There is a baby boy on the floor next to me, crawling around the living room, exploring. Everything in this babies life is defined by one emotion: Joy.
We hold him but his joy is something you behold. It sneaks up on you and slaps you when you least expect it. Bam! Joy, joy, joy, and more joy.
Jackson’s joy tackles you down and forces you to smile. It doesn’t matter how bad he feels or that he’s cutting a tooth or that he’s hungry or has a dirty diaper. He flashes a smile and a hug which melts you faster than a snowflake on the hood of a hot car.
There is something about Jackson, something deep inside of him that sets him apart. I can’t wait to watch him grow up so we can discover more and more why God gave him this radiant, magnetic joy.
Here’s the thing: JT is a baby. There really is something distinctive to him. But imagine how much joy radiates from the Father? In Him we find delight, which supersedes joy. (Psalm 1)
Allow joy to radiate on you today. Allow yourself to be drawn magnetically to the Lord. It’s a choice, it’s something you allow in your life, it’s a filter on your soul you consciously remove.
If you hang out in Churchland you’ll almost never hear of evil in the church. We cover it up with elder approved statements, letters, forced resignations, cheesy happy, clappy worship songs, smiling sermons, and a heavy dose of denial.
I didn’t have to search very hard for those headlines above. All I did was search the term “youth pastor” on Google News; these were on the first page of results.
Evil exists everywhere, of course. Just because people are Christians doesn’t mean they are absent of sin in their lives. But it boils my blood that the profession I love leads headlines with evil instead of the good that we do.
My point isn’t that youth pastors are evil. Far from it. My point is that we can’t live in denial that there is evil.
People in your ministry deal with real evil every day. There is real evil in your life. There are people who are out to destroy you. There are forces at work through the tides of relationships that can elevate or destroy you. There are real temptations and moments of failure which can lead your life into horrible directions.
Life is full of temptresses and tempests.
And we need deliverance from this evil every day. And we need to lead people in a way that seeks deliverance from evil, real evil in their lives.
Because at the end of the day– living a happy, clappy, smiley, existence of denial may just be enabling evil.
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,
I know you are tired. Despair is an exhausting existence. As you know I was a resident there for many years.
I know that each day is much the same. You spend countless hours looking for nourishment, feeding on things of no nutritional value, then falling asleep with the horrifying hunger reality that the next day you’ll awaken just to look for food that food won’t fill you up. It’s a life of unsatisfying hunger which lead me to malnutrition of my body and soul.
There is nothing left for you there. It’s time to flee the life you know in Despair and join me here in a place named Hope.
The land of Hope only seems scary because Despair is so familiar. After a couple of days you’ll get used to it. It’s nice here. The air is clean. The beds are soft. You won’t be hungry over here, there’s plenty to feast on.
People are more friendly, too. Instead of gnawing on the food of the past they are eagerly building tomorrow. I love talking to the people of Hope. Sometimes, just in casual conversation with a Hopeful, my eyes will well of with tears of Joy.
It took leaving Despair behind to discover that the people over there are murderers. They fixate on happiness in order to steal your Joy. Then they feast on your joy, mocking its value while consuming it like a taste test at a Chinese buffet. All my life it felt like the people of Despair would finally turn around and their hunger would be satisfied. But they are like zombies, dead men walking.
If you moved to the land of Hope we could be neighbors. I know we’re friends now. But imagine how much closer we’d be if we lived in the same place? Heck, our kids could go to school together. Maybe they’d even call you aunt or uncle? I’d love that… but it’s just not practical with us living so far apart.
Join me in the land of Hope. Leave Despair behind.
Growing up in the city meant that horses just weren’t part of my life. I remember seeing horses as a kid at parades. At the county fair in the horse barns. Or occasionally at big football game when the police brought in horses for crowd control.
And I wasn’t one of those city slickers who dreamed of the open range wrangling up some cows.
I was 19 years old the first time I rode a horse. And I rode a horse because I had to for a college class.
It was an intimidating experience. This animal was 10 times bigger than me. It was taller than me. And it was infinitely stronger than me. Somehow I was supposed to sit on it and “control” it with a tiny piece of leather and some kicks?
Yeah, right.
The horse I rode could have cared less that I existed. It was an old camp trail horse who had seen a million riders over a million years and barely even acknowledged my existence. It was one of those horses that you could tell used to be big, strong, and attractive in its youth but now its best description would be, “tired.”
Before I put my foot in the stirrups I tried to get to know him and pat him on the head. He just took a leak and looked away.
I wish I could describe the experience as enjoyable. It wasn’t. It was uncomfortable and bumpy and I felt completely stupid on the horse. It didn’t seem to matter what I “told” the horse to do as it just walked the trail. When it got behind it trotted up ahead to catch up with its friends. Whenever it wanted to– it stopped to eat grass. And when it was done with me it used trees and branches to try to knock me off its back.
