The Concept of Acknowledgement

As many of you know, I have been taking the Self-Expression and Leadership Program at Landmark Education. This blog will explore the spiritual aspects of one of the key concepts in the program: acknowledgement.

When I first became a Christian, good news sharing was a strong part of our church culture. Most leaders meetings and midweeks started out with people sharing how God had opened people’s hearts to be receptive to the gospel. In the fellowship, people often shared good news from their own lives. I remember my girlfriend (now wife :-) sharing her day with me and how excited she was about the numerous new friends and phone numbers she had gotten that day. Rather than feeling excited for her and rejoicing with her, I remember feeling convicted (“I need to be out there sharing like that too”). That episode was actually the exception more than the rule--I usually walked away from church very inspired and encouraged by the good news that I heard.

In recent months, Jay Kelly has attempted a couple of good news sharing times at midweek, but there were several "hear the crickets" moments. It can be discouraging to sit in a room where no one raises their hand to offer good news. Here are some reasons why I don’t share good news, especially evangelistically. 1) I think I don’t have any because I believe I haven’t been living a life of action. 2) Out of supposed consideration for my listener, I hold back since I don’t want to come across as boasting or convicting them that they should do the same. 3) I minimize the significance of I what have to share.

At the SELP, we are required to fill out “acknowledgement forms” on a weekly basis. The stated purpose is that every acknowledgement is a direct blow to our “act. ” What on earth is an “act?” Mine is “Fine! I don’t need that!” The act is the default message of the voice in our head. Its purpose is to keep us from failing (and it works really well). However, the “act” prevents us from taking risks and from realizing our potential. It generally sabotages our efforts to change and ultimately keeps us from truly succeeding! For example, my act nearly convinced me not to take the SELP (I was doing just fine without this course). I’m very grateful I made a different choice.

Spiritually speaking, I believe the “act” is really the voice of Satan, the accuser. Since the garden of Eden, Satan has been tempting people to do wrong. However, he understands that a direct attack won’t work most of the time. Instead, he makes accusations against us that become so normal that we believe they come from ourselves. The effect of these accusations can be rather crippling for any spiritual growth, as I just described above. The Bible describes the struggle in the following declaration of Revelation 12:10-11, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Everyone experiences Satan’s attacks (see 1 Peter 5:8-9). The Christians in the Revelation scripture overcome Satan in two ways. First, in humility they acknowledge their sinfulness yet claim the blood of the Lamb as sufficient to eradicate it and leave them clean before God. Satan wants to tell us we’re not good enough and never can be. The Bible states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17). When I focus on the cross and Jesus’ incredible sacrifice for me as an individual, there is no room to undervalue or downgrade myself.

Second, these Christians overcame Satan by the word of their testimony. I interpret this to mean “good news” and “acknowledgement.” During the SELP, I have had a couple breakthroughs in acknowledging myself that I want to share to illustrate this point.

In October, I attended Rambo Weekend with many of the guys from church. As I committed to going, one friend shared that he had a visitor coming. I realized that this was a great opportunity to get my friends and family into a situation that could have a major positive spiritual impact. However, I did not take any actions or make any phone calls. When I arrived at the retreat and met the visitors who came out, I saw that I had two choices. 1) Continue my old pattern and feel jealous and beat myself up for not taking more actions to get people there. 2) Acknowledge the fact that in some way, I was responsible for making Rambo Weekend happen. Without me and others like me, the brothers with visitors would not have had an amazing event for their friends to attend. Taking responsibility enabled me to participate in this victory (rather than feeling defeated for not having a visitor). I ended up having several great spiritual conversations to bond with and encourage our new friends as they learned more about God.

This past Thanksgiving weekend, Darin Ford baptized his second friend in the past three months. Again, Satan tempted me with sinful feelings of jealousy, defeat, competition, and that my efforts don’t make a difference. However, I thought about the fact that we had an encouraging spiritual conversation together at Rambo Weekend and that I have prayed for him in his ministry. This enabled me to acknowledge the part I played in that victory and rejoice with him and be inspired by his example to take more action (not less!).

You may thinking, “That’s quite a stretch, bro. Aren’t you making stuff up with this acknowledgement thing?” There’s actually a very strong Biblical basis for it in 1 Cor 12:25-27. “There should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” As part of the body of Christ, I participate in every victory!

We usually focus on the importance of our connection to the Body since it is our only connection to the head (Christ). We also discuss how the Bible mentions the different roles of the various body parts. Imagine the body needing to brush its teeth. How can the feet acknowledge themselves for this activity? On the surface, only the arms, hands, and mouth are involved. But how did the body make it to the bathroom in the first place? And don’t we usually brush our teeth standing up? The feet play a very important role even though we don’t hold the toothbrush with our toes!

These acknowledgement victories have mostly been for my benefit. But through the SELP, I have learned how I need to communicate good news so that it benefits my listener. The purpose of the acknowledgement is to literally enable the other person to take responsibility for causing the result that I share. For example, let’s suppose I share my faith on the bus. There are several key elements that I need to communicate. First, I must give glory to God for the opportunity, vision, and strength to take action (compare Acts 12:19-23 and 14:8-18). Second, I need to acknowledge the listener for the result in a way that enables them to take responsibility for causing the good news/result. This is not about me pumping up my ego even further—I already have been blessed by acknowledging myself for the result. It is about helping the other person “get” that they made a difference in this world.

My Bible Talk has been sharing gratitude lists over email ever since Jay’s sermon two months ago. It has had a powerful effect on all of us. I am taking this to a new level by starting a new “acknowledgement thread” that will benefit our group in many ways. 1) Reveal that God is at work in gazillions of tiny ways every moment of every day. 2) Give everyone a deeper understanding of the powerful positive impact they are making on this world every day as God uses them. 3) Encourage us to keep praying for one another since it really does make a difference. 4) Remind each of us that a tiny seed of faith coupled with a small action can have a big result. 5) Give each of us ideas on how ordinary people can make a big difference by daily living a life that imitates Jesus. 6) Help each of us understand how powerful we really are through Christ (John 14:12-14, Mark 11:22-24). Ultimately, I believe bringing back good news sharing will grow our faith and lead to some incredible results.

As we look forward to 2010, let’s hit the “mute” button on Satan’s accusations and focus on all the results that arise from imitating Jesus. We truly are new creations through Christ! Second, let’s give God glory by talking about the myriad ways that the body of Christ is in action. Lastly, I encourage you, my reader, to develop the right “listening” so that any good news that others share with you is not lost, but that you take responsibility for how God used you to make a difference. Let’s take 1 Cor 12:27 to a whole new level: “if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”