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Space For The Glory Of Nothing

February 22, 2012 in Faith, I'm Learning with 1 Comment

“The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still” (Ex 14.14).

When I think about things in life that feed my soul (aside from spiritual disciplines & time with family and friends), my top 3 in no particular order would be:

  • Reading fiction
  • Writing
  • Silence

(Honorable mentions: coffee, music, a good dark beer, and Friday Night Lights…)

IT’S COMPLICATED

But anyway–I’ve been thinking a lot about that third one, silence. On one hand, I love silence. I’m a night owl and I sit up late at night sometimes and soak up the glory of nothing. It’s so very good for me. (I once told my wife that silence was my favorite sound. She said, “Gee, thanks.” I’m great with words sometimes.)

But, it’s more complicated than that. Because like any good complicated human being, I also hate silence. And I bet you do too.

What I mean is, there is some kind of deep resistance to the very idea of it. I love it, but I still have to make myself do it. I have to come to some kind of mini-burnout or have a knockdown drag-out with myself to actually sit still and be quiet for more than 20 seconds.

So why are we so uncomfortable with silence? And I don’t mean just the absence of sound, but the absence of activity. Just being and not doing. I mean, I can’t even sit at a red light for 5 seconds without feeling the urge to pull out my iPhone. I need help…my therapist wife even says so. But let’s move on from that, shall we?

I bet I could convince both of us that we need more silence in our lives, and you might even nod your head in agreement. But actually doing it? That’s a different story. So what’s underneath our aversion to silence? I’ve got three ideas:

1) Silence is awkward. And, well–let’s be honest. Awkwardness is the cardinal sin of our culture. (Awkward silence, anyone?) Is there a quicker way to feel ostracized from “the crowd” than being awkward? (Unless you’re the really funny, cool kind of awkward, but that’s a different topic.) This awkwardness makes silence extraordinarily uncomfortable. I recently watched a short film where the first 15 seconds was an old woman staring silently at herself in a mirror, and I was like “Agghh! Someone do something about this! Do you not realize how uncomfortable this is?”

2) Silence is unproductive. Busy, busy, busy we are. And busy=important. Who doesn’t want to be important? You know what the problem with sitting still is? You don’t get anything done. Nothing marked off your to do list. What a waste!

3) Silence is exposing. You know what happens when I sit completely still and try to focus on doing nothing? Things come up. Mainly, things I’m trying to avoid. Things I’d rather not think about or deal with. Things I’m putting off. The Holy Spirit starts moving His finger around in my heart. And then I’m like, “You know there was a reason I was avoiding that…”

But despite all these reasons that make silence uncomfortable, I believe it is something we must fight for. And fight for it we must, because everything is working against us. For most of human history there was space carved out for silence: the day would end, the sun would drop, people would go to bed and all would be quiet. But now there is noise everywhere. TV, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, your phone, the interwebs–these things never have to turn off if you don’t want them to.

But again, I don’t think you will pursue the discipline of silence because you realize you need to. Logic might make you think, but emotion makes you act. Unless you actually want it you’ll never genuinely pursue it. But how do we actually want it?

CUE MEN IN BLACK, OF COURSE

What if I put my Men In Black flashy thing in front of your face and made you forget everything we just talked about. And then I took off my glasses and said, “Hey, I bet you’re tired, aren’t you? If not physically, then soul tired.”

And you would reply, “Uh-huh.”

And then I would say, “Do you feel frazzled all the time? Like life is an unending series of distractions vying for your attention, and you are exhausted from trying to keep up?”

“Uh-huh.”

And then imagine that I proceeded to tell you that God has something for you. A gift–something to restore your soul. To remind you that you need a break and that you’re not self-sufficient. That things can get done tomorrow. That He will use this gift to speak to you, even if it is sometimes uncomfortable. That through it He will teach you that you are more than what you accomplish…”

Would your mouth be salivating yet?

DON’T BE A TRIFLER

So I say we try to reframe silence. That we see it as the sobering and centering treasure God intends it to be.

