I struggle with my ego. I feel like hourly I have a mixed martial arts cage fight with it. I am constantly trying to suppress it or wrestle it down to size since it seems as big as the state of Minnesota. But sometimes, in my desire to not be arrogant, I pendulum swing too far to the other side and end up having a false sense of humility. I trade my prideful arrogance for prideful humility. Instead of saying, "Look how great I am," I say, "Look how average I am." But today, I heard a sermon that convicted me about how I am living:
If I want a greater expression of God, I cannot sit up with my lips glued together with an aloof expression on my face and expect to get a mighty move of God. I want you to understand that to receive what God has for you, you may have to break out of your comfort zone. God did not promise to fit into your training and your background and your personality. God did not promise to fit into your little idiosyncrasies. God did not promise to be housed in any man's culture or philosophy. God is too big to be held down to the principles of your age or your time. God says I know what I want and I like what I want and I want somebody to praise me.
I don't usually mention traffic statistics about Stuff Christians Like. I don’t do it because it feels like it's me trying to get you to believe that I matter, that I'm important or cool or smart or a million other things. And I confess that is something I honestly struggle with. But God is doing some crazy stuff with this community, with me and with you, and I felt compelled to at least one time, publicly praise what He's doing. To be honest with you and say, "wow." To acknowledge with some numbers that this is not about Jon Acuff. This is about God and this is ridiculous.
Yesterday, since officially going live on March 21st of this year, Stuff Christians Like recorded its 1,000,000th page view. Not hits, page views. Over one million pages have been viewed on this site by more than 140,000 unique people in 165 countries (85% of the countries in the world) in about 15 weeks time. We're on the verge of having a top 2,000 ranking on Technorati, which means out of 112 million sites, this one is number 2,000 as far as popularity.
This will probably be the last time I mention traffic stats as doing so honestly makes me feel like a sweaty egomaniac. And I am sorry if it felt that way to you too. That was not my intent. Today I wanted to say thanks God. Today I wanted to say I praise you God. For letting me and a lot of other people connect with you in a new way. Whether four more people engage with the site or four million more, your love for all of us does not change. I pray you'll keep getting me out of the way and keep doing whatever it is you're doing.
Which by the way, is ridiculous.
God is ridiculous, isn't He? Ridiculous and fabulous and all such wonderful things. Yea God! and yea for SCL! You've thrown yourself totally into this site (so far as I can tell) and it's great to see such results.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, there's a great passage on true humility, as specifically relates to using one's talents, that C.S. Lewis wrote; I believe it was in Mere Christianity. Try looking for it if you can.
wow, jon. just wow. it's like every day, i can tangibly feel the weight of all this grow. i have no idea what God is up to with it, either, but it's freaking crazy. i keep you in my prayers because i cannot even imagine what God is asking of you, both on a daily basis and in the days and years ahead.
ReplyDeleteawesome stuff jon. amazing.
ReplyDeletethat is flippin' ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteCool, Jon. I am glad you shared! Hey... one question though... do you get record somehow of all the people who read your stuff from google reader and other subscription services?
ReplyDeletewell, i'm not surprised, for one. and i'm glad you're linking the growth of this site to keeping a careful watch over your ego. I know whn i first really addressing the gargantuan amounts of pride in my own life, one book that helped me was "humility" by Andrew Murray. A friend gave it to me, and i was insulted, then saw my pride and dove full into the book. it's one of the top 5 most life-altering books i've read.
ReplyDeleteso kudos--i'm looking forward to what may develop next.
and i threw skittles when I preached at our VBS last night. i think we have video...if we do, i'll post it and send you a link.
ridiculous craziness of the most ridiculous kind. I love how God can take something like the internet and rock His party.
ReplyDeleteI hope to see these stats on 97seconds soon. :)
That is awesome. Don't let it ruin you. But don't let fear of it ruining you shut you down.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations man! And thanks for acknowledging the pride inherent in false humility. God gave you your talent and redeemed your sarcasm for his use. Have a beer on me!
ReplyDelete“…keep doing whatever it is your doing”
ReplyDeleteJon. It’s you’re, not your.
Awesome! I'm glad you shared. It brings into perspective of how your sharing of ideas and obedience to what God wants you to say is really making an impact. Sarcastic or otherwise. ;) Sometimes we need to know how our works are unfolding and God has given you that glimpse of the fruits of your labor, which is sometimes a rare event.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
Congrats, Jon. I love the site and the 97 Seconds site. You are doing awesome stuff here.
ReplyDeleteYou should find out how many people (like me) read almost totally by RSS Reader. I don't visit the actual site unless I want to comment. I stick in the RSS reader. Your numbers might even be higher!
Praise God for your gifts and what you are doing for the rest of us!
Wow! Praise our ridiculously wonderful God!
ReplyDeleteGod is indeed awesome.
