We’re obsessed with labeling and categorizing.

Throughout the course of our lives, labels are used to define who we are and what we do.

There are labels of our heritage… our ethnicity, country of origin, or people groups our family members descended from.

There are labels that come from our family… we can be brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmothers and grandfathers.

There are labels that define who we are as individuals… our gender, sexuality, where we end to college, the sports teams we love, the social circles we associate with, the products that we purchase, the causes we passionately support.

There are labels that define our work… our field of study, our profession, our job titles, our ministry roles.

And there are other labels that we don’t like so much… the dark, sometimes unnamed parts of our stories. Our painful pasts, struggles and addictions. Failures. Broken relationships. Those kinds of labels are sometimes the worst. Some of those labels were projected upon us by others, and some labels we chose to place upon ourselves.

I am Tim.

I’m also male. I’m a son. I’m adopted. My biological father is Mexican. My mother is of European descent. I usually check the box marked ‘Hispanic.’ I am a brother. I have been blessed to be called an uncle. I’m a Peorian. I’ve been the “chubby kid” from as far back as I can remember. I am a Christian, although I prefer to say “Christ-follower.” I am a church communications guy. I’m single. I’m a co-worker. Someone mistakenly called me “pastor” once. I’m a consultant. I’m a blogger. I’m an Apple fanatic. I’m a coffee snob. I’m also pretty selfish. I try earnestly to not be prideful.

There are many labels that could define me, and there are many labels that could define you, too.

Personally, I don’t like labels. Whether they are personal, professional, or even spiritual.

Sure, they make life a bit easier and make things easier to identify. But all too often we rush to label things. Worse yet, we label people, and many times the labels we project onto others can be inaccurate. They can cause us to miss seeing the person or hearing the story behind the label. Labels oftentimes cover up what they are stuck to and we can miss what’s really there.

Throughout the course of our lives there will be many labels that we will bear.

What we are labeled isn’t who we are, though.

Our identity isn’t in the labels.

I’m more than a son, friend, church communicator, sometimes prideful guy who happens to be a caffeine addict.

You are more than your past. You are more than what you do. You are more than the labels others have used to define you or even the labels that you’ve thrust upon yourself.  Your identity doesn’t rest in what you’ve done, the titles you’ve earned, where you’ve come from, or where you are going.

Christ sees beyond the labels and sees us as who we truly are: children of God.

One of my favorite authors of all-time is Henri Nouwen. He wrote a lot about our identity as believers and once said:

“Your true identity is as a child of God. This is the identity you have to accept. Once you have claimed it and settled in it, you can live in a world that gives you much joy as well as pain. You can receive the praise as well as the blame that comes to you as an opportunity for strengthening your basic identity, because the identity that makes you free is anchored beyond all human praise and blame. You belong to God, and it is as a child of God that you are sent into the world.”

Once we choose to follow Christ, we are no longer living under the identity of our labels but live in the reality of who we truly are. While society and culture may try to label or define otherwise, who we are is nothing more than children of God.

So while there may be many labels that are used to define who I am or who you are, our true identity rests in the fact that we are all unworthy sinners who have received God’s amazing grace. We have the humbling privilege of being children of God.

Our identity isn’t in our labels but in Christ.

It’s an identity that can’t be stolen or taken away from us. It’s secure.

That’s good news… for all of us. 

And, it’s a challenge as we go about life and ministry to not rush and to label others. Peel back the layers. Strip away the labels. Hear someone’s story. Share yours.

Rejoice in the fact that we are all in Christ. We’re His children. Who we are rests in who He is.

I’m Tim. I’m a child of God.

Who are you?

—

I wrote this post prior to hearing about People of the Second Chance’s #LabelsLie Campaign. It’s fantastic and goes right along with what I’ve shared above. Check it out.

• Have you joined my email list? It’s true. I’m going to launch a monthly e-newsletter. I explain more about it here. If you sign up by December 1, you’ll get the chance to win the Ultimate Church Communicators Toolkit [nearly $100 worth of great swag for church communicators!]. Sign yourself up here. You’ll even get a personal thank-you reply from me!
• Thanksgiving was a blast. I headed home to Peoria and loved hanging out with my family and friends. I also ate way too much.
• Over Thanksgiving weekend I turned 29. Here’s to my last year in my 20′s. 30 is the new 20, so it’s all good.
• I had the chance to chat with my friend Sarah Cunningham about the Outspoken book project over on her blog. Check it out and win your chance to snag a free copy of the book.
• Speaking of Outspoken, thanks to everyone who has supported it by purchasing a copy. I’ve been humbled by the response and am grateful it’s been a helpful resource.
• My friends from Hillsong Live were in Chicago last weekend and it was great to catch up with them. They are in the USA doing a tour to promote their latest project God is Able. During the middle of the concert they busted out with Shout to the Lord. I think the whole room lit up with excitement. It was a very cool moment and also pretty amazing to think about how far they’ve come.
• Chad Jarnagin has something pretty cool coming together in Nashville in May. Watch for a post about it later this week.
• Christmastime is here! If you haven’t had the chance to check out the Hillsong Christmas album, Born is the King, do yourself a favor and pick it up. It’s fantastic. Here’s one of the songs from the album.

