making the most of the new year

As we are starting 2009, many of us want to say, “It’s GREAT that 2008 is over.” But often it’s the hard times that create the foundation for the good times. It’s in the times of darkness that light shines brightest. For me, the beginning of each year means a season of fasting. I know that this sounds unspiritual, but I hate fasting. I just get grumpy and want to sleep all day. But I love having fasted. It reminds me of the promise that God made through Isaiah about the fast God chooses:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.”
( Isaiah 58:6-8 )

I don’t get visions during fasting (except for food!), but after I’ve broken a fast I feel the yokes breaking from my soul and light coming like the dawn.  As the winter prepares the earth for the spring, the new year reminds me that there is the possibility of new opportunities; that we can make fresh starts.   The pain of hardship can create the innovation we need to forge new horizons.

The Scripture states that Jesus learned obedience through the things that he suffered.  There are some things that we don’t get through information, but only through pain (just watch how our nation will approach saving money this year).  So let’s make the most of this new year by gleaning what we learned from last year.  Take the time to review, take the time to renew, and allow the hardships of the past to make the most of our year to come.

knowing God

This is nothing new, but I’m in awe again of how vast God is over our knowlege of God.  Listen to these words from the apostle Paul:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.  (Romans 11:33-36)

Jesus came to reveal God fully, but in that very understanding Jesus showed that God is one whose “paths are beyond tracing out”.  We all became casualties of the Enlightenment when we tried to break God down to a formula instead of seeing how God revealed Himself in Scripture; as the Creator who goes beyond His creation in significant ways yet left His fingerprint in all that He made.

Another way to put it is that we get caught up with the map when God wants to be our guide.  Many times we want something that is set – a pattern of doing things that never changes.  But when we examine Scripture, we find people who were obeying the commands (the map) but whose hearts were far from God (the guide).  Jesus said it this way in John 5:39-40:

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

According to Jesus, we can form a false sense of comfort from Scripture, without realizing that the Scripture’s goal is to sum up all things in Christ, (Colossians 1:15-20) who spoke in the past and who is speaking now.  So knowing God becomes a journey of listening, and allowing God to reveal Himself to us.

If we understand that this is really about Jesus, then the Scripture and prayer take a new life.  We can go beyond reading Scripture to “fulfill a quota” in order to be a good Christian.  We now take the time to prepare our hearts to approach Scripture and prayer.  We are asking God to speak to us.  We recognize that unless our guide opens our hearts, the maps become irrelevant to our lives.  It would be like being fascinated with Paris and studying a road map of the city.  It may be fun at first, but it eventually becomes irrelevant until we actually go there and decide to explore the streets of France ourselves.

The Scripture teaches us WHO God is to our lives before HOW things should be done.  The HOW comes after the WHO.  Once we connect with WHO God is, the HOW of life becomes life giving and relevant.  As we get to know the God of Scripture then the Scripture of God makes sense.

That’s the challenge and the life in God.  We ultimately need Him.

the very thing we need most

Sometimes we avoid the very thing that we need the most.

I have been avoiding exercise recently. I know that I need it. I know that it will make me feel better. I know that it will help me in just about every way.

But I still avoid it. And I know better.

I find that sometimes people avoid relationships that can really help – God filled relationships that make us better as humans.

But sometimes we avoid the very thing that we need most.

There are a lot of reasons to avoid real relationships.  Getting to know people is not very efficient at all.  Try being efficient with people and see how much it endears them to you.  It just doesn’t work.  I had to learn how to be efficient with tasks but effective with people.

Effective relationships are filled with “wasted time”.  I have 2 daughters and I’ve found that the only way that I can get quality time with them is to have quantity time with them.  It doesn’t come easily.  You can’t just walk into people’s lives and expect to have depth without taking the time to get past the barriers that we all put up.

Isn’t it interesting that the way that God decided to reveal Himself to the world was to show up on the earth and hang with 12 guys for 3 years.  (and many more people at different levels)  The passages of Scripture that we read about are the quality moments in the midst of quantity time.  They go together.

Relationships are made rich by the time together.  There’s just no other way around it.

When we gather to worship, it’s the consistency of showing up that creates the dramatic moments of change.  Yes, there are divine moments that transcend all of this, but we will miss many more “Aha” moments of revelation if we are not consistent in coming together to worship and celebrate His goodness.  It may sound like a “go to church” line, but there’s a truth to it.  The moments when the celebration seems dead and dull we are not aware that the pathway is being built toward a moment of breakthrough.  The quantity is leading to the quality.