ReplyDeleteI've told everyone I know back home about your site so you can thank me personally if we ever meet:)
Here's a great passage from the Bible that talks about that prideful humility --
ReplyDelete"In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had compleatly overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility."
-- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Oh sorry, confusing Ben with the Bible again.)
That's awesome! I'm glad you shared it with us. This site makes me laugh AND think every single day. Love it.
ReplyDeletewow......so glad you answered God's call..........
ReplyDeleteand I come every day to see what He's having you do ......
The test of your "pride" comes not in whether you post about how many hits you've had or whether you even say "God is great" right before you say how many posts you've had.
ReplyDeleteI hope you life will reflect your thankfulness. And from the posts I've seen, I know it will. Thanks for the humor!
yay! go God!!! :D
ReplyDeleteSharing what God is doing in your life is never a wrong choice. I'm glad you told us all.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!!
Bravisimo PJ,
ReplyDeleteGod is ridiculous in blessing you/us and He has a great sense of humor too! I see your posts as something like file sharing from God’s stash. It’s so great to be able to learn while laughing here, as opposed to being beaten by the good Christians on other sites. It must be crazy cool to be used by God in this way but, we also know He’s got some funny ways to deal with egos if we tempt him. Your readers will enjoy learning more about the success of your sites – we give God all the credit, regardless of where you’re afraid your pride may take you. Then if you write an entry about getting swept away by ego, we’ll learn and laugh about what God does with that too.
I’d like to buy you a beer to celebrate - but, since that’s not practical, I may have to drink for two tonight. Thanks!
I think God wants us to be ridiculous too. Go beyond the norm and hover there and bring people with us! I was told by a non-Christian friend, regarding missions fundraising, that "there are SO FEW authentic Christians in the world, that when I meet one? I want to support whatever it is that you are doing!"
ReplyDeleteHow is that for crazy? Jesus blew all of the cultural mores of His day, and 2000 years later people still marvel at His behaviour.
I say go live in Ridiculous and brag about your hometown.
Now, what I'd like to know is this:
ReplyDeleteLet's say that four months ago some random bloke walked up to you in Starbucks and said, "Hi, Jon. I know you don't know me, but I just want to give you a little head's up about something. In about four months, you'll have this blog with a million readers and it will be pretty freakin' awesome. Just so you know." What would you have said? Would you have believed him? And could you have only imagined...
Hey Jon,
ReplyDeleteI'm with ya on the pride train. It's pretty hard to derail most of the time, but the more time you spend with God the more you become like him, so I hope that encourages you. Also, I just wanted to warn (maybe thats too strong of a word, its more like a 'heads up' or 'just so you know' type of deal) about pride's sister sin: insecurity. Pride makes us worship ourselves through our accomplishments and wants us to feel like we are deserving. Insecurity is a form of self loathing. It makes you focus on what's wrong with you and how you can 'better' yourself. They are sister sins because they both want you to take your attention off God and others and turn it upon yourself.
This is just something I learned today (but I have to master it), so, just keep yourself in check and know who you are in Christ. Also, you should read a book called Trufaced. You'll like it, I promise
The last 350,000 hits or so were from me. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteI am currently reading Charles Dickens' DAVID COPPERFIELD. There is a character named Uriah Heep, who is "umble", so 'umble' that he received some sort of reward for it in school! HA! This character's humbleness is so drastic it's annoying. Finally David Copperfield says to the guy that his humbleness is a bit prideful because he's always saying how humble he is.
ReplyDeleteAmazing stuff. I have to say that I often struggle with this same issue (the ego/swinging pendulum/humility thing), and it's refreshing to hear someone else talk about it honestly.
ReplyDeleteGod is doing cool things through this site though. Even if it's just dropping in for a good laugh, well, "Laughter does the heart good like a medicine".
Ridiculous indeed.
two things...first, i second what isuquinndog said. i read both this, 97secondswithGod and prodigal jon through google reader, only visiting the actual site to comment or read conversations in the comments. it would be interesting to know what the impact is through rss.
ReplyDeletesecond, regarding the first (elizabeth...the first comment)...c.s. lewis has an amazing letter in screwtape letters (chapter 14) regarding the balance between humility and pride. he talks of the concept of not seeing what you do as better or worse than what others do, but seeing both as an outgrowth of God's awesomeness (lewis's idea, my words). i think that he sort of hints at the idea that true himility is more concerned with the emphasis in one's own mind--what GOD has done through me, instead of what God has done through ME.
Praise the Lord indeed! Let me also extend congratulations and thanks. Your sites continue to encourage and challenge me - and I need both!
ReplyDeleteWow. That's great and I'm so excited for you and for this site.
ReplyDeleteThis has been such a blessing to my life over the past few months. I can honestly say that God has used this blog to help me grow. And I think that's pretty amazing. Thanks for the all the honesty and sarcasm... Can't wait to see what's next.