The discipline of nothing. Such a beautiful idea.

And over time, I hope that we learn to press into the awkwardness, to embrace the glorious lack of productivity, and realize that if things keep coming up it’s because they actually need to be dealt with. And that doing so is actually a good thing.

What a novel idea–that what God wants for us is actually for our good.

I love what John Wesley said:

“Do justice to your own soul; give it time and means to grow…else you will be a trifler all your days.”

And well, who wants to be a trifler?

Let’s make some space for the glory of nothing in our lives. Deal?

This post was inspired by the Luminous Project, a conference for creatives and communicators involved in faith-based work. For more about it, check out the Luminous website. If you’re interested in attending the event, use the promo code “luminousLOVE” (case sensitive) to get 30% off. Sign up here.

All The Single Ladies…And Fellas (Some Valentine’s Day Advice)

February 13, 2012 in Faith, Marriage with 4 Comments

As another Valentine’s Day rolls around, there are no doubt scores of single people out there ready to stage a mutiny against the sickening holiday. People dreading the awful “14″ popping up on their calendar…people celebrating “Singles’ Awareness Day” with a vengeance.

The brutal fact is, lots of people want to be in a relationship or married really, really badly, but for whatever reason another February 14th is passing without that desire being fulfilled. Depending on one’s age and level of desire, this can be a small thing or a huge deal. I definitely feel for those who struggle mightily with this and have very deep-rooted issues that go along with it.

So I wanted to gently offer some advice for any single friends out there who may feel a sting on Valentine’s Day this year. Only because I love you. Feel free to take it or leave it.

 

1. There Is No Formula

This is one of the most prevalent issues I see–the struggle of comparison. “I’m ___ years old and I’m not married yet…” while most other friends may be already married and having children. Dealing with pressure from peers and family, this can lead to terribly oppressive questions like “Is there something wrong with me?”

Hear this: there is nothing wrong with you. Sure, every person on earth including you, me, and every married person you know are all jacked up sinners, but that’s not what I mean. I mean there’s nothing specifically wrong with you that makes you undesirable or not worth someone committing their life to. Some of the most incredible people I know are still single. The fact that you are still single does not in any way reflect upon your value or worth as a human being. When you hear those voices that say, “Maybe if I was _______ or _______ I would be married by now,” just tell them to shut up.

Because there is no formula to a happy, fulfilled life. No age you have to be married by or your life is totally screwed. People may try to pressure you or convince you that is true, but it’s a lie. CS Lewis didn’t marry until he was 57 years old, and judging from his writing, he had one of the happiest marriages you could think of.

 

2. Marriage Will Not Complete You

Taking that idea one step further–marriage is not some sort of magic pill that turns all of your problems to dust and cures the deep aches of your soul. And if you think that it will fully complete you, you are in for a sore disappointment.

Sure–it is a mysterious, beautiful picture of intimacy, commitment, and community. Designed by God, special, and weighty.

But is it the final, complete state of human existence? Nope. How do I know? Because Jesus says there won’t even be marriage in heaven (Matt 22.30).

Now, I’ll shoot straight with you. As a very happily married person, it’s a bit hard to imagine not being married to Kristi in God’s final restoration of all things. But what this truth shows us is that marriage is simply a shadow of deeper spiritual realities. That it is not some final state of completion, but a tool for community and trust that will in the end no longer be necessary because all of our relational needs will be met in deeper and truer ways.

What are all the depths of meaning covered in that truth? I have no idea–that’s above my pay grade. But I’ll tell you one thing that I know it means for sure–that singleness in community can be an existence just as complete and fulfilled as marriage.

That marriage does not equal completeness, and singleness does not mean your life is lacking in quality, meaning, or purpose. Not even a little bit–not even if you were to never get married. Some of the world’s most incredible and inspiring people were single their entire lives.

 

3. God’s Story Is Worth Waiting On

 Notice I didn’t say marriage is worth waiting on. It is, but that’s not what I mean.