To make matter worse everyone else seemed to be having a great time. All I felt like was kicked in the gonads 200 times. I tried to make the best of it but it just wasn’t fun and I couldn’t wait for it to be over.
Standing in the barn after the trail ride I asked the person who ran the trail rides why I hated it so much. She just kind of laughed. “Probably because you fought the horse the whole time. And probably because you were scared. It would have been fun if you’d just held on tight and relaxed.”
That’s a lot like my relationship with God
When it’s unpleasant, when I’m scared, when I’m intimidated, and when I’m trying to be in control… walking with God is like getting kicked in the gonads 200 times.
Often times God just wants us to hold onto the reigns real tight and relax.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Theologically, we all know that you can’t experience the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus without community. Jesus invites us not to merely partake in communion but to live in communion with one another. (A throwback to the Garden of Eden)
Sociologically, we live in society built around the individual. We live in single family dwellings. We have our own rooms and our own stuff. We drive cars instead of taking the bus. We eat in individual pods of friends or by ourselves. (This individualism knows no boundaries and is the opposite of Jesus’ life in community.)
The way we experience church in our society is intimately and inseparably syncretized to our culture, even in direct opposition to the model given to us in Acts. (See Pate’s Communities of the Last Days & Jones’ Teaching of the Twelve for a scholarly look at the practical implications of life in community for the early church.)
Plotting my walk with Jesus on the Community – Individual Continuum
In the last 24 hours I’ve been wrapped up in this simple drawing above. In fairness, it’s just a device to explore some assumptions I have vs. realities I live. So if you stretch it too far it falls apart. At the same time I can’t get away from the teachings of Jesus. Jesus’ very life is an invitation to walk away from Satan’s desire to separate us from communion with God. To walk with Jesus is to walk in communion with his people AND with God.
Some examples:
Daily Bible reading (Mostly individual, though I often share what I’m reading with friends or here on the blog.)
Prayer (90% of the time prayer is individual)
Small groups (A few hours per week, and we haven’t met since winter, so I suck at this one)
Attending church (I’ll generously put this near the middle. It’s communal, even though there’s almost no interaction with others.)
My home (We’ve had people live with us, stay with us, etc. But if I’m honest it’s way more about our family than community living. Nothing like in Acts)
My work (This is getting better and worse at the same time. Thus, the life of a freelancer)
My service (I do a lot of stuff, but it’s all “what I do” and not “what we do.”)
My kids education (I’d love for this to be a community effort, but it’s not. It’s all individualistic.)
My challenge to you would be to take 30 minutes and plot out your day-to-day life along this continuum for the sake of discovery. If you want to get really dangerous, after you do that read the first 5-6 chapters of the book of Acts.
I don’t know where this is going. But I do see the need to reject the individualism of my society and further enter into communion both with Jesus & his people.
What about you? What are practical ways you are living in communion?
As someone who has just jumped from the known to the great unknown allow me to tell you: It’s exhilarating.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
In 2003, on my last day attending the first church I ever worked at, an elder cornered me in the parking lot in an attempt to affirm me. “Adam, one thing I really like about you is that you seem to really love all different types of people. Where did you learn to do that?”
Stunned, I didn’t know another way to say it. “I learned that from Jesus in the Gospels.”
Sadly, in the 18 years I’ve been involved in church life, I’ve learned that there are far more Christians defined by their hatred for people than there are those defined by their love for all people.
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1
God is bigger than my opinion
We live in an age of opinions. Everyone has something to say about everything. And since we live in a reactionary society with an instant ability to speak our mind to thousands of people via Twitter, Facebook, and the like. This means we live in rude, violent times where the tongue is not tamed. (James 1)
To make matters worse, we live in a time of great pressure. When people are under pressure they reveal their weaknesses. Money is causing some of this pressure. But so is an open acknowledgement that some of the stuff we’ve done successfully in the past is failing today. And while that pressure, in community, should fuse us together to make a diamond it is too often burning away and leaving worthless coke.
As I read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount this morning one thing stuck out to me: I can’t love God and hate people. It’s impossible.
I don’t have the right to hate a single person. I’m not the judge of anyone. I’m not better than my neighbor. Instead, the Gospel lives through me when I practically acknowledge with my actions that my neighbor is worthy of my love and service. To hate my neighbor would be to hate the God who created my neighbor.
My opinions aren’t really that important to God. I won’t one day get a pat on the back from my Heavenly Father for having a great apologetic for the matters of the day. I won’t impress Jesus with my ability to divide people over things that don’t really matter.
But if I love my neighbor. But if I serve my neighbor. Then what?
I love short-term mission trips. Many of my most significant spiritual break throughs, both as a participant and as a pastor, have come on trips to far away places doing exotic things.
But I can’t run from the fact that Jesus has called me to a Long-term Mission trip right in my neighborhood.
To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Try as I might– wish as I might– I can’t get away from the plain instructions of Jesus. Next to loving God with all my heart Jesus tells me, oh and it hurts, to love my neighbor as myself.
