Honoring A Change

Dear Faith Family,

I was thinking of my grandmother the other morning. Stepping outside, I could feel and see the seasons' change fully underway. The air was crisp, and the buds on our Pistache were beginning to take form. This was her time of year! 

Many of you know that Karen's mom, my grandmother, passed away a couple of weeks ago. "Mow," as we all called her, loved when the cold winter days gave ground to the cool spring mornings. She was an exceptional gardener and had a special affection and skill for growing flowers, especially spring blooms. 

Nearly every memory I have of Mow includes flowers of some sort, from her expansive floral beds at her and Pop's house to the more modest but ever-present, potted and planted arrangements at her retirement village. Even when she moved in with my parents towards the end, flowers were a constant feature in her room. 

Born at the front end of the Great Depression (she would have been 93 this coming Sunday!), Mow experienced quite a few seasons' changes. All along the way, she gardened, spending hours, days, weeks, and even years caring for and learning through her floral blossoms. So, in honor of Spring's soon arrival and Mow's lasting life, I want to share with you some floral wisdom that Mow penned to encourage us through the seasons of life. 

Take Time To Smell The Roses
by Velma "Mow" Smith
 
Take time to smell the roses,
as the thorns of life you fight;
while you are struggling with the thorns,
those blooms may fade from sight.
 
Take time to touch the petals,
just feel that morning dew!
Those thorny things you’re struggling with;
will wait a while for you.
 
For the rose has but a season,
it’s here now, then it’s gone.
But the thorns of life you struggle with
seem always to go on.
 
So just inhale that fragrance,
forget now all the thorns;
Enjoying roses while they’re in bloom,
makes the struggle more easily borne.

Love you, faith family! Praying God's blessing over you this week. 

Our Response

Dear Faith Family,

I'm wagering that you've received a larger-than-normal number of communications from your places of work, businesses you frequent, apps you have downloaded, and your social media feed over the last few days. I'm also willing to bet that a major reason for these additional notifications has to do with our state officially "Reopening" today. 

Regardless of how you feel about the situation, we all have to respond to it, And it seems like everyone is more than happy to share their response, so why not our faith family too! 

So, here is how Christ City Church is responding in life together at this moment: with hopeful, considerate, perseverance. 

It is no coincidence that the change in public policies coincides with a season of focused bodily fasting and a weekend of church-body affirmation. Over the last month, we've been aligning our whole persons (hearts, minds, souls, and bodies) with God's Spirit, aiding us to participate with His will being done on earth as it is in heaven. Fasting as a response--as we saw in Isaiah 58, Zechariah 7-8, Ezra 8, Matthew 4, Mark 9, Luke 2, as well as Acts 13 and 14 (just to name a few!)--moves God's people to hope for restoration (healing/health), wholeness (peace) and completeness (happiness) for themselves and others. A hope that commissions us to consider our place in God's actions towards the vulnerable and forgotten, those walking out-of-step with God, those who do not yet know Jesus, and especially those with whom we share life daily. A hope that empowers us to persevere for the good, and not just the desired. 

Whether we knew it or not, our corporate focus and collective practices have prepared our response to this particular moment. Brought together (wholly aligned) in our fasting as we build one another up in love to maturity in Christ (Eph. 4:1-16), we act out of confident hope in God's merciful restorative work, conscientious of our participation with God in the lives of others, and joyfully persevering until faith becomes sight. 

Perhaps the last two paragraphs seem a bit dramatic, especially in response to state policy. And maybe you're right. But here is the thing, while every situation in our cultural moment seems to demand a new response from us, the consistency of our Father's character and actions means we can be consistent too. 

For Christ City, that means we'll continue to keep our Gathering Guidelines in place for the time being, out of consideration for one another. At the same time, we have begun patiently and expectantly planning for being together again in ways we have all sorely missed over the last year. 

So, that's our response to this day--hopeful, considerate, and persevering. By God's grace, it will be our response tomorrow too! 

Love you, faith family! Praying God's blessing over you this week. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to let me know. 

Think Small

Dear Faith Family,

A few weeks ago, we introduced fasting into our individual and collective faith family rhythms. For most of us, fasting was either an unpracticed or so rarely practiced habit of faith that it felt like something totally new. Despite our limited experience, I have been so encouraged and impressed by how you have dove into the heart of fasting thus far together! 

Fasting is not mechanical. It does not guarantee a predictable result like a mathematical equation, nor are there particular fasting inflections that ensure the incantation "works." No, fasting is a whole-body response that, over time, aligns or syncs up our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies with our heavenly Father. It's a way for our entire being to be with Jesus in particular sacred moments, which in turn, helps us be together in ways that honor God and each other. 

While I am excited that we are learning to fast together, I realize that our efforts to add a new habit come when those resolutions many of us made last month are starting to falter--and so is our resolve to keep good, basic habits! 

If that's you today (and if it isn't you today, it probably will be on another day!), I want to encourage you to think small. We're doing this with fasting. Encouraging fasting just once a week for three weeks and keeping up the habit for a few weeks more until Easter if you're up for it. You can apply the same thinking to our faith's basic habits that keep us in-step with Jesus: scripture, prayer, and worship. 

If nine weeks into the new year, you feel the culturally normative fatigue in mind, body, and spirit, where it seems easier not to do the good things that require more effort than you have the energy, then think small. 

