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A stillness before God invites the setting aside of achieving — to allow the simple grace of receiving.
“We think that idols are bad things, but that is almost never the case. The greater the good, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes. Anything can serve as a counterfeit god, especially the best things in life.” -Tim Keller
Monday Inspiration: A Blessing for You
Each Monday I’m sharing something I’ve found helpful or inspiring from others. Len Sweet shares this Franciscan blessing, which I happily pass along to you.
May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.
And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator,
Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour,
and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide,
be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.
What would you like me to say?
I’ve been reflecting on my thoughts to the question “how is your church?” For me, it’s a loaded question, and I’m never quite sure how to respond.
I’ll admit, sometimes when I am asked this question, I get a little defensive. I mean, what do you want me to say?
Are you asking how I feel about things?
Do you want to know how many people attend on Sundays?
How’s the budget and giving?
Is there some measure of success that you’re looking to see if I measure up to?
Because, really, I’m not sure what you’d like me to say. I’m not trying to be snarky here. It’s just that measuring up to other people’s ideas of success isn’t what we’re trying to do here. (More on that soon.)
The problem is, if I like and respect you, I’ll be very tempted to tell you what I think you want to hear, because part of me wants you to like and respect me, too…and that gets crazy in no time.
Instead, in a healthier place, I want to tell you stories about how we are finding our way through life with Jesus. How what’s happening around us is often hard to explain, weird to casual observers, and not always “success”-building.
I want to tell you about the beautiful and good ways that people are finding hope and wholeness, how discovering life in Christ brings freedom from needing to always be successful.
How fruit is better than success.
How much I love what we’re a part of right now.
How my love for Jesus, his Church and people is deeper than it’s ever been. How soul-satisfying, life-giving, and faith-nurturing this adventure is for me and my family.
That’s what I’d like to say.
Monday Inspiration: “Finding Your Place in the Story” by Chris Seay
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I love a good story, and think “story” is a helpful metaphor for life. In this TED talk, Chris Seay, pastor of Ecclesia Church in Houston, talks about finding your place in the story. He’s compelling and helpful…I’ve enjoyed getting to know Chris better since meeting him a couple years ago at the Q conference in Austin.
How’s the story of your life going these days? Share your thoughts and reactions in the comments.
Don’t go to church
I hope you don’t go to church. You can do better.
I’ve been writing about the thoughts in my head when people ask me the loaded question, “How is your church?”
Part of why it’s a loaded question is that there’s so much wrapped up in the word “church”. Like I said in my last post, the church is people…not a place or organization. A lot of times when people ask me about church, they’re thinking in terms of some sort of Sunday church service. That’s fine, but it’s just one tiny piece of what it means to be the church. With that in mind, I really hope you don’t just go to church.
Here’s what church isn’t:
- it’s not a place to go once a week to meet with God
- it’s not where you “get fed”
- it’s not where you passively watch religious experts do their thing
- it’s not an hour (or so)-long religious training thing
- it’s not about you
When we reduce church to someplace we go to consume religious goods and services, we’re missing the point. I’ll repeat myself here: the church is people. People following Jesus, discovering life in the Kingdom of God…a kingdom that breaks in to the here and now. So, church isn’t a place we go, it’s something we are. In the scriptures, you’ll never find “church” referring to a meeting or organization. You’ll find it referring to a gathered group of people following Jesus together, pursuing justice and mercy, walking humbly with God (see Micah 6:8 ).
Now this group may have a regular time to meet. I think that’s great.
There will likely be a way to help people grow and be formed in Christ. Super.
Someone might teach. There may be a person playing a pastoral role. Nice.
But, those things are only expressions of how this local group of people are living out their faith in Christ. With the people of watershed, we gather on Sunday evenings. When people ask about visiting our church, I let them know they’re very welcome at our gathering, but it’s just one expression of our faith. Our church is in action all week long: in homes, schools, offices, community activities, serving friends and neighbors. We carry our faith with us wherever we go.
We’re at our best when we’re being the church, putting our faith in action…
in our own lives – finding our identity in Christ, finding healing and wholeness for our brokenness, forgiving those who’ve wronged us.
in our community – loving our neighbors, meeting needs, serving others, being generous, telling the story of Christ well.
among other Christ followers – promoting unity, encouraging one another, valuing other’s contribution to the body, calling one another forward in faith.
Wherever you are in your faith journey, please don’t just go to church. You can do so much better.
How about you? What do you think about going to church and being the church? Share your thoughts in the comments.
You can read more of my thoughts on the question “How is your church” here:
The church is people
In a recent post, I introduced a series of blog posts exploring my reactions and thoughts when people ask me the loaded question “How is your church?” You can read my first thoughts here and here. My next thought is:
The church is people.
Let’s just be clear. When it comes to following Jesus, “Church” isn’t a place, building or organization. “Church” is people: people experiencing and expressing life in God’s kingdom. When you ask me “How is your church?”, I don’t think about it in terms of the annual report of an organization.
I think about people (real people like Bri, Lindsey, Rick, Cheryl, Craig, Adam(s), Joe, Seasons, Jason, David, Parker, Reed, Brenda and many more). How are they? They are a collection of stories…full of challenges, good news, doubts, fears, hope and faith.
But it is my church
In a recent post, I introduced a series of blog posts exploring my reactions and thoughts when people ask me the loaded question “How is your church?”
You can read my immediate thought to the question here.
My next thought is:
But it is my church!
I’m clear that the church isn’t mine…it’s here for God’s glory. So in the sense of who this is for and who it belongs to, it’s not my church.
In another sense, however, it is my church. It’s a wonderful group of people who’ve gathered to follow Jesus as watershed: a community church. We’re growing as an authentic and compelling community of people sharing life together. God’s given us to one another. We belong together as a community. So, of course, this is my church.
It’s not my church
In my last post, I introduced a series of blog posts exploring my reactions and thoughts when people ask me the loaded question “How is your church?”
My immediate thought is:
It’s not my church!
I know you’re referring to the fact that I’m a pastor at a particular church. Perhaps you know the whole adventure of how we got started in my living room. And, yep, I undoubtedly get the most face-time as a representative of this church body. However, it really isn’t my church, in so many ways.
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