God’s story for your life is worth waiting on. It’s worth the patience, humility, and surrender it takes to let Him tell it. It may very well include marriage if that’s a desire of your heart. Or it may include Him calling you to put that desire on the altar for a time (or for a very long time) while He gives you something better.

Regardless of what His story entails, it is worth waiting on. It may include more waiting and difficulty than you’d ideally like, but one day you will look back and agree that it was totally worth it. Please don’t get sick of waiting and impatiently marry someone that will turn out to be a lifelong difficulty. Please. (Also, try not to have unrealistic expectations of marriage and be impossibly picky…but that’s another conversation!)

 

4. There Is Growth For You Now

When I have to wait on something that I really, really want, my tendency is to just get pissy and irritable–to have a kind of tunnel-vision that doesn’t care about anything except getting what I want.

Try not to be like me, especially with this. Humbly repent of any jealousy you have over friends who have spouses or dates for Valentine’s Day. Rejoice with those who rejoice, like Paul says. Even when it’s exceptionally hard.

Don’t just poke your lip out and cross your arms, even if it’s what you want to do. Talk to your Father, ask Him to show you how He’s trying to grow you in this time. Ask Him if you idolize having a relationship and if He’s protecting you from that. Ask Him what it looks like to pursue a relationship in a godly way.

Above all, learn now to treasure Him more than His gifts. Learn to really enjoy time with Him. There are ways you can mature through singleness that are much harder to grow in once you are married. So focus on “being the one” and not on “finding the one”. Don’t waste your singleness–it is a gift. Steward it well.

And on Valentine’s Day, please don’t sit at home pout watching The Bachelor. PLEASE, don’t do that. Do something that’s fun for you. Maybe get dressed up and go out with some friends. Have some good food and drinks and poke fun at the mushy couples around you. You can call it “Singles’ Awareness Day” if you want to. Heck, you can watch a specific couple and improv a really funny conversation like when you watch TV on mute. Or maybe treat yourself to a massage or a milkshake…

Whatever you do, by all means, try to have fun. And smile. Smiling is good. It might even become your favorite, like Buddy the Elf.

So, that’s it. Just a bit of advice that I hope is a helpful reminder for at least one person. I wish you a happy Valentine’s Day…or Singles’ Awareness Day.

Do you have plans to celebrate the holiday, whether you’re in a relationship or not? Going out for a night on the town? Sticking it to the man for Singles’ Awareness Day? I’d love to hear about your plans if so.

 

The Slow Work Of God

February 10, 2012 in Faith, I'm Learning, Jesus with 4 Comments

In my conversations with people around Recovery, one of the most prevalent themes is frustration over the pace of their progress. “Growth doesn’t happen overnight” has become one of the mantras that we repeat often. We want to change, to grow, and we want it now. But most of the time, growth doesn’t ride on the snaps of fingers.

The Importance Of Zooming Out

When I’m talking to people about this, I always tell them to zoom out. Don’t obsess over how frustrated you are about your recent failings and how little you seem to have grown in the past few weeks. Instead, zoom out and think about how far you’ve come in the past year or two. Most always, when they hear that their perspective is broadened and they admit that they are a completely different person now than they were back then.

Metaphors Galore

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the New Testament uses all sorts of farming metaphors to describe spiritual life and growth. We as modern Americans think fruit just magically appears on grocery store shelves, so we don’t really get it. But if you’ve ever had a garden, you know. There is a lot of waiting. You plow and plant, then you wait. You water, and you wait. You pluck up weeds, and you wait.

And then one day when you’re not even expecting it, you see a little green bulb sprout. Before long, that little flower turns into a little vegetable. Then you watch it grow day by day and eventually it’s ready to pick.

We should probably do more farming. It would be a good reminder that growth takes time. That we can and should do what we can–plow, water, and weed–but the real deep work of the heart is God’s work. And just like a garden, it may be slower than we want sometimes, but in the end it’s all worth it because there is even more growth in the process. He does good work in His good timing.

