2.

3.

God saw beyond Esther’s “Myrtle traits” ... and he sees beyond ours as well. We all have Cinderella scars of different types that keep us from believing that that we are loved by God and that he wants to do great things in us and through us. What is a lie that you will stop believing about yourself that has been keeping you from going forward and reaching new heights in your life?

Explain this sentence in your own words: One day of God’s favor is more significant than a life time of trying to make “someone” of yourself.

In what ways could God use us as parents, spouses, and friends to remind others of how God sees them? How can our words be used to bring vision to other people’s life?