• Each morning, simply pray the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13) while washing your face, brushing your teeth, or while in the shower.

• On Saturday morning (or your day off work), with a cup of coffee or tea in hand, reflectively read a Jesus story, and then

• on Sunday morning, worship with your faith family.

While "more" will be both required and desired to live fully in Jesus, these small habits will sustain in seasons where we feel we cannot do "more." And the incredible thing, at least in my experience, is that the small habits always lead me back to both the desire and strength for more. 

Love you, faith family! Praying God's blessing over you this week. 

A Lovely Wait

Dear Faith Family,

I said on Sunday that fasting is a natural reaction in the organic process of maturing as whole and holy humans. Fasting is our bodily response that unites our emotions (heart) with God's heart and actions in particular (often grievous) "sacred moments." 

While fasting is natural, it is certainly not normal, at least for most of us. The choice to forgo food for a set period of time is one habit we are more than happy to classify as "for them" and "not for me"! Whether out of timidity, misunderstanding, or legitimate concerns, fasting is a practice in which we are unpracticed. 

And yet, our scriptures and our Savior assume that we would be people who fast (see, for example, Matt. 6:16-18 and 9:14-17 and see what word Jesus puts before "fast"!). So, for the next several weeks, we will put into practice what Jesus assumes we will do as his disciples and fast together. 

To help us practice fasting with a heart that aligns with Jesus', I want us to not just fast together but worship together too. Specifically, on the days we fast, let's join in worship with this song which  Chaz lead us to sing on Sunday: 

A LOVELY WAIT

"A Lovely Wait" is a helpful reminder that fasting is about being with the One who satisfies all aches in body and soul. We fast to join with Jesus and our Father in the midst of weighty moments, and when we keep to the heart of fasting, delaying the fill of our stomachs can truly be "A lovely wait..."

May your hunger and thirst for righteousness find satisfaction, my friends.

Love you faith family. God bless.

On "Ash Wednesday"

Dear Faith Family,

Today millions of Jesus followers, churchgoers, and religious practitioners worldwide begin a season of abstinence known as Lent. Over the next 40 days, they will abstain from alcohol, social media, sugar, and “anything that hinders our communion with God." (Willis, 21). Some will fast sunrise to sundown, giving up food entirely. Some will freely choose this self-denial for the full 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday, others for three weeks, and some still for the week before Good Friday. 

While the methods and duration may differ, what begins today on Ash Wednesday is a preparation "for the miracle of forgiveness on Good Friday and its life-giving power on Easter." (McKnight, 92-93). The Lenten season is dedicated time of "self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word" (Book of Common Prayer, 265).  

While many in our faith family will joyously and knowledgeably join with our sisters and brothers worldwide in Lenten practices, there are just as many (including myself) who have a little history with such tradition. So, if you are like me, might I suggest two small steps we can take to join our global faith family at this special time: 

• Make the Prayer of Examen a daily routine. You can find guides here (scroll down to "Practices').

• Join us in a weekly Fast starting this week. You can find a guide here.

Whether today is a significant day in your faith or a day you know hardly anything about, let me invite you to pray with me the "Litany of Penitence" and share with all our brothers and sisters today, a reminder of our mortality and the gracious gift of everlasting life. Pray with the Chruch:

Most holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and to another, 
and to the whole communion of saints
in heaven and on earth, 
that we have sinned by our own fault 
in thought, word, and deed; 
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. 

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. 
Have mercy on us, Father. 

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit. 
Have mercy on us, Father. 

We confess to you, Father, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives. 
We confess to you, Father. 

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, 
We confess to you, Father. 

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves, 
We confess to you, Father. 

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work, 
We confess to you, Father. 

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us, 
We confess to you, Father. 

We turn to you, Father, and away from the wrongs we have done: acknowledging our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, 
We hold fast to you, Father. 

Acknowledging false judgments, uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and prejudice and contempt toward those who are different from us, 
We turn to you, Father. 

Acknowledging our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, 
We hold fast to you, Father.

Restore us, good Father, and let your anger depart from us; 
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great. 

Bring to maturity the fruit of your salvation, 
That we may show forth your glory in the world. 

By the cross and passion of your Son our King and Friend, 
Bring us with all your saints into the complete joy of his resurrection. 

Amen. 

Love you, faith family! God bless.

"Be Like Mike" and Pray!

Dear Faith Family,

On Sunday, we concluded our yearly Kingdom Epiphanies with Jesus teaching us to pray. His prayer/parable/pronouncement response to a disciple's question on the most common and commonly frustrating endeavor of kingdom life was, Lord willing, quite freeing. 

In thirteen quick verses, Jesus removes all preparations for prayer and simply invites us into communion with Father, Son, and Spirit. Without pretense telling us to "ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be open to you" (Lk. 11:9). It seems nothing is prohibiting us from engaging God for our most fundamental and necessary needs and desires, and the joy of satisfaction found in His generous Spirit. 

But let's be honest for a moment, prayer is something we all struggle with. It may be true that we are invited into a candid, caring, and personal conversation with God as the basic means of abiding in Him, yet we (myself included) often confess that "Prayer is dry," that "Prayer is difficult," and even "I don't know how to pray." 

Usually, when we make such confessions, we do so longing for something different and hoping that there is a solution to satisfy. Usually, too, the solution comes in the form of a book, program, or principles on prayer. None of which are bad, by the way. Well, some of the books and programs and principles are a bit silly, and a few are disgraceful, but generally, our go-to resources are not completely unhelpful! 