This poem below is very encouraging to me and I hope it will be the same for you.

May we all “accept the anxiety of feeling…in suspense and incomplete” and “above all, trust in the slow work of God.”

The Prayer Of The Jesuit Priest Teillard de Chardin.

“Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way
to something unknown,
something new.
Yet it is the law of all progress that is made
by passing through some stages of instability
and that may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you.
Your ideas mature gradually. Let them grow.
Let them shape themselves without undue haste.
Do not try to force them on
as though you could be today what time
– that is to say, grace –
and circumstances
acting on your own good will
will make you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new Spirit
gradually forming in you will be.
Give our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
Above all, trust in the slow work of God,
our loving vine-dresser.
Amen.”

God Gave Me A Black Eye

February 2, 2012 in Faith, I'm Learning, Jesus, The Gospel with 5 Comments

Friday I got a nasty black eye.

The wind was blowing hard, and when it does so at our house it often catches our storm door on the front porch, blows it open like a tornado, and knocks this bench off of the porch.

It happened on Friday and the bench broke after falling off the porch. So I decided to go outside and fix it. On the way out, I heard Kristi say, “Brandon, wait…” I knew she was going to tell me not to fix it. But I’m a man, you know, and I wanted to fix it.

So what did I do?

I pretended that I didn’t hear her and kept walking outside. I went around the porch, picked up the bench, and started to put the screw back in.

Right at this time, Kristi naturally came outside to tell me not to fix the bench because she was going to throw the piece of junk away.

But…as soon as she opened the storm door, guess what the wind did?

Yep.

It caught the door. And I mean it caught it. I have no idea how non-hurricane winds can make that thing move that fast.

I looked up right in time to hear the whoosh of the door and see it slam into the bench.

But not in time to move before the bench slammed into my eye and knocked me on my butt.

Oh, it hurt.

And after Kristi made sure I was okay, she laughed. I mean, you kind of had to. I’ve been telling people that it was kind of like a scene from Final Destination, except thankfully I didn’t die.

It was funny, I have to admit it.

But I’ve been thinking about how I’ve changed over the years and how God has grown me. I swear, in high school I would have been absolutely convinced that God gave me a black eye. It was what I deserved for ignoring my wife. It was punishment.

True story: in my senior year of high school, we lost a playoff football game that we were supposed to win. And I was convinced that we lost because I had done something wrong the week before.

I mean convinced. For years.

But I don’t think that way anymore.

And I think that is grace.

Because the more I have grown to know God, the more I see Him as a loving father. I realize that He does discipline His children like Hebrews 12 says, but in a loving way and not in an “I’m out to get you” kind of way.

Like a conversation I had with someone recently, where they said that they were always afraid to respond to God because they thought He just wanted to punish them. That He was waiting with a hammer and an anvil. And I got to remind them that instead He was on a cross, taking the hammer Himself so we wouldn’t have to.

I don’t think He was standing there on Friday with lightning bolts in His hand saying, “See what you get when you ignore your wife punk!”

No.

I think He was slapping His knee, sharing a very good-natured laugh with me and Kristi about the ridiculousness of it all.

The Danger Of Testing God

January 27, 2012 in C.S. Lewis, Faith, I'm Learning with 4 Comments

This may sound trivial or “duh” to you, but one of the things that I’ve been re-learning lately, much in part to the book A Praying Life by Paul Miller, is that God really is there on the other end of the line. He is active, engaged, listening…and this is the often forgotten part: responding. It reminds me of what C.S. Lewis says in Miracles:

“An ‘impersonal God’–well and good. A subjective God of beauty, truth and goodness, inside our own heads–better still. A formless life-force surging through us, a vast power which we can tap–best of all. But God Himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the cord, perhaps approaching at an infinite speed, the hunter, king, husband–that is quite another matter. There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly: was that a real footstep in the hall?…Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?”

Don’t you just love that image? Pulling at the other end…approaching at an infinite speed.