But sometimes we avoid the very thing we need the most.

grace under pressure

There is a great quote from C.S. Lewis that states “Everyone feels benevolent if nothing happens to be annoying him at the moment.” (The Problem of Pain) It’s another way of saying that it’s in the irritants, the things that don’t go our way, the ways that life can corner us that we come to personal discoveries of what our internal makeup REALLY is.

I remember as a guitar instructor how many new students would tell me that they were great players. Then I brought out the great equalizer for new musicians – the metronome. The frustration that they faced as they tried to keep up with that click, click, click was a lesson in where their skills truly lay. I feel the same way about my spiritual walk; I would be doing great if all the circumstances would just line up to my agenda and get out of my way. But they don’t – and that’s the point.

The apostle Paul talks about his qualifications to be an ambassador for Christ. Here is the resume that Paul considers relevant:

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

2 Corinthians 11:23-29

It was the places where things didn’t go well that Paul uses to validate his ministry. In other words, we become more aware of the reality of grace when things don’t go our way than when things do. A friend once said to me, “Don’t pray for the boldness of a lion when you keep placing yourself in rabbit situations.”

Add to that a God of whom Scripture states loves us with a jealous love. He loves us so much that He will pull down anything that stands in the way of a relationship with Him. He will deliver us from a spirituality that feels good in isolation but won’t stand up to adversity. He loves us so much that He watches our raised hands in worship, listens to our self righteous boasting of our love for Him, then He throws a wrench in our plans to show us how much of our spirituality is hype and how much is real. It’s God’s love that places us in situations that make us question, that demands answers that our current views can’t address. It’s in that place of crisis that He upholds us, comforts us and leads us past the veneer of our current spirituality into real relationship with Him. Therefore Paul concludes his biography with this amazing statement:

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It’s grace under pressure that brings us to this understanding. The grace was always there, but it’s the pressure that makes us aware of it. God is in the pressure point, and it’s on the other side of that pressure point where we can be freed from shallow spirituality and put into real relationship with our Creator.

one of the biggest traps of the soul

Galatians 6:4-5

Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.

This is one of the great traps of our generation – comparing ourselves to others.  To compare ourselves with others creates a paralysis of our souls.  We look at other people in our occupation and think to ourselves, “Why can’t I be like them?”.  It starts off innocently enough but then it spirals into a constant questioning of our decisions that keep us from going on the the unique journey that God has prepared for us.  In the apostle Paul’s book on the church he states,

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. “ (Ephesians 2:10)

The “good works” that each of us has in front of us are unique.  When we use language such as “destiny” and “purpose”, we must come to grips that those terms imply that we are going on a journey that no one else can travel.  To proceed on the path in front of us is essential for God’s purposes for all of us.

I believe in community.  And I believe that the Christian faith is a corporate faith, not one that is individualistic.  But when we see the pattern of Scripture, we see that we are not to be either independent (doing things with no regard to anyone else) or co-dependent (doing things that are based upon everyone else).  The big idea of Scripture is to be interdependent (unique in our personality and journey, yet expressing that in a community).

When we compare ourselves to others, we are validating or invalidating our journey based upon someone else’s journey.  And that creates a pandoras box of insecurities, bad decisions, and anxiety.

God’s desire is for us to know Him.  To walk with God is to go places that we never expected to go in ways we never expected.  If we compare ourselves to others we invite only condemnation and pain into our souls.  Here’s how we can break the cycle:

1. REPENT – Yes, repent.  Don’t see this as just an insecurity, but as sin.  See it as denying God’s workmanship in our lives.  We are trying to be someone else, and in doing so we are denying those around us the most important thing that we bring to the table – us!  Pray for God’s forgiveness for exalting someone else’s calling over our own.

2. CAPTURE – Once we’ve repented, realize that we’ve probably developed patterns of comparing.  Look for anxiety and confusion over life decisions.  Many times we know what we’re supposed to do, but comparison has stifled our ability to follow the leading of the Master.  We need to capture those anxious or confused thoughts and bring them to the Lord.

3. RENEW – Dive into the Scripture and let God’s words renew our thinking.  Have the courage to have preferences, to share insights, and allow insights to be shared that can really help us in the crossroads of life.

Life is too short to be enslaved by the success or failures of others.  What may be working for someone else will not work for us.  What may not work for someone else may be the very thing that we need to do.  God has a path for each of us and that path is GOOD!  Don’t allow comparison to quench the Holy Spirit and what He is doing in each of our lives.

a time for courage

It’s time for courage.