But here is the thing, we don't learn to pray through resources and tools; rather, we learn to pray through praying together. The best way to learn to pray, and to improve your prayer life, is not to get a book but get a prayer partner. 

"Prayer partner" may sound too traditional for some of us, but the reality is, we learn and remain fresh in prayer when we pray with other people. While prayer is personal, it's also relational, and we learn how to relate by doing things like living, playing, and praying with others. 

I remember when I learned to pray. I had at that point been praying for years on my own; in quiet times and on occasion praying as I listened to parents and pastors pray. Even so, I wouldn't say prayer was natural for me, though it was routine. I had many of the words but not much of a relationship. Then I met a guy named Mike Fechner. 

Mike didn't begin to follow Jesus until later in life, at which point he left the business world and entered the church world, but his worldly (i.e., non-churchy) ease of relating never really wore off. Every Wednesday afternoon, Mike invited me and a handful of other young men to his office to pray with him. No lesson, no agenda, no formula, just inviting awareness of God-With-Us and then start talking...i.e., praying. 

Usually, Mike would start things off. I think he did so purposely, not intending to control but to cultivate. And Mike would pray for anything and everything, anyone, and everyone. Nothing was too big or too small. And the crazy thing was, as Mike prayed, you got the idea that he was bringing us into a conversation that had been going on a long time, and that he was glad to have us jump into with him. 

I am sure we (myself more than the other guys!) prayed some pretty silly prayers. Timid prayers. Self-centered prayers. Self-righteous prayers. Naïve prayers, and the like. But Mike never "corrected" our prayers; he just simply kept praying with us. Over time we began to pray with similar freedom and richness from the relationship Mike invited us into. 

For nearly a year of Wednesday afternoons, we learned to pray by praying together. We learned and experienced the lavishness of what Jesus said as truth, "For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened" (Lk. 11:10), all because Mike invited us to pray with him. 

So, faith family, here is my challenge to you: find someone to pray with. Maybe you are like me and in need of someone like Mike. There are several "Mikes" in our faith family; women and men who we can learn a lot from by simply praying with them. So ask them. If you don't know who they are, ask me, and I'll point you in the right direction. 

Maybe you're like Mike, and prayer (though it has its struggles) is more natural for you; well, be like Mike and invite others to pray with you. And maybe, just maybe, we'll all get to "Be like Mike" in the depth and ease of our relationship with Jesus and one another. 

Love you, faith family! God bless. 

A Word on Wisdom

Dear Faith Family,

In some traditions, yesterday marked the official conclusion of Epiphanytide--though the season will wrap up for us on Sunday! If you remember, the Epiphany season and the weeks that follow emphasize the story of the "wise men" who found in their pursuit of wisdom the child Jesus. A most unexpected find, I am sure! Nevertheless, the light that guided them in search of the treasure of life took them to "The true light which enlightens everyone" (Jn. 1:9).  

It's the wisdom of Jesus, the knowledge and understanding on which our lives are built (or rebuilt), that we've been searching for through his parables. We, at least those of us reading this note, are after a good life, a true life, a beautiful life, a life we believe can only be built upon the resources of God-With-Us, God-For-Us that we discover in Jesus' revelation of "the kingdom of heaven." 

Admittedly though, with all the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding thrown our way, though we believe it and its necessity for a full life, we have a hard time knowing how to put it to work. Am I right? 

Well, praise be to our heavenly Father, who knew we might need a little help! 

Chapter 8 in the book of wisdom we call Proverbs begins with two questions, "Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?" These are not questions of longing or searching, but sarcastically rhetorical, as the next few verses demonstrate. One version translates the author's reply this way,  

"She [Wisdom] has taken her stand at First and Main, at the busiest intersection. Right in the city square where the traffic is thickest, she shouts, 'You--I'm talking to all of you, everyone out here on the street!" 

Right in the midst of daily life, where we work, shop, raise our kids, run into each other, in the places of power, economics, and everyday life, there She is, "Lady Wisdom," shouting out to us to busy to hear, "Don't miss a word of this--I'm telling you how to live well, I'm telling you how to live at your best." (v. 6) 

All that we are after, a life of beauty, harmony, justice, prosperity, and the like (v.12-21); "Madame Insight" helps bring together. Wisdom, personified as a woman who stands beside God as a "master workman,"  "making sure everything fits," (v. 30), and who is "Delighted with the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family" (v. 31) She is not hidden away in some hidden room deep within a maze of religion or intelligence. No! At every entry point of daily living, Wisdom is there, calling to us, raising her voice so that we might listen (v. 2-4). 

Jesus names the same Spirit of Wisdom whose delight it is to shape something beautiful out of the raw materials of everyday existence, "Helper" who is “the Holy Spirit” (see Jn. 14-16). The Spirit of truth that fills us, guides us, and is the guarantee of life now and forever in God's kingdom. Again in Jesus' description, the assumption is that the Helper is not distant or hidden, but intimately near, "with you forever," (14:16) dwelling "with you and will be in you." (14:17). 

So you and I, standing at the entrance of a new day, ready to build (or rebuild) on the foundation of a God-With-Us life, but unsure how to put all the pieces together, perhaps the wisest thing to do is to stop and start with listening*, 

"So my dear friends," says Wisdom, "listen carefully...Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day's work.

