{"id":246,"date":"2024-05-14T20:56:47","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T20:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/?p=246"},"modified":"2024-05-29T15:52:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T15:52:17","slug":"how-to-break-the-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/14\/how-to-break-the-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Break the Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If there\u2019s one thing that frustrates me, it\u2019s when rules get in my way. And if you\u2019ve ever broken a rule yourself, then you know that not all of them are created equal. You\u2019ve probably endured the consequences of breaking the wrong rules, and felt the relief or liberation from cutting the right corners.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not talking about being a rebel without a cause though. While we typically associate breaking the rules with sin, that\u2019s not always the case. What I want to talk about is breaking the <\/span>right<\/span><\/i> rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus himself did this. Think about his encounter with the woman at the well. He shouldn\u2019t have been associating with a Samaritan, and he shouldn\u2019t have been alone with a woman. Yet not only did he break these cultural barriers, this was unexpectedly the scene that Jesus chose to first reveal himself as the Messiah.<\/span><\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t the only time Jesus upset the status quo either. From healing on the Sabbath to forgiving people\u2019s sins to overturning tables, Jesus challenged actions and beliefs by breaking their rules. So, how do we follow in his footsteps?<\/span><\/p>\n

Break the Right Rules<\/b><\/h2>\n

My mind goes first to the American Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks refusing to vacate her seat on a bus, the Greensboro Four sitting obstinate in Woolworth\u2019s, the Freedom Riders, the march from Selma to Montgomery, and on, and on, and on. Ordinary people broke the rules to show them to be <\/span>unjust<\/span><\/i>. Laws were broken publicly and strategically to show that they were wrong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, we can\u2019t just break a rule because we don\u2019t <\/span>like<\/span><\/i> it. We have to seek out the ones that get in the way of mission and are not serving useful purposes. Jesus wasn\u2019t afraid to break a rule, but he was always trying to make a point when he did so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Talk First<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve seen the musical <\/span>Hamilton<\/span><\/i>, then you might remember that the first of their \u201cten duel commandments\u201d is to demand satisfaction. Basically, don\u2019t fight someone who might be persuaded by your point of view. One of the interesting things about Jesus\u2019 ministry is that he debated quite a bit with the Pharisees. Usually we paint them as his arch nemesis, creating a painfully simplistic view of their interactions. Yet Jesus debated them for several purposes, one being that he was attempting to win them over. He was at least partially successful in that endeavor because we see Nicodemus breaking from the pack and giving credence to what Jesus has to say.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you think there\u2019s something wrong with the way your church or network does something, it might only take a conversation with the right person to make things right.<\/span><\/p>\n

Understand Why the Rule Exists in the First Place<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you can\u2019t understand the purpose of a rule, it won\u2019t do you any good to break it. Rules are generally there to protect someone or something from a real or perceived threat. So you have to be careful not to cause a bigger mess in the quest toward liberation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Muhammad Ali understood the laws he was up against. During the Vietnam War, he was drafted into the military but refused to enlist. Despite receiving a sentence of five years in prison, Ali was unwavering in his resolve because he understood why the draft was instituted and still disagreed with it. He\u2019s famous for having said, \u201cWhy should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?”<\/span><\/p>\n

The draft was meant as an emergency military measure but to Ali, drafts should be used in defense of the nation not to kill poor people half a world away and perpetuate a government\u2019s poor treatment of racial minorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe a rule was once necessary, but is now outdated. Maybe the rule is being abused. But if you don\u2019t understand why it exists, you won\u2019t be able to break it in a way that draws attention to its ineffectiveness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Accept the Consequences<\/b><\/h2>\n

While all of the people I\u2019ve used as examples understood the consequences of their actions, perhaps few understood them as well as Deitrich Bonhoeffer, who wrote <\/span>The Cost of Discipleship<\/span><\/i>. Under Nazi Germany, Bonhoeffer was outspoken against Hitler and eventually was forbidden from publishing and speaking in public. That did not stop him from doing the right thing by breaking the rules. He became a courier for the German resistance and helped Jews escape to Switzerland. Unfortunately, his actions eventually caught up with him and Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and hanged for acts of resistance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While we may not face death, breaking the rules almost always comes with consequences. If you want to make a change in this way, then you need to first understand what might happen if you follow through. Queen Vashti did the right thing by refusing to be objectified by a roomful of drunken politicians, and she was deposed for it. Her actions opened the door for Esther, but Vashti never reaped the benefits of her rebellion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Break Strategically and Publicly<\/b><\/h2>\n

Breaking the rules doesn\u2019t do any good if no one knows about it. Remember, at this stage, we\u2019ve already talked to the powers that be and they\u2019ve refused to listen. It\u2019s not them you\u2019re convincing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kathrine Switzer broke the rules in a very public way at the Boston Marathon in 1967. At this point in time, the marathon was exclusively for men and there was a widespread belief that women could not and should not be runners. They were viewed as too weak to undertake such a rigorous activity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Switzer secretly joined the race, but once race managers discovered her participation, one ran out to disqualify her. He knocked Switzer\u2019s trainer to the ground and unsuccessfully tried to rip her number off. Switzer finished the race, but the pictures taken of the assault sent reverberations throughout the country. Switzer not only proved that women could run long distances, her publicity helped pressure race organizers to eventually allow women to race.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mission First<\/b><\/h2>\n

So, if you\u2019re harboring some frustrations because mission isn\u2019t happening, rest assured that you\u2019re in good company. But don\u2019t break through the red tape like a bull in a china shop. Slow down and think through those steps first:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Break the Right Rules<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Talk First<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Understand the Rules<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Accept the Consequences<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Break Strategically and Publicly<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Brooks Hamon<\/b>\u00a0is the Content Director for NewBreed Training. He lives in Wilmington, North Carolina and has been involved in many types of church plants, from micro to mega churches. Before joining NewBreed, Brooks served church planters at Exponential, creating resources and organizing events for like-minded leaders.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    The post How to Break the Rules<\/a> appeared first on Newbreed Training<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If there\u2019s one thing that frustrates me, it\u2019s when rules get in my way. And…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249,"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions\/249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jpbmetal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}