Interesting little debate going on between blogger Pam Hogeweide and me.

I wrote a blog I called: You were made for greatness.  After reading it, she asks the question "Really?"  and arrives at the conclusion "not so much." It's an interesting debate that seems to hinge on how you define the word greatness. She makes the point "I don't mean to pick on Seth and his good writing. I think it's an Americanized evangelical point of view, and I think this kind of expectation on ourselves sets us up for either feeling condemned or ego driven."

And her blog elicits comments like this one: "I cannot begin to tell you the frustration that comes from trying to "dream big and do great things for God" Most poor schmucks like me simply set themselves up for pain and a sense of failure."

She makes good points and I agree with most of what she says; I just think my point about faith gets lost in the shuffle. I  wrote a couple  of comments on her blog.  Here's the last one:

I appreciate your "I stand by my interpretation" statement. I'll return the favor of damning with faint praise: i'm sure you're a nice, well-meaning person who intends well for others and believes that faith is important - I just don't see it in your blog and felt you just did a once-over-lightly view of the issue I raised in my blog.

Heaven help us, we need more grace from one another, a few more questions before making assumptions about intent. greatness has to do with faith in partnering with God, but if that partnership is tarnished by ego and self, then forget it. the blog i wrote makes it clear that it's not an ego thing (i.e. "The problem is that at first blush, God's dream often looks like death and, like Jonah, we resist it." and "may simply be our ego run amok.")

Where I take exception with you is the inference your readers make that I'm saying greatness has to do with exalting the self when I say it has to do with dreaming God's dream while not exalting the self. And if you disagree with this, then that's fair.

Yes, we need to be disabused of our narcissism. But the problem as i see it with your blog is that it begins with the laudable ideas of simplicity and service and gives people a way of excusing their lack of faith (read: risk). If your blog does that for some who God wanted to trust him more in reaching out in risky ways to the poor, in my view, it would be an unfortunate thing.

blog comments between strangers are a poor way of dialogue and I apologize - I don't intend to be polemical, but I just wanted to be clear. I'll shut up now.

And then, out of the blue, the next comment from a random person on Pam's blog was great:

Pam, Isn't it funny when you actually know someone. You can read a quote that they made and while others may totally misunderstand it you have years of experience to refer it to...therefore you can hear words that in one mouth are used to twist the true gospel of Jesus but in another mouth are used to encourage us on to what the Father has for us. I believe this to be true of this man Seth Barnes. Now, I don't know him personally but I am great friends with one whom is a true Father and brother to Seth in the ministry. It is the echoes of a great man of God - Andrew Sherman that I hear in Seth's writing. See, Andrew was the one true voice in our situation here. He would come in and encourage us from time to time. It was his counsel that we sought when we left our group here. Andrew did ask you to dream big but his voice echoed from the chasms of humility and service to those whom had nothing. When he says dream big he was talking to those who had been beaten down by religion in thinking that it was only the professionals that could minister. The hero he speaks of is the hero of loving you children, living a life of integrity, or giving a glass of cold water in Jesus name. As Andrew said so many times we are just road kill on the highway of God's love and these men around him truly exemplify that fact in their urging us to go and do likewise. They are not out to be big in anyone's eyes. I have followed their lives long enough to see that.

So as a voice of one who is familiar with those who twist the simple gospel, I do think that those words spoken from some I know would mean all and more of what you say, but this time, this man, I truly believe is speaking truth that his life lives out in a true way.