

Generic instructions
Basics for all campaign team members all the time
Generic instructions are the basics that apply to you and everyone else on God's campaign team. They cover campaign goals, methods, and the story of the campaign up till now. We find them in the Bible, a sort of campaign manual we are to live by. Ways to stay engaged with Scripture weekly or daily
The basics are non-negotiable. For example, without exception, campaign team members are required to do things the way Jesus wants them done. We don't need any special personal instruction about these things, like living humbly instead of arrogantly, helpfully instead of aggressively, promoting healing not inflicting wounds.
Being in SYNC with Jesus and the Bible is not just keeping rules though. It is also a matter of being in SYNC with the flow of the whole story of the Bible. If we see ourselves in the big picture, many things will be obvious to us. More: Seven versions of the biblical story and our role in it
Unfortunately we will still guess wrong sometimes if we try to figure out our campaign role on our own. We need some extra help in order to discover the personalized assignments God has for us, and God gives that by putting the Spirit of Jesus inside us. The Spirit is in charge of logistics and communications, making sure we each know what the Campaign Director wants us to do and that we have what we need to do it.
Being in SYNC with Christ means moving with both the generic instructions in the Bible and the personalized instructions from the Spirit. We stay on high alert for both kinds of instructions because they save us from ourselves. They guide us to do things his way whether that matches our way or not.
FAQs
Aren't God's generic instructions obvious? Why do we need to keep reading the Bible all the time?
Don't non-negotiables mean bigotry? Isn't it better to be open-minded?
If we emphasize following God's instructions and giving him total control of our lives, doesn't that kill human freedom?
If we treat things in the Bible as non-negotiable, won't we be hopelessly behind the times? What about all the changes between then and now?
How do we know which things in the Bible rise to the level of non-negotiables? Is everything non-negotiable?
FAQs on generic non-negotiable instructions
1. Aren't the generic instructions obvious? Why do we need to keep reading the Bible all the time?
True, many of these basics are so obvious, but the Bible is not a typical campaign manual, focused on obvious and timeless rules and principles. The majority of it is the story of the campaign so far, and that story is full of twists and turns.
God wants us to see ourselves in the flow of that fascinating story, the one story that runs through the whole Bible. That is why SYNC puts so much emphasis on looking at the big picture of the biblical story and the way we fit into it.
For example, we come to see ourselves as fulfillments of God's ancient promise to bless the world through the descendants of Abraham. Then it is obvious--we care about people who are poor, people under stress, people who have no clue who Abraham was or why it matters. If we do not care or even lift a finger to help, we are out of SYNC with God's campaign goals. We are not playing on the campaign team.
We keep going back to the Scripture all the time, pondering it, and discussing it with friends in order to keep getting a better grasp of God's campaign story and how he wants us to fit into it. Ways to stay engaged with Scripture weekly or daily
2. Don't non-negotiables mean bigotry? Isn't it better to be open-minded?