When you find me, you'll find life, real life, to say nothing of GOD's good pleasure." (v. 32-35) 

Love you, faith family! God bless. 

*NEED HELP LISTENING TO "THE HELPER"?
Our scriptures are clear that God is not far from us, nor is it his intent to be hidden from us. Instead, especially through the life of Jesus, we come to know a God who speaks, and who does so often and in ways that are understandable and intimate.

And yet, many of us struggle to have ears that hear. But' don't fret! Such unfamiliarity is neither uncommon nor a condemnation. We all need to learn to HEAR GOD. And that's what the resources here are meant to help you with.

If you have questions or would like help learning to listen, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Out of Nowhere...Sort of!

Dear Faith Family,

Our annual starting of the new year in the parables of Jesus has had us immersed in two foundational stories with intent. Two crafted narratives meant to reveal the essential nature of our daily existence. Though admittedly, they are only clarifying to those with ready hearts for a kingdom made in God's image and not in our expectations or assumptions. 

On Sunday evening, having spent the morning in one of these foundational parables and the afternoon getting ready for the week ahead, I found myself on my final chore for the day: laundry. Though Deedra does the brunt of the labor on this household necessity, I do throw in where I can...do the least damage! If something goes wrong with my loads, the family will still be able to function! 

For those familiar with the task, laundry is a pretty straight forward endeavor. Separate the clothes. Measure the appropriate amount of soap. But both into the machine. Enter the proper settings, and away things go! Though admittedly, I have to ask what is "appropriate" and "proper" far too often!

Anyway, as I contributed to our family's order, I realized I was singing an old song. A song that filled my childhood, at least on many Sunday mornings, yet a song I couldn't recall the last time I'd heard, much less sang*.

The moment it dawned on me I was singing this particular song, I wondered, "Where did that come from?' And then it hit me. My lips were echoing the heart of the parables in Matthew's gospel. The song I was reflexively singing was a resonance of the kingdom stories' revelation. 

Rather than continue to describe the song for you, why don't you take a listen and see if your heart resonates as well.

LISTEN HERE

*I'd later ask Chaz if we had sung this song during a Gathering anytime recently, and he kindly informed me that we sang it last week!

So maybe the words weren't too deep and distant from my memory, but that fact doesn't change how well they "stir us up by way of reminder."

Praying that your heart and mind, and actions this week flow from the wondrous reality of God-With-Us and for us in Jesus. May we see new mercies morning by morning and strength for today in the faithfulness of our farming Father.

Holding fast to Jesus with you today and always. Love you, faith family! God bless.

We Are We Now?

Dear Faith Family,

Today our nation swears in our 46th president. Writing this note, I am praying that while you read it, we are not witnessing anything like what we observed on January 6th.

Within our faith family, I am sure that we have a variety of emotions, thoughtful opinions, angsts, and expectations for our nation's current and future state. I am confident; however, we share one thing (at least): a longing for peace. Very few people enjoy chaos. Even those who are at their best under pressure can admit that it's a twisted joy that takes pleasure in people's lives and relationships fractured and unsettled.

Our scriptures call this shared desire "shalom," and describe it as harmony. A life lived in harmony with Creator, creature, and his other creations. Such a life in harmony that brings forth harmony would be a life easily called bountiful or prosperous. Don't you think?

Well, I think so. And, I think this is an image Jesus would have break into our minds as we read the story of the seed and the soil. A story that has me thinking on a day in which all the troubles and uncertainties and doubts swirl within as our past year and future come together. A day in which I wonder, can we (I) really experience harmony?

Jesus' story tells us yes. That as he grows up in us, we grow into ones' whose lives bear a bountiful harvest. Yet while I receive Jesus and his promises with joy, I have to admit that I struggle in the face of tribulation to not stumble over doubts and fears and the costs of holding on to His seemingly slow working. Maybe you can identify with my struggle? If not today, perhaps at some other time?

Jesus describes ones like me (and maybe you) this way, "he has no root in himself" (Matt. 13:21). It's not that I (we) don't joyously receive Jesus and his promises or even that I (we) don't understand what Jesus shows us, but rather that my (our) connection with Christ in us is shallow.

Think about it this way. If I were to experience life, with all its tribulations and troubles, in sync with Jesus as He experienced the same things, what would be different? Would I feel and experience what I do now;  a revolving mixture of anxiousness, anger, and apathy? Surely not. Jesus certainly felt the entire gamut of emotions and experienced the entire spectrum of pain and loss, and yet I doubt anyone would ever have described his life as a mixed bag like mine. 

So what's the point? We all agree that Jesus would respond differently in most cases than we do because, well, he's Jesus, "God-With-Us." But you can't expect us to be in that kind of harmony with God.

Oh, but I can! 

Paul says it this way, "we [that's you and me] have the mind of Christ." (1  Cor. 2:16). To share Jesus' mind is the same thing as saying that Deedra and I share the same mind. We're synced up, we're on the same page, knowing what each other is thinking, expecting, feeling, etc. Why? Because we are in an intimate relationship! We are together, a union, one flesh in harmony. And because our relationship is a primary means for how we function in the world, we are bound to feel and experience anxiousness, anger, and apathy when we are out of sync. 

