7 ways to re-activate your influence in culture.
My dad used to always quote Charlie Tremendous Jones when I was a young girl. He would say, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today, except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
He was talking about the power of influence.
While God is working from a much higher realm to transform His creation in more ways than Charlie’s quote can quantify, it’s true that the influence of people and the written and spoken word are forces to be reckoned with in every human life.
While I live my life knowing that God’s kind of influence is far greater than the flow of the world around me, I do understand that all influence is magnetic and alive and should never be miscarried. And we all have been given the power of influence.
Did you know that Abe Lincoln had only 18 months of formal education as a child? He was poor and spent most of his childhood on the family farm. The schools nearby only met a few times a year, which left him to learn mostly from family members and life experience.
His mother and father exposed him to the Bible, Christian instruction, the Declaration of Independence, and anti-slavery sentiment from an early age.
He was a natural learner and became an avid reader, educating himself through all kinds of books. It is said that even as a young boy, he would stand on tree stumps and preach sermons to his friends.
Abe’s mother Nancy died suddenly when he was just nine years old and his world fell apart. It was his stepmother, Sarah, who brought the Lincoln home back into order and largely guided Abraham’s continued upbringing, education, and the road to the White House.
He was just 10 years old when she came into his life and rescued his broken heart. She gave him access to her ways and her books, which greatly shaped his thinking as well.
She was beautifully kind and funny. She treated Abe like her own son and he called her, “Mama”. It is rumored that it was Sarah who contributed to the development of Abe’s humorous personality, as he became known for being witty and wise.
He once said in response to a critic, “If I had two faces, why would I be wearing this one?”
Not many people remember much about the people or the books in this legendary man’s life, yet God used them to fashion him and make him the man we would need in a deeply divided time in our country.
Abraham Lincoln’s name and legacy are forever stamped upon our history, as he is widely regarded as one of the greatest presidents to ever lead the United States. He changed the course of our nation.
It is undoubtedly true that his books and his two mothers deeply impacted his childhood, his later pursuits, and the presidential role he took hold of.
He once told a relative later in life that his stepmother “had been his best friend in this world and that no son could love a mother more than he loved her.”*
Influence is released through instruction and demonstration.
We can each look back through our own lives and recognize significant individuals and instructions that greatly shaped who we are today.
The truth is: every major figure in history has risen through the influence of the things they read and the people they met.
I have to remind myself that I don’t have to do something huge to impact the world these days. This is too often the wheeze of my impatient and tired heart when I’m talking to God about living a purpose filled life in the midst of great justice issues and panic in our nation.
I just have to put into culture that which God tells me to. One measure at a time.
One mouthful. One blog full. One book full. One dollar full. One instruction full. One prayer full. One dinner full. One conversation full. One load of laundry full. This is the path of successful people.
Influence is rooted in enduring faith.
Hebrews teaches us that we should move beyond the elementary teachings of Christian doctrine and into the “deeper truths”. These deeper truths aren’t new doctrines to come. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
These deeper truths are found in the perfecting work of Christ which comes through the practiced lifestyle of patient, demonstrable, and faithful actions that influence people for God’s glory. These deep and precious gems are mined from the lives of believers who are relentlessly sowing the Kingdom into culture, over and over and over and over.
“It is like something as small as yeast that a woman kneads into a small amount of dough. It works unseen until it permeates the entire batch and rises high.” Luke 13:21, TPT
What we grow to become is intentional, consistent, and instructional in our world….without growing weary or losing the expectation of fruitfulness or God’s faithfulness.
I have a suspicion that the influence of continuous and demonstrable instruction is the most powerful unseen force working in our culture.
Maybe you have been like me at times and you feel like you’ve become inactive in some areas of your life that used to thrive. You want to be more impactful, but honestly sometimes it feels easier to check out, give up, and watch NetFlix instead of living awakened to your purpose.
“And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: that you not be slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Hebrews 6:11-12
Here are seven practical ways you can re-activate your influence:
- Start doing something. Make a list of cultural, local, or relational issues that deeply move you. What are you zealous about or do you find yourself praying for so often? Recognize what you are actively doing about it and increase it. If you are doing nothing, start doing something in that area, even if it just begins with sowing financially into people who are in the cause. Doing nothing keeps us believing that it’s someone else’s responsibility and we are powerless. The woman in the parable had something to sow.
- Define the measure of your influence. Reflect on your history and the clues that point to your greatest assets. Get specific and polish up your skills. Study and become more knowledgeable in that area. You still will not think you are able to do all that the Lord is asking. This is good. Pray God will add His kind of influence(anointing and favor) to what you can’t do or become on your own. The woman in the parable defined her measure before she put it in the dough- three full measures worth. It was specific, worked beyond her ability, and it took time to rise.
- Honor others and work hard, unseen. Recognize who you are currently influencing or instructing, in any way. Even if it’s just one person, that is really powerful. Thank God you are privileged to influence these individuals. Intentionally seek to recognize what God wants you to contribute to their world and invest time, prayer, and energy into them. Also, honor those who have instructed you. The woman in the parable made sure she worked the influencing factor into the dough, in an unseen and complete way. It permeated the entire batch. The life of a great influencer is often unseen, mundane, and difficult.
- Take risks. Do something you’ve never done or are still afraid to do, that the Lord has placed in your heart. Do what you are afraid to do until you aren’t afraid anymore. The woman in the parable “took” the leaven. The descriptive definition of this verb indicates that she seized it, made it her own by trial and error, didn’t reject it, and she worked to obtain it.
- Pray for and practice a teachable spirit. Pray you will know how to walk “in step” with the individuals you are loving, which will impart to them the grace to partner with you and receive what you are carrying. The word “instruct” in the New Testament means to walk with someone step by step, according to their pace. There is active yeast and there is inactive yeast. Inactive yeast is like an unteachable or busy spirit. It looks similar to the real thing, but it has been sterilized. It’s goal is to speed up the process. It is often used to skip a few steps and the result it that it has no power to produce the effects of live yeast. It may retain some of the original vitamins and minerals, but it will ultimately not produce bread. The woman in the parable used active yeast and her dough did rise.
- Set boundaries. Recognize who or what is influencing your life the most. Cut out fear, jealously, and negativity. Put in more faith, hope, and love. Make adjustments.
- Spend time with the Lord. Worship God, remember His promises, renew your intimacy and get a fresh vision for your ministry. Maybe it’s time to knead a fresh batch of dough, which will bring you out of the mundane place.
What are some ways you keep yourself in rhythm with the Lord’s work, even when you feel sluggish or desire to do something bigger? Let me know in the comments.
Partnering in Prayer:
Lord, Thank You for the power of impact. Who would we be without it? It’s what makes every person come alive. We all want to belong and to matter and to leave our stamp on the world. As Christians, we deeply want to further Your purposes in the earth. So today, we say thank you for Your Kingdom and its power to permeate everything it touches. Help us to remember how significant we are with Your Spirit within and upon us. Help us to rightly define our measure of influence and to be faithful with the measures you have given us, no matter how small. Help us to love well and walk in step with your ways as we endeavor to walk with others and bring deliverance, salvation, healing, and blessing to our world. We declare, “We are showing up and we are actively putting our measure into the areas of culture you’ve given to us. Your Kingdom influence is alive and it’s working and we will inherit Your promises!”
Toward His Kingdom,
Jamie
*”The Two Mothers Who Molded Lincoln”, http://www.history.com.
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