It seems very like God to remind us of this. Especially when we get lost in our rituals and habits, and you lose sight of the fact that there’s a real person on the other end of this relationship, and then He somehow taps on your shoulder or busts open your little bubble and you get that same jolt that you get during scary movies.

Maybe I’m just weird, but I hope some of you know what I’m talking about.

It is a crazy wonderful thing that God pursues. That He taps and whistles and pokes and yells, through a thousand different things to get our attention. Because we drift, forget, become numb and sleepy.

But the difficult thing about God being a real person happens to be the fact that, well, He’s a real person. Not a construct or a fetch-boy, but a real, wise and self-sufficient being. He can’t be pigeon-holed or bossed around. He can say “No” and not do things exactly like we want Him to. Just like other people.

If He was a robot, you could make Him yank the other end of the rope when you wanted Him to. (But you’ll be glad to hear that He’s not a robot.)

If you don’t believe me, do an experiment. Go up to a random stranger and instruct them to take off your smelly shoes and give you a ten-minute foot massage. See if they comply.

You’re back already? That didn’t take long…

So…that fact makes me really wary when I hear people talk about testing God. Specifically when people get really stressed, frustrated, or confused and they’re like “Okay, GOD–if you’re really out there then I need you to do _______ to prove to me that you’re really there.” It’s essentially drawing a box, giving God a time-frame, and then standing there to watch the box.

And I suppose that sometimes God goes along with it. I’ve heard stories.

But I’ve also heard stories of bitter and cynical people who believe God bailed on them because He didn’t show up in their box in their timeframe. Like a story I heard recently about a guy who was laid off from a ministry, and after praying and searching for a job for several years, he didn’t find one that he wanted. So he bailed on God and doesn’t want to talk about Him at all now, with anyone.

And that makes me cringe. Because if I’ve learned anything about God, it’s that He generally doesn’t fit into boxes.

So, please remember that the next time you are standing there, staring back and forth between your watch and a box in the sand, growing more bitter and jaded by the minute.

You just never know.

He may be doing jumping jacks behind you.

 

Waiting And Winning

January 23, 2012 in Church, Faith, I'm Learning, Midtown with 4 Comments

Our church (Midtown Fellowship) has been meeting for five years. We have 450-ish members, 60-something small groups, and around 800 people coming.

And we have never (except for a VERY brief stint) had services on Sunday mornings.

Can you believe that? (Just in case you don’t know, that is extremely rare.)

We’ve begged and pleaded with God to give us a space to meet on Sunday mornings. Because that’s when most people want to attend church services. Especially older people and families with children.

But for five years He said “Wait.” He certainly still blessed us in unimaginable ways. But with that seemingly very important thing, He said to wait.

So we did. And He still blessed us along the way.

And then yesterday, we finally had our first Sunday morning service (in addition to 4 other Sunday night services).

I’ll admit, none of us thought it would take five years to get that prayer answered.

But you know what we learned through it?

That God and His timing are worth waiting on.

That He’s good in the meantime.

That you don’t have to meet on Sunday mornings to be the church.

That sometimes you appreciate things more when you have to wait on them.

That God provides for us. Even with a bunch of young people and a ridiculously shoestring budget. He provides.

So. I bet there is probably something in your life that you are waiting for. Something you are praying and yearning for.

Maybe it’s a new job. One that you don’t hate.

Maybe it’s an acceptance letter from your dream school or a contract with a publisher.

Maybe it’s a husband or a wife.

Maybe it’s having a child.

Maybe it’s ______ , one of a thousand different things.

I have good news for you.

It’s not that if you just wait long enough, you’ll definitely get _______. Sorry. I could tell you that, but it’d be a lie. I don’t know if God will definitely give you what you’re waiting for.

The good news is that, in short, He is good and you get Him. A Father who gives good gifts to His children. And He grows and changes you along the way.

That’s actually better news than “You’ll definitely get _______.” Because He knows what’s best for you. You can trust Him. And He very well may give you _______ eventually.