If that's the way it works in pivotal human relationships, why would we think it works differently in our relationship with the One who designed how we relate? So if you are like me, receiving the person and promises of Jesus joyously, with a knowledge of the life Jesus intends for us to live, and yet stumbles in trials and troubles to experience the harmonious fruit of faith; perhaps our issue is intimacy, not information or even fortitude. We have the will, but lack the root, the entanglement with the One in us. 

So what's the fix? Like any important relationship where the parties are on different wavelengths (i.e., out-of-harmony!), the straight forward solution is time and attention. There is no magic solution (or a mechanical one), but there is something wonderous (and divinely constructed) when two people intentionally focus on being with the other. Especially when they do so over extended periods of time. Our family practices like Silence & Solitude, Lectio, and Recollected Prayer are meant to help us be with Jesus in an intimate, relational way. But remember, as Luke said, this fruit comes with patience (8:15), so hold fast! 

I am sure you didn't expect to end up discussing intimacy issues when the conversations started on inauguration! But that's the marvelous nature of Jesus' parables; they way work their way in from the side, often taking us to places we'd least expect! 

Holding fast to Jesus with you today and always. Love you, faith family! God bless. 

I Think We Are Onto Something

Dear Faith Family,

I want to share with you a note I shared with our Gospel Community earlier this week. As most of you know, I found myself unable to play my part in our Gathering on Sunday due to a rather abrupt and intense illness. Though I am extremely grateful for Deedra's nursing skills and Chaz joyously jumping in to ensure the Gathering was something worth being a part of, I did truly miss getting to serve you and worship with you! 

In the twelve-plus years of vocational ministry prior to starting Christ City, I didn't even need a full hand to count the number of Sundays missed because of illness. Yet, it seems in these last eight-plus years since our faith family's inception that I've had to start using my toes to keep track! And I'm about to run out of digits! 

While there are certainly multiple factors contributing to this trend, it has been my experience that when we are collectively onto something important for our lived faith, that the enemy and illness often make their presence more directly felt, at least in my life. And while I cannot say for certain what was ultimately behind my untimely absence, I do know that what we are onto in the stories Jesus tells is no small thing for us and our neighbors. 

The parables are not merely children's stories told at night to help us sleep well or even make sure that we do the right things. The parables are Jesus' way of getting to our hearts so that our hearts might beat in rhythm with His. These stories with intent, get us in on life with God and God's life into us. As Stephanie read for us Sunday, "Whenever someone has a ready heart for [the mystery of Christ in us, the good news of the kingdom], the insights and understandings flow freely...That's why I [Jesus] tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight." (Matt. 13:12-13). 

Jesus uses this indirect communication to get around our ignorance and arrogance regarding who God is, especially how he works in our lives and the world. The parables are told so that we might experience Kingdom Epiphanies. It is Spirit-filled meditation on Jesus' sideways stories that allow the apostle Paul to communicate what is at the heart of the parables so directly: 

"Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them--living and breathing God!

Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed the invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him [who have 'ready hearts']--even though you still experience all the limitations of sin--you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breaths in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from the dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!" (Rom. 8:6, 9-11)

Just imagine what our daily living, our families, our neighborhoods, our city, and nation will look like when we are "alive as Christ"! May our hearts today, this week, this year be ready for "the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints...this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col. 1:26-27). To the fullness of our lives and the blessing of others.

Love you, faith family. God bless!

Join In a New Year Tradition

Dear Faith Family,

For those who are counting, today marks the 12th and final day of Christmas! The light in the east has been followed, and like the wise men of old, we arrive at the appearance of God-With-Us in full humanity! Our Savior and King's manifestation in the unexpected place of a common boy born to common parents. 

Epiphany is the name given to days recounting the "three kings'" search for wisdom. Epiphanytide, is the name of the season after Epiphany, after we discover God-With-Us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, when the Church focuses her attention on the revealing nature of Jesus' life, teachings, death, and resurrection, as well as our role in reflecting his light to all peoples, tribes, and nations. 

Our faith family joins in this global rhythm by starting each year off entering into kingdom stories told us by Jesus himself. Jesus' parables are Kingdom Epiphanies, stories with intent meant to disarm our (mis)understandings of life with God and one another, crafted narratives designed to engage our minds and hearts as they give shape to our daily living. 

Now here is the thing about parables, they don’t define, diagram, or systematize; they describe something, usually something just as real but more challenging to see than the familiar elements of the short stories themselves: things like our souls, our hearts, our relation to the world, how God relates to us, and that reality we call "the kingdom of God."

Eugene Peterson once said that “Parables trust our imaginations,  which is to say, our faith. They don’t herd us paternalistically into a classroom where we get things explained and diagrammed. They don’t bully us into regiments where we find ourselves marching in [moral, unthinking conformity].” Parables are crafted to foster relationship with the communicator and the "deeper" reality he describes as we find ourselves immersed in the stories themselves. Parables don’t do the work for us; they require us to put in work, imaginative or meditative work. Effort we could call the work faith. They train us to hear the voice of the Lord and see with the eyes of the Spirit (see Matthew 13:11-17).

So, as we begin a new year together, let me encourage you to join in the work of faith by immersing yourself in Jesus' parables throughout the week. Do not just wait until the Gathering to jump in, but walk with Jesus into these stories with intent at least twice a week during January. To help, we’ve put together a schedule along with some questions to ponder along the way. You can access the entire parable schedule for the month here, but I've included this week's parable and practices below. 