As I read magazines and watch newscasts on the web I constantly see men and women who brave the marketplace to introduce a new product. They courageously bring these products with the hope of changing the world that we live in. We’ve seen enough big ideas and heard enough testimonies to tell us that ideas abound (both good and inane) that can revolutionize people’s lives both in quality of life and financially. With this “utopia” dangled in front of us, we gird up our optimism to tackle the challenges of free market opportunities.

But one of the areas where I see a need for courage is in the area of personal responsibility.

I’m seeing men and women who somehow can’t take the courage they exhibit in the marketplace and apply it to their personal lives. Maybe it’s the demands of their jobs; a career that is so challenging that it has inhibited growth in the other areas of their life. Maybe it’s the siren song of success that causes us to go mad. (If you remember the Odyssey, Odysseus had to tie himself to the ship’s mast as they passed the sirens. If any man didn’t, he would go crazy.) But these times call out for courage in other areas:

1. The courage to trust people. It takes a lot of strength to open up to people and let them into our lives. Part of our journey is to get back into the garden of Eden – where we walk naked and are unashamed. To stop the hiding mechanisms that we use and build trust with a small group of friends frees up a huge amount of energy.

2. The courage to walk in integrity. I been researching the relationship of happiness and success. One study stated that those people who were the most satisfied with life were those who were not measuring themselves by others, but felt free to be themselves. To stop looking at everyone around us, to gain our own worth, takes a lot of courage.

3. The courage to take a chance. To create a life in a sterilized neutered environment is one of the ultimate eco-catastrophes. To choose the slow death of self absorption is one of the saddest results of American materialism.

4. The courage to make a difference. It doesn’t come easy, nor is it supposed to. In the Lord of the Rings, Sam tells Frodo that the thing that makes an adventure great is that you don’t know what the outcome will be. But it is better to live with the temporary pain of difficulty over the constant agony of holding back. It’s these moments that become the bedrock of future achievement.

I know, this is a highly charged blog. But my wife and I have experienced a joy so profound that we can’t stop talking about it. The amazing thing about this joy is that it’s in the midst of overwhelming challenges, but we see our lot in life as forming and shaping us, and we can see how God has been faithfully guiding us for HIS purposes and not our own.

To many of you this may seem like the ranting of a church planter getting on his feet. To others, it may be what you need to hear to stay the course even though it feels so hard that you’re wondering how to take the next step. We’re all learning in victory and defeat. But in the end, may we all say that we lived life and our lives were abundant. That was the goal of Jesus – to open the door to our Creator so that we could experience life with all of it’s amazing moments and amazing setbacks.

He gives us the courage that we need when it’s time for courage.

digital dimensions

I was having a coffee with a guy who found GRACE through our website. Usually people find out about our gatherings through a friend, show up to a gathering with them, then either determine whether they will come back or not. This guy had the courage to show up to a gathering with NO ONE. Particularly since we meet in a nightclub. (We’re doing things a little different…)

That takes guts.

Now he’s totally into what we’re doing. In the short time that I know him I’m finding out that he’s a great guy.

I am also finding out that our weekly devotional, the COFFEE BREAK, is growing in it’s impact. My new friend travels all over the world (he’s in journalism) and he tells me that he listens to it every week. Another guy who is a part of our community has a lead role in a traveling Broadway show. He uses the COFFEE BREAK as a Bible study. It’s been a spiritual lifeline for him on the road.

I think the story that moves me most is the email that I got from a woman in a small town in Illinois. Her daughter is a part of our community and her mom met us when she came to the city to visit. She is enjoying the COFFEE BREAKS a lot and is forwarding them to everyone that she knows. The part that gets me is that she has cancer and has been given only a few months to live.

It’s humbling, you know? What would I do if I knew that I had only a few months to live? To be a part of her story at this stage of her life is holy ground. Her email to me was inspiring. Just the way that our email encourages her and her email inspires and challenges me tells me that email is not just an impersonal way to talk. We are both deeply impacted by digital dimensions.

The way that the internet connects people is amazing. It never will replace the face to face interaction that we all need, but the internet allows us to keep up and be a part of something bigger than all of us. At GRACE we’re beginning to work on projects that will be used on the internet that will help people in their search for God. God’s good news to humanity is something we can all use. And the internet gives us one tool to help make this good news real for people that we may never see but who are important to God.

If you think of us, pray for digital dimensions. I know that this entry is not ground breaking, but it helps me to remind us about the potential that is there for all of us.