But it’s okay if He doesn’t, because ______ is not a cure-all and it’s not the point and you still get Him. He is the real treasure and prize, so anything else is just icing on the cake.

He would have been good if we were a “Sunday night church” forever.

And He’ll be good if whatever you’re waiting for takes a really long time, or even never comes.

Because you’ll sit there without _______ and come to realize that you’re okay without it though you once thought you’d die if you didn’t get it. You’ll see that you have depth and relationship with your Father and you’ll be resolved that the immovable peace that He brings is better than a thousand _______’s.

So. The good news is:

If you have Him, you win either way.

Mandy Moore Led Matt Chandler To Jesus?

January 17, 2012 in Faith, I'm Learning, Jesus, Stories with 7 Comments

I don’t know of any person alive who’s faith has been more of an inspiration to me than that of Matt Chandler (pastor at The Village Church in TX). I don’t even listen to his podcast religiously like many people I know, but God has used his preaching to grow and influence me in profound ways, and for that I am unceasingly thankful. Seeing his love for Jesus, his dogged proclamation of the gospel and the fact that God is the great reward and prize of the Christian faith, and especially his faithfulness and maturity while battling a life-endangering brain tumor has challenged me to no end.

So it’s crazy to think about the way he actually met Jesus.

Have you ever seen the movie Saved, with Mandy Moore? If you have, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. She plays the role of a very cheesy, over the top, insincerely over-zealous Christian who is just honestly sad to watch. The funny thing is, her character reminds me a tad bit of myself in high school. (Don’t worry, I definitely wasn’t as crazy or weird. And I was much more sincere and actually loved people. And I had friends:)

But I was very zealous like her. I would stop anyone and talk to them about Jesus. I once led a stranger in the sinner’s prayer in the parking lot of a gas station. If I felt any kind of inclination at all to talk to a particular person, I would turn my car around, go out of my way, do anything. It didn’t matter. I’d rather interrupt my whole day than bear that guilty feeling of “I should have talked to them but I didn’t.”

Those of you who know me know that I am different now. I would lean more on the side of relational evangelism now–that you should ideally get to know people, serve them, and invest in relationship instead of just whopping them over the head with “Do you know Jesus?” And I kind of shake my head thinking about some of the things I used to do, like the guy in the parking lot. I didn’t even get his phone number! What was I thinking? I guess I was just like, “Alright, see you in heaven!” Yikes.

But when I hear Matt Chandler tell the story of how he came to faith, it makes me feel better. He grew up in a non-Christian home, then moved from San Fransisco to Texas in high school. And one day while getting dressed for football practice, the guy beside him literally says, “Hey, my name is Jeff, I need to tell you about Jesus…do you want to do that now or later?”

What? Mandy Moore led Matt Chandler to Jesus?

I’m sure Jeff was more sincere, and that he did build relationship over time. But still. That’s one of those things where I would step in to someone I knew and be like, “You probably shouldn’t do that…”

But God used that guy’s boldness, and now Matt is probably one of the greatest preachers of our time.

That just goes to show that it’s God who is doing the real work, through or sometimes in spite of our meek and wayward attempts.

And that is very freeing.

So, what about the guy from the parking lot? Maybe I just confused him–made him think that all he had to do was say a magic string of words to punch his ticket to heaven. I really hope not, but maybe that’s what happened. Or…maybe he really met Jesus that night. He might even be the next Matt Chandler for all we know.

Either way, it’s great to know that:

a) God loves that guy,

b) He has certainly pursued him in many other ways than me, and

c) He doesn’t need me to reach him. 

That’s very good news.

Because if Mandy Moore can be used to lead Matt Chandler to Jesus, what do we have to worry about?

(If you aren’t familiar with Matt, or even if you are and haven’t seen this, check out the video below titled “Jesus Wants The Rose.” It’s one of my favorites.)

 

African American Church Takes Over A KKK Shop In SC

January 12, 2012 in Church, Faith, Jesus, Stories with 2 Comments

This story from BET almost sounds too good to be true. But I am oh so very glad that it is true. (Excerpt below)

The Black church has taken over the KKK, or at least a store selling its memorabilia in South Carolina.

