The Right Way to Start

The Right Way to Start – 1/5/2022

Merry Christmas (that’s the last time I’ll say this for a year). Today is the 12th Day of Christmas, you know…12 drummers drumming. We’ve already begun a new calendar year, but we are still celebrating the birth of the Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That seems completely fitting, doesn’t it? As we start something new, we celebrate the coming of God Incarnate. 

Gary Oliver, at a conference a few years ago, commented that we need to have a “waking” rhythm. By this he meant that we should have a routine or pattern for how we wake each day that sets our tone for the remainder of the day. I like that idea, but it also got me to thinking about whether we should have a “starting rhythm.” 

I ran track for a couple of seasons in high school and we had a starting rhythm before a race. There was the warm-up and there was the short pattern of movements at the starting block – to your mark, set and then the starting pistol. Maybe we should learn a lesson from this. 

As those who are committed to walking by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, perhaps we should start anything new by pausing to remember who we follow, who we worship, who we trust. Maybe having the new year start in the middle of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a good thing. After all, the Incarnation was the starting of a new thing as well.

I’m still teasing “what this looks like” out in my own thinking. But I know that there must be some intentional acknowledgement of our dependence on Father, our submission to the will of Jesus and our openness to the direction of the Holy Spirit. Does this mean offering a prayer? Probably. Does this mean reading a Word of Scripture? Again, probably. But these aren’t “preliminary conventions.” Many of us are familiar with a prayer or devotional thought offered at the beginning of a meeting of Christians. How do we, instead of practicing these as a convention, make these meaningful moments of genuine communion with God. And… what else might a “starting rhythm” look like? I’m personally not going to begin each new spiritual or church venture by singing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” – though maybe I should. For today, it’s enough to ask the Spirit to help us understand how we do new things in a spirit which celebrates Jesus.

Pursue Christ – He is enough,

            Pastor Jeff

PS – Listen to for KING and COUNTRY’s “Little Drummer Boy” as a Twelfth Day of Christmas celebration.

Please, No Tests

Please, No Tests - 9/2/2020

I hate tests. I always have. I’m a pretty good student, but I’ll take a paper over an exam any day. Tests make me anxious because I never feel like I’ve studied enough (to be fair, sometimes I haven’t). I also don’t like the prospect of failing (maybe you can resonate with that?).

As I’ve been reflecting on “being in the wilderness” I’ve been reminded that, in the Bible, wilderness experiences usually involve testing. The Israelites were tested in the wilderness. They failed! But God was faithful anyway. Jesus was tested in the wilderness. He was faithful! In this wilderness the Church is being tested. 

Think about this with me. How are Christians responding to the political environment? How are Christians reflecting Christ in their social media presence? How are Christians responding to the issues surrounding racial inequity? How are Christians responding to COVID? How are Christians responding to laying down their individual rights for the good of others? Let me be a bit more pointed. Are those who name the name of Christ responding with the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)? Are Christians choosing humility – like Jesus – refusing to judge quickly and asking how they can serve others? Are Christians choosing unity around the Gospel, or allowing division around other ideologies? 

My assessment? This testing is a time of purifying. I’m not sure that our affirmations are aligning with our attitudes. There are many quiet examples of grace-filled, Spirit-following believers, but there is also a lot that doesn’t feel that way. I know that the Kingdom of God will advance, but I think it might be much a smaller army than when we started this season. Stronger, but smaller. 

Before you accuse me of casting stones, I have had to wrestle with my own heart in this season. Judgement, frustration, resignation (without joy), discouragement, and anxiety have all showed up to the party at one time or another. But, I have found two things that are hopeful about wilderness testing: 1. The test isn’t graded until the end – so we can make corrections; 2. God is a God of grace who has provided forgiveness through Jesus – so we can confess and repent.

So…I hate tests. But I have never been able to get out of a test, I have always had to get through the test. Thankfully, while God gives the test, He also stays with me through it. My prayer that I will be faithful, I hope you will be too.

Pursue Christ – He is enough,

            Pastor Jeff