DS3 Blogging

The Why behind the what...

I am beginning to feel the changes that have already begun as far as my job and my calling. The pull to be on campuses and reach young adults that are not connected to the local church has never been stronger. I am both excited and anxious about the future...trusting that Jesus is leading me every step of the way.

There is a long journey ahead. I am determined to finish my time as a staff member at CRC well. The next few months are packed with trips, opportunities, planning, study, rest, and more. And we will be raising money for the new ministry, primarily through the 218 Campaign, through the rest of the summer. I have already had moments where I wondered if I was the right guy for the task set before me. 

Sometimes, when we are so focused on the 'what', we need to be re-inspired by the 'why'. This clip by Nathan Chud always reminds me of why I am still in ministry to young adults, particularly those on campus. It is the why behind the what...

 

What's your 'why'? Why would you continue to push towards a specific goal? Knowing the 'why' makes all the difference when that 'what' seems distant. 

Jackets and Seasons

This year, I wore a jacket on Easter Sunday. I wore it because I like jackets...I am most comfortable and confident wearing them. Even though it is getting warmer in Jacksonville, I like to continue wearing jackets as a way of somewhat fooling myself that it is still cool enough for them. 

So I was ready and excited to sport my jacket...until 9am. It was so hot by that point that I almost regretted my decision. The only thing that kept my jacket on was, again, the fact that I felt comfortable and confident wearing it. Even though I was overheated most of the morning, I refused to take it off (except for the few moments I spent teaching the Bible to the kids). I was bound and determined to keep that jacket on and I was gonna love my life in the process. 

The older I get, the less I enjoy the warm weather. I have fallen in love with colder temperatures. I do not want the season to change yet. So I'll keep wearing my jackets and ruining my undershirts from the sweat stains in the process. Let me say it again...I AM NOT READY FOR THE SEASONS TO CHANGE.

In John 20, Mary encounters the risen Jesus after a couple of days of unimaginable torment. She watched Him die, and now she sees Him again. Hope which was lost is now standing in front of her. It would be a normal reaction to want to reach out and touch Him. And His response to her is, "Do not cling to Me..." I wonder if Jesus is saying to her in effect, "the seasons are changing Mary. You can no longer interact with me the way you used to...but trust Me, this new way will be even better."

The only thing worse than wearing a jacket in 80 degree weather is realizing that I have convinced myself that it is okay. Somehow, I believe inside my head that it is okay to think it is still winter when it is the middle of spring. If only this were the only area of my life where I have a hard time transitioning into a new season. I so desperately want to cling to the temperatures that I am most comfortable with. But the seasons do not wait for me when it comes to changing. They do not wait for anyone...

With the Resurrection of Jesus Christ comes this reality...EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE. It is true that wherever the Spirit of Jesus is, bondage must give way to freedom, brokenness must submit to wholeness, sin is overcome by love and grace, and death is swallowed up by new life. Crazy to think that we would hold on to the old way of relating to God and living our lives. But we do. We blame the seasons for changing or worse, God for allowing the seasons to change. But still, the seasons change...whether we like it or not.

This is true for me...the season has changed. And I mean past tense. It changed a while ago, and I need the courage to take off the jacket of false comfort and fake confidence. Things will be better if I submit...not to the season, but to the God of the seasons. What about you? Are you paying attention to the season you are in or hoping that sweaty jackets will become the trend?

It is going to be 86 degrees in Jacksonville on Easter Monday. My jacket is irrelevant.

For the City

So on Saturday, I watched a strong TED conference talk by Dave Meslin. He talks about 7 barriers that keep people from being involved in their communities, specifically local politics. It was such an inspiring talk that intended to tweet it this week. 

Then, on Sunday, I read Abel Harding's blog post on my city's desperate need for new leadership, especially when it comes to the future of downtown Jacksonville. Abel draws inspiration from the players and events that followed the Great Fire of 1901. Reading his post (combined with yesterday's TED talk), I am personally bothered (in a good way) with the current and future story that is unfolding in Northeast Florida. And further more, how that story fits into the greater story of God's kingdom.

God says to an exiled people through His prophet Jeremiah, "...seek the welfare of the city...and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." (Jeremiah 29:7). What if this is also what He is saying to the Christ-followers of Jacksonville? 

We have tons of churches in Northeast Florida...and new ones are planted every year. This is a good thing. But I wonder what would happen if we prayed for more men and women who would seek the welfare and prosperity of this city, for the ultimate glory of Jesus? New leaders and laborers who would build up the ancient ruins and be restorers of streets to dwell in (Isaiah 61)? I wonder what God would say to that kind of prayer?

Investing in a dream...

This weekend, we have the chance to invest in the dreams of some really special guys in Angola. Here's an excerpt from a recent Reclaim Gathering blog post:

Salvador, George, Tony, Gomez and Carlos have risen up as leaders among the boys.  They are hard workers and contribute to the needs of Quessua, a UMC center for education and religious study.  They regularly make personal sacrifices in order to lead, encourage and instruct the other boys at the boarding school. They teach Scripture and lead the boys’ choir. They are committed students and work faithfully at all that is put before them. They seek God with their whole lives.

These boys will have the chance to attend universities in Africa and all around the world. We felt it would bring significant meaning to this year's gathering to invest in the dreams of these young men. So for all of those who did not make it to Reclaim, join us in spirit by making a donation that will help our friends in Angola.

All of this reminds me of what we read in Acts 2 regarding the first community of believers: "And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need." (Acts 2:45)

Donate today -- www.reclaimgathering.com/angola/

Don't be lazy

Lent is a great season for testing the will. It is a great time to introduce disciplines into your daily practice, as well as abstain from actions and indulgences that (without our permission) take over our will. Connect the discipline and abstaining to your relationship with Christ and you are in for an amazing ride. The kind of stuff that brings new meaning to working out your salvation with fear and trembling!