May we be blessed with eyes to see and ears to hear what the prophets and righteous of our faith have longed to experience! 

Love you, faith family. God bless!

THIS WEEK

Pick two days this week, perhaps today and Friday or tomorrow and Saturday, to read and reflect through this coming Sunday's parable: The Parable of the Sower. Use the instructions below to guide your time. 

• Day One: Read “The Parable of Sower” in Matthew 13:1-9, and then the disciple's questions and Jesus’ response in verses 10-23. Then re-read the parable and write down any thoughts, observations, and questions that come to mind.

• Day Two: Re-Read Matthew 13:1-23, and then consider the following questions:

  • Who is the sower?

  • Who or what is the seed, “the word of the kingdom”?

  • What does the seed consistently do on each of the four “soils”?

• Sunday: Re-Read Matthew 13:1-9, asking for eyes to see and ears to hear what the prophets and righteous have longed to experience.

Ringing In the New Year...And Ringing Out the Old!

Dear Faith Family,

Tomorrow, the rather infamous year of 2020 draws to a close. For many, this will be a celebration, hoping, fully expecting even, 2021 to be better. How could it not be, right?! 

Like everyone, my prayer, too, is for something more and different in the coming year. Yet, as well know, the calendar's turning is no guarantee that change is coming or for good. This is why, on this last day of 2020, I am praying with and for you this poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, which you'll find below. A poem about ringing out the old and ringing in the new. A new that is Christ in us, through us, and for us and neighbor. 

May this prayed poem help us leave 2020 behind and enter 2021 expecting that we will be different as Christ is rung in. Love you, faith family! Happy New Year and God bless. 

In Memoriam CVI | Alfred Lord Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, 
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night; 
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. 

Ring out the old, ring in the new, 
Ring, happy bells, across the snow: 
The year is going, let him go; 
Ring out the false, ring in the true. 

Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more; 
Ring out the feud of rich and poor, 
Ring in redress to all mankind. 

Ring out a slowly dying cause, 
And ancient forms of party strife; 
Ring in the nobler modes of life, 
With sweeter manners, purer laws. 

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times; 
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes 
But ring the fuller minstrel in. 

Ring out false pride in place and blood, 
The civic slander and the spite; 
Ring in the love of truth and right, 
Ring in the common love of good. 

Ring out old shapes of foul disease; 
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; 
Ring out the thousand wars of old; 
Ring in the thousand years of peace. 

Ring in the valiant man and free, 
The larger heart, the kindlier hand; 
Ring out the darkness of the land, 
Ring in the Christ that is to be. 

Something Worth Sharing

Dear Faith Family,

Christmas is a time for sharing, and so I have something I'd like to share with you. 

We are, unarguably, a small faith family. Yet, we have always believed that size is no indicator nor limitation for God's activity. I have been reminded of this truth over the last week. While we may not have grand numbers, we have--better, you are--women and men laboring in love and steadfast hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

I have been reminded of this joy over the last few days as stories of how you have cared for the sick and lonely among us have made their way to me in various conversations. Stories of how you have prayed and fasted for the anxious and unborn. How you have navigated difficult times and relationships with meekness and courage. How you have sincerely and boldly shared the good news with neighbors and friends. How you have wrestled flesh and sin for a holy singlemindedness. How you have persevered in seeking after and acting on our Father's heart for justice. How you have invited people into relationship amid one of the most awkward times of getting to know someone new!

All this and more you have done and are doing, not to be seen, but because of the love and steadfast hope in Jesus that possesses you. And for that, I am most grateful, proud, and challenged. Your abiding obedience helps make full my joy, and I just wanted to share my joy in you.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace...
(Phil. 1:3-7a)

Love you, faith family! God bless. 

The Songs of Christmas

Dear Faith Family,

One of my favorite parts of the build-up to Christmas is the music that fills the airways, our homes, and our gathered times. Even as I write this note, the songs of Christmas permeate my compact home "office." 

There is just something about this seasonal music that even the instrumental melodies are enough to awaken in me a spirit of joy and peace and goodwill. A spirit most needed in this (albeit a little less) cluttered (but certainly not less) chaotic time of this particular year. 

And while the simple tonal structure of these classic tunes is enough to engender the spirit of the holidays, I believe the reason for this power stems from the words we (at least me) sing in route. Even without thinking, the depth of humanity's longing and the divine actions expressed in these familiar choruses strike our core, kindling our fallen nature to its God-created warmth.  

My encouragement over these next few weeks as we listen and sing together these recognizable songs of the season is to consider why they make us feel the way they do. Listen to the words that express the deepest cries of need and wonder. Listen, really listen, to the story told of God's action for us and his presence with us--even still. 

To help us listen, Chaz has put together an ADVENT PLAYLIST. Click here to sing along and listen with your faith family.  

May we have ears to hear what the Spirit says to our church, especially in this season. 

Love you, faith family. God bless! 

An Isle of Thanksgiving

Dear Faith Family,

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day! In modern history, this is a day set aside to feast with family and friends to celebrate another year of life together. Sadly, many of us do not feel much like feasting—or are actually unable to so! 2020 has been a year where we feel more like we are drowning in misfortune than riding the wave of abundance. Echoing that sentiment, the headmaster of the twin’s school recently described 2020 as a chaotic sea of anger, uncertainty, bitterness, and despair. And many of us can attest to the accuracy of this description of 2020’s voyage.

