A Convergence of Life and Faith...

As I’ve been reading, praying, and wrestling with life and ministry, I keep coming back to the same and simple conclusion… Love God the most and follow Him always.  I know that this sounds simple.  Maybe it even sounds trite. But, it has been significantly impacting me.

In life and in ministry people have said, “you should enjoy what you do.”  ”If your not enjoying what you do or finding energy, excitement, and/or fulfillment in what your doing then maybe you’re in the wrong place.”  This sounded good to me.  This even sounded right.  But when I think about loving God the most and following Him always, I don’t always think it’s to a place of enjoyment.  I think of Jonah who did not enjoy God’s call up until the very end when an entire nation of his enemies repented before God.  God’s call to Jonah was to go to his enemy and, in mercy,  proclaim repentance before God.  I do not see the joy or enjoyment of that.  Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all of his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor.  There was so little enjoyment in it that he chose to not do it and walk away.

When we love God the most, we are finding our deepest sense of joy, enjoyment, and fulfillment in Him.  When we are completely satisfied in Christ, we can courageously go where He calls us to go and serve where He calls us to serve when we don’t feel like it or even when it is painful.

Let Christ be our first love!  Let Christ be our satisfaction!  Let Christ be our joy!

As this becomes more and more the reality of our lives, I believe the church will engage with people and go to places that it never considered or imagined…  

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. - Philippians 1: 20-21 

I’ve been in preparation mode for an Elder Team retreat that we’re having this weekend.  As I have been reading, praying, and studying, one thing that I’ve come to realize is the necessity of my heart to be in a posture of listening.  I need to be listening as I read, listening as I pray, and listening as I study.

Now, I know that we all listen.  In fact, I think that we’re listening all the time.  I’m actually listening to a worship song (You are My King) as I’m writing this.  I listen to my wife, I listen to my kids, I listen to my friends, I listen to the news, I listen to my Facebook timeline, I listen to my Twitter feed… I think you get my point.  We’re always listening to something or someone.  But, how attentive are we to God’s voice?  How intentional are we of sitting and listening to Him?  And, how are doing at living out what we’re hearing?

I remember when I was a kid, my mom would tell me to do something (mostly cleaning up my room) and I would quickly respond with an, “ok!”  About 10 minutes later, she would have to tell me the same thing over again.  This would happen a few times before I actually ‘listened’ and cleaned my room.  I feel like this is how we are with God sometimes.  We hear, but we don’t always listen.  And, a lot of times, it’s because our attention is elsewhere.

I want to encourage you to carve out some time to sit still and listen to God’s voice.  I want to encourage you to make His voice the priority in your lives.  I want to also challenge you to respond to His voice in action and obedience.

I believe that listening to God can change us to change the world!!!

I have always viewed freedom as “bliss” or some kind of feeling of elation.  The picture in my mind is that of the many movies I’ve seen where the adrenaline-filled protagonist screams out “Freedom!!!” as they march on to victory.  It’s usually a victory from some kind of tyranny so freedom is more obvious and more naturally feels great and liberating.

I realize, however, that most of what we are trying to find liberation from in our “real” lives is actually tempting and appealing to us.  If I were to present a picture of this (from a movie. and yes, I probably watch too many movies…), I would choose the Matrix.  There, freedom is messy, simple, uncomfortable, but real.  It’s being unplugged from the materialism and consumerism that seems to dominate our lives.  It’s a struggle because when we’re “plugged in” to the system, we feel comfortable and when we’re “unplugged” and liberated, we feel uncomfortable. Ok, I know it sounds incredibly simple when I write it, and the reality is that it is a simple concept.  Living out our freedom, however, is not about complexity as much as it is about courage.  There’s one scene in particular where Cypher (one who has been free for years) admittedly knows that the steak before him isn’t real, but wants it anyway.  He doesn’t want to embrace his freedom and humanity any longer because the temptation of comfort and pleasure in the matrix is so overwhelming.  I don’t know about you, but that sounds more like my struggle for freedom today.

I believe that Christ sets us free (John 8:31-32).  What I also believe is that we are learning and struggling to live into that freedom.  I think that freedom today feels like tension because as we are being liberated in Christ and to Christ, we are simultaneously dying to what has held us captive.  We are dying to the consumerism, materialism, lust, greed, etc. that has dominated our lives.  We’re dying to a system that places ourselves (our desires, our comforts, and our pleasures) at the center and are learning what it means to live FOR CHRIST, WITH CHRIST, and IN CHRIST.  Our struggle is not to attain freedom, but rather to live it…

As I reflect on our journey thus far as a church, I have been asking myself the question: where are we going?  Innately, I feel like I’m driven by a passion for “more and bigger.”  More people, bigger church.  But that still doesn’t answer the question.

As I wrestle with this I think of the vision I believe that God gave me.  I have a vision for a covenant community that inspires, encourages, and challenges one another to live in surrender to the Kingdom of God.  When God’s Kingdom converges with our lives, I believe that everything about us and around us changes.  More and more I’m learning that who we are becoming is the real question and that the destination is but a means to refine our character and identity as the people of God in Christ.  So, I want to encourage you to join us in this journey of becoming who God intended us to be… His…