Shalom,

Dave

a community of change

I’m not satisfied with status quo…

As I walk the streets of Manhattan, I’m struck with the beauty of the cathedrals throughout the city. I love walking into those dark, architecturally rich buildings. They strike me with a sense of awe and I quiet myself to listen to God in the sacred space that is created.

But I’m also struck that on Sunday mornings they are empty. When I talk to my friends who are non Christian it seems that they look at these buildings more like museums than places of worship. Once seen as the center of a community, these buildings are now ornaments held in place by financial endowments made a long time ago. And my non Christian friends would be absolutely intimidated to step into one of these cathedrals to explore questions of spirituality. It’s just too overwhelming.

And that saddens me.

But even though the cathedrals are not the place to go at this point in history, there are signs of spiritual life in the most unusual spots; public school auditoriums, theaters, bars, community rooms in residential buildings, coffee shops. Small groups of people are popping up throughout the city in different venues. Even though the cathedrals are not being used as places of worship, it seems that God is not hindered by that a bit. Change has occurred in the places Christians meet, but the purpose has not changed.

The Scripture puts it this way:

1 Peter 1:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

According to this passage we are the new cathedrals being built. The location is not as important as the people. And we are not being built in isolation – we are being formed into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood. That implies mentorship, relationship, and community.

I pray that the day will come when these old cathedrals fill up again with people. But no matter how magnificent these buildings are, they pale in comparison to God’s people coming forward with their gifts, talents, personalities and calling to become a community that is committed to internal change and to change the world around us for the better. The God of the Bible is one who takes us “from glory to glory”. What happened yesterday was good, but He is doing a new thing today (which really is only new to us). In order to grow in God, we have to be comfortable to being a community of change.

Building People

It’s been an amazing journey to start a new congregation from a concept to now a group of people who are getting to know each other and value working together.  I can’t say enough about how GRACE has been a miracle in the making.  From the hearts of the musicians who are coming each week and bringing their friends to the super helpful feedback that I’m getting from businesspeople who are also bringing people, I’m watching God build HIS house.

I was privileged to be at a luncheon with Dr. Jack Hayford last Saturday.  One  of the comments that he made rang through my soul;  “Don’t build big churches, build big people”.  I loved it!  At GRACE, we want to help people be all that they can be in Christ!  For those who are skeptics, we want to help them understand why Jesus life is so profound it demands to be examined.  This also means for Christians that as we explore more of who Jesus was and IS TODAY, we can grow in amazing dimensions that we didn’t think imaginable.

I’m praying that we won’t be after big churches, but big people.  That’s how Jesus build 2000 years ago and I think that it has stood the test of time.   God help us to be the people that you want us to be.

Pastor Dave

A search for true spirituality

I’m struck by the recent flood of interest in spirituality. We see expressions of spirituality in television shows, movies and even the news. It seems that every other day I read another editorial or article that is railing against religion or the Church. I can relate. By the time I was 11, I decided that there was no God and that good and evil were a myth. That view of the world steered my life for the next decade. Then when I was confronted by the reality of God (that’s another story to be told) I switched from a materialist view of the earth to a Biblical one; a world that doesn’t ignore the elements of the earth , but adds the existence of God and Satan, angels and demons, right and wrong.

If that world wasn’t new enough, I also had to deal with the world of the Church. People who came together to share their lives and journey with Christ. It was an unusual world; a world of meetings, sermons, music, and more meetings. It was what I equated with following Jesus, and as someone who had recently encountered God and wanted to learn more about this God, I followed step.

Now I’ve been a follower of Christ for 27 years and a pastor of over 25 years. I’ve taken this Biblical world view to the hilt trying to find the edges. I’m finding that the horizons of the Kingdom of God keep expanding beyond what I can imagine. I’m more convinced about the reality of God of the Bible now than I was when I first turned to Christ.

The Church world has been a different story. I believe in the Church (I’m a pastor!).  I realize that the Church is God’s idea, not man’s. But my personal experiences have shown me that while Christ is infallible, the church is not.  I’ve ministered to too many people who have had bad experiences in the Church. One guy who is a major figure in the Evangelical Church even told me, “I had to leave my church to keep my faith”.

This is the kind of stuff that makes me stop and ask, “Well, what is the Church supposed to be?” I think that there needs to be a shift when it comes to the expressions of the Church in America.  We all need to take a hard look at the Church and ask the hard questions because I do believe that Christ has a bride that He is coming back for.  I’m don’t even pretend to have a handle on this issue. I just hope that this blog helps.