Over the year, we have come to acknowledge that traversing such seas is daunting and requires no small measure of courage and strength, as well as inlets of rest. We cannot live in chaos without reprieve. And while it may seem counterintuitive, the harbors that offer us restorative peace we need are isles of thanksgiving.

These ports of thankfulness pepper the map of our often lamentable odyssey, ensuring that we ‘lack in nothing’ (James 1:2-4). For it is in giving thanks that the water filling our hull is poured back into the churning sea, our provisions re-stalked, and our sails battered by the tempest repaired, ready to be filled with the spirit as we continue our crossing.

So, while 2020 has truly been a year on turbulent waters, let us today, and often along our pilgrimage, dock on an isle of thanksgiving together, wherever we may be. We’ll do so through this prayer adapted from The Book of Common Prayer. Pray with your faith family today as they pray for you…

Accept, O Father, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, for our family of faith, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks and relationships which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

We thank you for strength to endure and compassion in struggle and for hope that imprisons our everyday.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

Love you, faith family! God bless.

Longing Anticipation

Dear Faith Family,

Second only to the exuberant, "How worthy, O Lord!" in our faith's text, is the persistent cry of the faithful, "How long, O Lord!" Contained within this prevalent plea is the longing lament for something different, something more, as well as the anticipation that it's only a matter of time until the pinning will cease in the emergence of something better.

It is the expected arrival--the advent--of what we long for which compels us to convey our sorrows to our heavenly Father, all the while imprisoning us in certain hope. We proclaimed this truth to one another in praise through song on Sunday, singing: 

Slow down, take time
Breath in He said
He'd reveal what's to come
The thoughts in His mind
Always higher than mine
He'll reveal all to come

Take courage my heart
Stay steadfast my soul
He's in the waiting
He's in the waiting
Hold onto your hope
As your triumph unfolds
He's never failing
He's never failing

Sing praise my soul
Find strength in joy
Let His Words lead you on
Do not forget His great faithfulness
He'll finish all He's begun

And You who hold the stars
Who call them each by name
Will surely keep, Your promise to me
That I will rise, in Your victory
And You who hold the stars
Who call them each by name
Will surely keep, Your promise to me
That I will rise, in Your victory!

So take courage my heart
Stay steadfast my soul
He's in the waiting
He's in the waiting
Hold onto your hope
As your triumph unfolds
He's never failing
He's never failing

In a few days (if it hasn't happened already), decorations will be unpacked, and music will begin to fill the air, signaling time to amend our focus from mourning to rejoicing. And while there is much for us to rejoice in this coming season, let us remember; it is in the wailing wait of lament where we find the energy of Advent. As the seasons shift, may our minds' attention and hearts' affections remain persistent in longing anticipation.

Love you faith family. God bless! 

Hold On to "It"

Dear Faith Family,

This past Sunday afternoon, a group of parents from our faith family gathered in my front yard to encourage one another in the gloriously humbling privilege and task of parenting. What you and I long for, to experience the depth and breadth of life in loving step with Jesus, we parents desire for our kids too. While we often stumble along the way, what we command and teach through our routines and stories, our celebrations and apologies, our discipline and affections, is meant to help our children see themselves and this world in the light of Jesus.

I know not every one of us can say our parents’ intentions were Jesus oriented, yet we have all of us at some point been parented by spiritual mothers and fathers and by our heavenly Father through the Holy Spirit. And while, like our kids at the moment, not everything that dad and mom say to us takes instant root, it is nevertheless the sincere hope of every parent (biological and spiritual) that their Jesus words and lives might help their beloved children navigate their own lives. The hope we parents have is the same wisdom we who were once (and still are) children follow which is expressed most succinctly in Proverbs 6:20-23:

My son, keep your father’s commandment,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching.

Bind them on your heart always; tie them to your neck.

When you walk, it [their singular message & model of life with Jesus] will lead you;

when you lie down, it will watch over you;

and when you awake, it will talk with you.

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,

and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life…

We never outgrow the truth of these words, even if when we find ourselves as the ones commanding and teaching! So, my encouragement for us children of faith today is to consider the “it” from our spiritual (and in some cases, biological too) parents. Give thanks for those who have (and are) raising us, and also, follow the wisdom of the proverb to hold on to “it,” binding their words and lives on our hearts.

And, to all of us who are praying that one day our children will be women and men of faith, keep at “it”!

Love you faith family! God bless.

Prayed Assumptions

Dear Faith Family,

Praying lament changes our assumption of what God does and doesn't want to hear from us. I'm indebted to Chaz for pointing this out to me as we reflected on lament over coffee the other day.

If you are like me and many others, then you assume God doesn't want to hear your complaints (what's happening and how it makes you feel). After all, God knows our hearts, and he knows our situation, so why be redundant? No, we think, God wants to hear my prayers of “Help!”, prayers of “Thanks!” for his help, and my "Wow!" at his awesomeness. Indeed, Help Thanks Wow, was the title of the 2012 New York Times best-seller on prayer by Anne Lamott in which she argues that the first cry ("Help!") is the hardest for it admits defeat and requires surrender. Ultimately, isn't that what God is after, our submission?  