A circuit court judge recently ruled that New Beginnings Baptist Church is the rightful property owner of the Redneck Shop, which operates as a so-called Klan museum, selling robes and t-shirts with racial slurs.

According to court documents, in 1997, ownership of the Laurens, South Carolina building in which the store exists was transferred to the Rev. David Kennedy and his church, by a Klansman fighting with others within the hate group. A clause in the deed, however, entitled John Howard, a former KKK grand dragon for the Carolinas, to operate his business in the building until he dies.

After years of trying to have the property inspected, Howard was sued by Kennedy, New Beginnings and others in 2008 in an effort to void the agreement and, on Dec. 9, 2011, a judge ruled in Kennedy and the church’s favor.

“It has been a long time coming,” Kennedy, who learned of the ruling this week, told the Associated Press. “We knew we had done everything right. … The court knows that we have suffered.”

Kennedy claims that because of the store, his congregation’s numbers have decreased as some of its 200 members became fearful of reprisals from Klan members. The congregants also found Nazi and Confederate symbols and dead animals left outside of the mobile home where the church now meets, though it is not known if Klansmen were responsible.

What a huge divine “Gotcha!” this is for some of the unbridled ignorance and stupidity of racism in my home state. I pray that their church members will overcome fear and set up shop in that building to preach Jesus’ gospel of grace that tears down walls of hostility.

Maybe some of those KKK people will meet Jesus there one day.

Forget Turning Over A New Leaf

January 3, 2012 in Faith, Scripture, The Gospel with 4 Comments

Following Jesus isn’t about “turning over a new leaf”. It’s about a whole new tree…a whole new us, by God’s grace. -Scotty Ward Smith

The word “new” is all over the Bible. It is a word that God seems to be particularly fond of. Here are just a few examples:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. -2 Corinthians 5.17

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. -Ezekiel 36.26

I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. -Revelation 2.17

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” -Revelation 21.5

At the turn of every new year, I find the discussions about the new year (goals, resolutions, etc.) very interesting. One of the most intriguing parts of it all for me is the cynicism that lies beneath much of it. The conversations that almost mock the idea that something will actually be new this year–that things will actually change. Many people are jaded and bitter about the very idea of change, because of experience after experience that leads us to believe that change is unattainable, or at least highly improbable.

Because we are realists (or pessimists). We know ourselves. We know other people. We know the world. And if not on the surface, many of us on a deeper level believe that the new year will bring nothing but more of the same crap. The same struggles, demons, weaknesses, failures, and hopelessness.

And yet, somehow, New Years still gets us–even the cynical ones. We put on a smile for a day or a couple. We make resolutions, even if the other side of our brain is reminding us that we’ve never kept them and probably won’t start this year.

There is something incredibly powerful about the idea of new–the concept of change. You see, I think God created seasons and cycles and re-starts for the express purpose of reminding us of the unalterable fact that because of Him

things

can

be

different.

We stand there in our jaded, just-trying-to-get-by-cynicism, broken against the reality of life as we know it. And God shows up in the form of a giant, sparkly ball that slowly falls amidst a crowd of a million people in Times Square, and a new number, never before seen, lights up to remind us that we’ve got another shot at this thing. A new leaf.

And then He whispers, “Forget about turning over a new leaf…how about a new tree?”

 

If you are local to Columbia and have a major life issue that you would love to be different this year, I’d love to cordially invite you to our Recovery ministry at Midtown. Our Spring cycle starts January 16th, and I think you’ll enjoy it. God is making lots of things new there.

At The Edge Of Their Seats

December 25, 2011 in Faith, Jesus, Midtown with 0 Comments

Here is a Christmas poem/spoken word performed by my friend Ant Frederick. Please do enjoy it because it’s awesome.

 

Also, Merry Christmas!

And lastly, this:

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Til He appeared and the soul felt it’s worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

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