• Over the weekend I picked up my Christmas cards. One word: letterpress.
• Catalyst One Day in Chicago was FANTASTIC. Great thoughts on leadership were shared by Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel and Bill Hybels. If you missed it, check out my conference notebook to see all of my notes and the leadership goodness that was shared.
• I started reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp over Thanksgiving. Her talk at STORY was riveting and her book is as well.
• So stoked for my friend Jesse Phillips who shipped a project he’s been working on: NeuYear. I got my 2012 wall calendar last week and am stoked to make 2012 a year of productivity!
• Random spiritual thought: We’re all a work in progress. We all receive grace and need to freely give it to others, too.
• Currently listening to: A Very She and Him Christmas. Love. It.
• Current view: the home office.
• Question of the week: what’s on your Christmas playlist?

It’s pretty self-explanatory and I don’t want to belabor the point, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving I thought I’d take a minute to quickly encourage all of you who currently serve in ministry on a church staff to take a minute to pause and be thankful.

Ministry is tough work. After serving on church teams for over 10 years, I know that being in ministry is some of the most fulfilling and draining work at the same time. Serving on a church leadership team is both an incredible opportunity and sometimes a burden. You can witness all sides of church life: good, bad, and ugly. You can see the influence of “church politics” and wince at how leaders can be swayed by people’s opinions. And, at the same time, you can rejoice over life transformation. You can see the work of God, despite yourself and the behind-the-scenes things that go in church office life. You can see marriages and lives restored, can see hope instilled into hopeless situations and see the redeeming work of Christ at work in people’s lives.

Ministry is a roller-coaster and isn’t for the faint of heart.

I want to encourage you that wherever you may find yourself today… whether riding the highs and experiencing joy where you are serving, or if you are in a hard, low place…. to pause be thankful for the work you are doing. You get the incredible opportunity to be used by God to impact and shape the ministry that happens in your church. You, directly or indirectly, get to touch and impact people’s lives through the work you do. You get to partner with God in His work.  What you are doing is an honor, a privilege, and something we all need to be reminded to be thankful for.

Although I’m no longer on a church staff team, I can say without reservation that the 10 years I was on staff at a church were some of the most fulfilling and wonderful seasons of my life. I’m thankful for the opportunity I continue to have to serve churches through my work with Church Solutions Group and the Center for Church Communication, and I’m thankful for the individuals and churches I have been able to serve this last year as I’ve transitioned into parachurch work.

So, to those who are still in the trenches, be encouraged. What you are doing matters. God has you where you are right now doing the work that you are doing for a reason. You are placed where God has you for a divine purpose. Whether you are thriving or barely making it, know that God has placed you where you.

God has great things He wants to do in and through you.

What you do matters.

Where you are matters.

Be thankful for the opportunity you have to be serving the church that you do.

Be thankful for the community of people that God has entrusted to your care.

Be thankful for what you’ve been given… for what you have [and for what you don't have].

Be thankful for the chance to spend your life in service to others and in service to God.

Be thankful for the grace God has afforded you to serve and do what you do… despite yourself, your brokenness and your past.

Be thankful that you can be a part of God’s redeeming work in the life of your community.

Be thankful and know that we are all so thankful for the work you do.

Only a few pages deep into the book, Isaacson shares about Steve’s views on Christianity. His parents raised him going to a Lutheran church but after asking pastor why God would knowingly allow suffering to happen he decided to never return to church.

He told Issacson that he believed religion was at its best when it was emphasized in spiritual experiences rather than received dogma. Steve went on to say…

“The juice goes out of Christianity when it becomes too based on faith rather than on living like Jesus or seeing the world as Jesus saw it.”  

What are your thoughts on that statement?

It echoes the words of Gandhi, “I like your Jesus but not your Christians.”

Yes, as believers, we would say faith and works go hand-in-hand, but unfortunately, Steve only saw the faith side of things.

Just something to think about… what if we actually acted Christian? What if our lives and how we lived in this world spoke louder than our words?

Actions speak louder to the world around us.

What is your life speaking?

We’ve got some work to do.

His words carry even more meaning tonight:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

- Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement Speech, June 2005

How has Steve Jobs impacted you? What are your thoughts on his passing? How did he challenge or inspire you?

For me, I appreciate the fact that Steve encouraged us to be weird… to think differently.