Jesus didn’t tell me to love my church as myself. Or love the people I like as I love myself. Or love my kids/wife/dog/cat/garden/golf clubs/Notre Dame Fighting Irish like myself.
He said I should love my neighborsas I love myself.
Some annoying facts about the Long-Term Mission trips
If you’re lucky you get to pick where you live. But you don’t get to pick your neighbors.
There’s a high likelihood that Jesus, being God and all, picked your neighbors.
He knows how annoying some of them are. And how grumpy that one guy with the lawn mower is. And just how hard to find that one family is.
I’ve tried it so I can confirm that it is impossible to love your neighbors if you don’t know their names. You should rectify that. Like today.
In order to love your neighbors your going to have to re-prioritize your time. This might be a good time to remind you that Jesus said this was like the #2 thing in his eyes. Yes, even above being in a small group.
I don’t know what you consider an “act of love.” But if someone just waved at me for months without even stopping to say hi, I wouldn’t feel all that loved.
You’re probably going to have to meet in the middle to love your neighbor as yourself. As in, you’ll need to love yourself a little less in order to love your neighbor “as yourself.”
Unlike a short-term mission trip, this thing is going to cost you money and you won’t be able to send letters to your friends asking for reimbursement. Well, you can try.
The longer you know someone the harder it is to love them as you love yourself. Amazingly, I’ve known myself 35 years and I’m pretty good at loving myself.
As much as I’ve looked at the Greek and read commentaries, I can’t find wiggle room in Jesus’ words for “convenience” or “waiting for the right time.” Instead, I’m pretty sure that Jesus’ society, built on close-knit communities, knew exactly what a neighbor was and how hard it would be to love them.
Speaking of comparisons to ancient times. Be thankful for indoor plumbing. At least you don’t have to love your neighbor despite the fact that their outhouse is upwind of your house.
A Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Wednesday said 745,000 more job seekers between 16 and 24 years old were unemployed from April to July. That compares with an increase of 571,000 among the same age group last summer.
Photo by London Permaculture via Flickr (Creative Commons)
If I do the math correctly this means 51.2% of Americans between the ages of 16-24 don’t have a job. Half of people 16-24, when they are physically strongest and most able to work… can’t find a job.
You can’t care about the youth of America and not wonder what you can do. You individually. You as a leader in the church. And you as an advocate for the young adults in your community. You can do something. You have to do something.
We live in a post-Christian society. Young adults have heard of the church. They likely know who Jesus is. But, in many cases, they won’t have anything to do with Jesus or the church because both seem irrelevant. In short, before they are willing to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ they need to know that the Gospel really is good news for them. If you can help them find employment– that’s good news.
Here’s 5 ways you can be Good News to unemployed youth in your community
Start a childcare fund for single parents in your church struggling financially. One of the biggest challenges a single parent faces is consistent and affordable childcare. (Affordable doesn’t mean free.) If you set up a fund to employ 3-4 people through your church to either watch children in their homes or to set-up a 10 small daycare facility in your church, you’d be surprised how easy funding could come together. This would help single parents and it would help the young adults you’d hire to run the program. (There’s Federal/State grant money available for this kind of thing as well. Ask a librarian for help.)
Sponsor a local grant for small businesses in your community to offset the cost of hiring part-time help between the ages of 16-24. One of the best motivators you could offer to small business owners in your community is a grant to offset some of the costs of employing a person. Work with your local Chamber of Commerce to help get the word out, pitch the concept to business people in your church, and ask your congregation to rally behind the fund. Keep it simple. If a small business hires a qualifying young adult, you verify that they worked 500 hours, you award the employer $2,000.
Host job readiness seminars in your church. While the unemployment rate is shocking, equally shocking is the amount of young adults who are unemployable. Partner with Junior Achievement, the Chamber, and other like-minded local community organizations to put together a series of helpful seminars for job readiness. Teach the basics like, interview skills, resume` building, work expectations, etc. (Again, there’s grant money out there for this kind of thing.)
Hire someone in your home. We’ve just completed our second summer of having a regular, summer babysitter. Last summer we hired someone full-time who also lived in our home. We found that was a bit too much for us, so this summer we “shared” a full-time babysitter with another family in our church. No, we couldn’t afford it. But this sacrifice was worth it– and helped us out a ton. Maybe you don’t need childcare? Hire someone to do yard work or complete the projects around the house you’ve wanted to do but can’t find the time.
Start a job pool. A church is a great connecting point. If you acted as a connecting point between people looking for work and people who need work done, you could help a lot of people. More than simply having a job board… Set-up a simple screening process, set work expectations like timeliness and appearance, and coordinated both supervision and payment between people in the community who need work done and young adults looking to do work. If that’s too much work for your staff to handle ask a business person in the congregation or members of the local Chamber of Commerce to sponsor a 10 hour per week position from May – September to coordinate.
Will you commit to helping find employment for people ages 16-24 in the next 12 months?