Some Christ-followers observe Lent on a religious level only. Their faste or practices fit neatly into their lives. They end up being the same people at Easter that they were on Fat Tuesday.

Some do not engage Lent at all, as an expression of freedom from the rules of religion. That's fine. But let's remember that following Jesus does mean doing (and not doing) somethings eventually. So if the escape from Lent is an excuse so that our lifestyles do not have to be transformed daily into the image of Christ, you're headed for immature Christianity that will sink when He leads you to deeper waters. 

But some do not engage Lent because they are lazy. (I know, how insensitive of me to say) They want to change, but do not want the discipline. They want to do great things for God, but pull away from making hard choices. I can say this because at my core, spiritually speaking, I am lazy. 

Lent forces me to get out of the apartment and into the gym. And without it, I'll reason with myself why it is okay for me to remain lethargic. In a few years, I will be spiritually flabby. And in a decade, I'll experience spiritual death because I never got off the couch...hoping that God would've done it all for me as I sat and watched others follow God's call for their lives. Lent reminds me that laziness is not a fruit of the Spirit and will eventually lead to death. 

So don't observe Lent. Or observe it at the bare minimum so that you can check it off the religious list. But this is a race we're running. You're in danger of being left in the dust with spiritual shin splints and shortness of breath (Spirit).

Leadership Community

When I started in college/campus/young adult ministry back in 2002, I thought the best thing I could do for everyone was be the self-sufficient and all-knowing leader. Quickly I realized that I could not live up to this image. 

Pretty soon, I started hearing messages at conferences about removing the hierarchy in ministry and giving more ministry away. I was told that my goal was to work myself out of a job. Sounds good in theory, but after a few weeks of living into this, I became lazy and folks wanted to know what I was doing with my time. 

Both images lacked something important. The goal is not self sufficiency or deliberate irrelevance, but as Seth Godin points out in his post, is a little closer to interdependence. What I am learning as a leader is that I need to bring my best self to the places I am strong and be the greatest student in the places I am weak. Self-sufficiency is traded in for confidence. Abdication is replaced with humility. And the hierarchy becomes community. 

My responsibility is to bring to the table all that I know I know. I am required to be honest about what I know I don't know. And the best part, I am joined with a team of people who are all doing the same. 

Praying for Courage

I read Tony Morgan's notes from Andy Stanley's talk at Catalyst West 2011 a few weeks ago. His talk was focused on having courage in ministry (I wasn't there, but I think it is a good assumption based on Tony's notes). I found it inspiring as I was just a few days away from making some big announcements about the future of ACCESS218 and my life. My assessment is that the American Church has in many ways lost it's courage. But maybe the loss of courage is the fruit of another problem. Maybe the real problem is that we have lost our sense of adventurous calling that pushes us into uncharted territory. 

When God says to Joshua "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9), these words make complete sense in light of crossing the Jordan, the battle of Jericho and entering into Canaan. While still inspiring, these words do not have as much teeth (in my opinion) when attached to most of the projects we undertake in the American church. It is difficult for me to call preservation of our names, organizations and buildings on par with the mission that Joshua (or Paul for that matter) had to live out. 

I often pray for courage, but maybe I need to ask for a bigger life. Maybe there are Jordan Rivers that need to be crossed in our day. Holy Spirit, give us courage, but also put us smack dab in the middle of a mission that compels us to cry out for the kind of courage Joshua needed. In Jesus Name...

Focused Prayer

Margaret Feinberg is giving up prayer for Lent. Now you really need to read her blog to get a sense of what she means. At first glance, I was a little concerned. Then after reading, I realized that she had a point. Like Margaret, sometimes my prayers "sound like a gushing four-year-old who talks in an eternal run on sentence. I realize that over time I’ve been increasingly unspecific and un-attentive in my prayer life." 

My prayers become rants and rambles. 

There's nothing wrong with rambling in prayer. But for me at least, it does speak of the lack of focus. Furthermore, the more I ramble, the less I listen...the less I wait for the answer. Prayer is not monologue, it is dialogue between Creator and creature. Prayer is less about updating God on my life, feelings and needs (for he already knows these things) and more about aligning my life with His will so that my feelings are in check and I get what I need for the day. 

During Lent, I am hoping to regain some sense of that. I hope to find the balance between "my soul waiting for God alone in the silence" and "pouring out my heart to Him". (Psalm 62)

 

Called out by Seth Godin

Loved Seth Godin's recent post, Demonstrating Strength. It actually came at a perfect moment for me. I was just realizing the weight of yet another decision that needed to be made. I was thinking at that moment, 'I could just do this and it'll be easier". But often easier is not better. Often the best thing to do is the harder, more honest and more humble response. In the short term, I might appear weak. But in the long term, I will find that my strength doesn't come from perceptions and images.

The last line of Seth's blog really got me, "Risking the appearance of weakness takes strength. And the market knows it." I would add that the church, the culture, and all of heaven know it as well. 

One of the greatest things I've learned in church leadership is the fusion of honesty and humility. It is one thing to be honest and transparent, and another thing to defer honor and choose to be a servant to all. But when these two qualities meet, it creates a powerful combination that manifest over time into strength. 

Read Seth's post and let him call you out. When you check out his list, some of you will not see any of the described actions as weak. That's good...that means you know the power of an honest, humble individual. Some of you will read the list and wonder if the actions described are too easy. If you think they are easy, I would ask when was the last time you actually did one of them.

Living an honest, humble life demonstrates strength in the long term. But it is tough and costly in the short term...and totally worth it.