God is so incredibly amazing… When I entered student ministry as a 39 year old soccer mom, it was because of a clearest-of-clear calling from my God during a youth mission trip that I didn't even want to go on. I was horribly untrained, unqualified, uncool, had no idea what I was doing. But four years later? My husband says it was like God handed me an empty tool belt and whispered in my ear, "just have faith, do as I ask and put it on, I will fill it with tools for you."
ReplyDeleteI did and He did.
(okay, I'm still occassionaly uncool, but for the most part, those crazy kids like me anyway)
Please don't stop writing, my friend.
Yes, Jon, it's cool that your site is attracting so many people. Of course, millions of people have reservations at the Lake O' Fire Motel too, but, hey, whatever...
ReplyDeleteJust kidding! (Do I get a gold medal for that one?)
Thanks for sharing, Jon. In fact, I hope you will continue to share where God is taking all of this.
ReplyDeleteYou know, sometimes I think as Christians, we are so afraid of being "seen as" prideful that we neglect to share what God is doing in our lives. God is more than able to keep us humble as He does mighty and amazing things through us---you DO have kids, right? haha!
But seriously, keep giving all the glory to God, and remember too that we are all encouraged in our own lives, as you share how God is building His kingdom!
That is wonderful! I still remember back in the days when you wondered if 17 people would read...
ReplyDeleteBlew that out of the water!
God is good, but that is because you continue to listen to Him.
I think you should change the title of this post to: God and Carlos Whittaker are Ridiculous. Considering that Los has linked you a couple of times and no doubt is the source of much of your traffic, yo.
ReplyDeleteTim Keller does an excellent sermon on Pride that's definitely worth listening to if you can ever find a copy of it.
ReplyDeleteLove it Jon. I'm excited for you and the impact you are having and the interest you are generating.
ReplyDeleteCelebrate the success of this. God didn't open these doors accidentally.
And please keep writing... Your posts are both challenging and fun, and they make me smile. You write the only blog that I like better than my own. (TransparentChristianMagazine.com).
Congratulations on your numbers. It's not bragging, you are giving praise where it needs to go!
Jason
Here are, I think, two of the best writings that exist on pride, by, of course, CS Lewis. This one from Screwtape:
ReplyDeleteThe most alarming thing in your last account of the patient is that he is making none of those confident resolutions which marked his original conversion... I see only one thing to do at the moment. Your patient has become humble. Have you drawn his attention to this fact? All virtues are less formidable to us once the man is aware that he has them, but this is especially true of humility. Catch him at a moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection "By jove! I'm being humble," and almost immediately pride - pride at his own humility - will appear. If he awakes to the danger and tries to smother his new form of pride, make him proud of his attempt - and so on, through as many stages as you please. But don't try this for too long, for fear you awake his sense of humour and proportion, in which case he will merely laugh at you and go to bed.
I've always found it so refreshing that I at times "have permission" to just laugh at the devil and go to bed. And from Mere Christianity:
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call "humble" nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
And one bonus, a classic Lewis sentence from the paragraph right before the last:
We must not think Pride is something God forbids because He is offended at it, or that Humility is something He demands as due to His own dignity-as if God Himself was proud. He is not in the least worried about His dignity. The point is, He wants you to know Him; wants to give you Himself. And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble-delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life. He is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are...
Man, it doesn't get any better than that!
While you may feel like an egomaniac for posting about the numbers, I think that if you are doing as a testament to how big and mighty God is, it can be a very encouraging thing. I, personally, get really excited about seeing impossible statistics in things God is doing because it reminds me of his power. I am currently part of a church that is not about the numbers at all but has grown from 200 people to 4,000 people in 4 years. We've seen God do some crazy cool stuff. And, when it comes up at church, it's always to say that God can provide, that He is sovereign and He does love us. To make those points, I hope you will mention numbers again, if needed. I think that refusing to do so can take a lot of glory away from God in an effort to not be prideful, which is what you said already...
ReplyDeleteI posted your link on a worship forum. They're lovin' it!
ReplyDeleteYou are right that God will interrupt life as usual for us. Painful as this initially seems, it is the greatest thing that can happen to us.
ReplyDeleteYOu ncluded this from a sermon: I want you to understand that to receive what God has for you, you may have to break out of your comfort zone. God did not promise to fit into your training and your background and your personality.
Yes, God move in me and move anything out of me that hinders You!!!
In this post you humbly mentioned what God is doing in this blog. Your transparency is so refreshing. I can see why so many of us are blessed here. Keep daring to be real...we're finished with spin and masks.
That is so stinking awesome. 165 countries? A million page views? Amazing.
ReplyDeleteI don't think God minds bragging on what He's done, even in specifics.
Especially knowing the great conversations with my friends and family, and conversations my friends have had with their friends, that your entries have sparked.
Thank you, and thanks, God.