Listen, Lamott is not far off in capturing the essence of most of our prayers. Nor is she wrong about the essentialness of confessing dependence. Yet, learning how to pray through the psalms of lament--just as Jesus did--teaches us that what we are submitting to is a devoted relationship every bit as intimate as it is salvific. 

The truth of our submission is not shocking, but at least to me, its discovery within the school of prayer has been surprising. While we spend most of our prayers telling God what we need and even thanking him for the need met, the "petition" or request in the lament psalms is often the smallest portion.

Take Psalm 22, for example, which we read together on Sunday. In verses 1-18, you won't find a single petition. Instead, you find the psalmist describing "in anguished detail" what is happening to him and how it makes him feel. It is not until you get to verse 19 that a request is made, and even then, the request is simple and straightforward--help, deliver, rescue--and concludes by verse 21. There are no specifics laid out for God to do; rather, the psalmist assumes our Father already knows how he'll help. The remainder of the psalm (vs. 22-31) is an expression of confident trust that comes only after the psalmist's heart is laid bare, and his petition without caveats is voiced. 

Tim Mackie, from the Bible Project, comments on the opposing assumption revealed in our prayers of lament. He says,

"The assumption that we have when hardship comes is God already knows what is happening, he already knows how I feel, what I need to do is tell him exactly what he is supposed to do about it...The biblical prayers are quite the opposite...the assumption of [the lament psalms] is that God knows exactly what to do...[and] that what God is most interested in hearing is me describing how I am processing all of what is happening to me and how it's making me feel." 

Now that is worthy of a "Wow!" prayer!

Learning to pray and listen to lament trains us to assume that God is interested in us, what is happening in and within our lives. Learning to pray and listen to lament habituates us to assume that God already knows how he will help, and what he desires, is the relational depth of transparency. Learning to pray and listen to lament helps us submit to an intimate relationship with God of the universe, a relationship in which we can rightly assume he intends and will act on our behalf, and therefore a relationship in which we can honestly complain and confidently trust. 

My final assumption this morning is that over the coming days and weeks, there will be plenty within our faith family and community voicing Lamott's essential first prayer for "Help!" in the wake of defeat and in light of possible hardships ahead. Might our newly informed assumptions allow us to find and bring peace. 

Love you faith family! God bless. 

Pursuing Happiness

Dear Faith Family,

We've talked a lot about happiness over the last few months. Happiness being a full and complete life, not a momentary sense of contentment or joy, though a full life will certainly include such moments. Remember Jesus began his famous sermon with nine repetitions declaring the already happy state of those sharing life with God, "Blessed are..." (Matt. 5:2-12).

Among the many amazing things of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is this truth: happiness is not achieved or accomplished but shared. Happiness, a full and complete life, comes not through prosperous gain or rigorous devotion but through God sharing his complete life with us and us sharing life with others in kind.

Happiness as a life shared in true and good and loving relationships (i.e., "righteousness") with others is not merely a religious sentiment; it is our most fundamental human need. It is why no amount or combination of "goods" (material or otherwise) ever feels complete. It is why a man like Chamath Palihapitiya--a former Facebook executive, a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors, a billionaire, and CEO of Social Capital--can feel dissatisfied with life. And while there is nothing novel about those who seemingly "have it all" admitting that something is missing, Chamath's "Oh, wow!" moments reveal what all our hearts our searching after; righteous relating.

Watch and listen to the video below, not for the advice offered (i.e., "Go define your own happiness."), but what fundamental fullness Chamath is finding in his life shared with family and friends. Afterward, think through the questions below, and maybe share your thoughts with a friend, spouse, or someone in your DNA or GC.

Love you faith family! God bless. 

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

CONTEMPLATING THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

• In what ways do you empathize with Chamath's struggle to live a completely fulfilling life?

• How are Chamath's longings, wrestles, assumptions, and discoveries common? Who in your life is grappling with similar questions?

• In what ways does Chamath's defined happiness in family and friends testify to the truth that happiness is not achieved or accomplished but shared? 

Now think about the Sermon on the Mount, and all that it reveals about relating rightly with God and others--and how such relations go sideways!

• In what ways do Chamath's advice and discoveries fall short of what Jesus reveals? What is missing?

• How would you fill in the gaps in conversation with Chamath or someone who shares his desire?

• If Chamath is at the surface of deep truth, that a full and complete life is shared in "righteous" relationships, in what ways are you in pursuit of God-defined happiness?

Practice Prudence

Dear Faith Family,

It seems like everyone is talking these days. Everywhere you turn, and whatever you turn on, you'll hear language put to use, whether for good or for ill. If we are honest, it's not just others talking; we too are contributors to the cacophony of sounds. So in this moment of many voices, let me offer you a word on words, but not from me.

Several years ago, Chaz recommended a weekly newsletter to me for writers called The Habit. Most posts focus on the craft of writing. Yet the author, Jonathan Rogers, is a good and godly thinker who also offers insights on the use of words in our daily world which I find helpful in my lived faith. I asked him if I could share his latest post with you, and he permitted me to do so.  I found it a timely exhortation, and I think you will too. Enjoy, practice prudence, and God bless faith family. 

Through language we are able to create realities. We do it every day. Persuading, encouraging, fear-mongering, story-telling, teaching, selling, insulting, begging—these are just a small sampling of the ways we create and/or rearrange inward realities in other people.

The Puritan John Flavel (quoted in Marilynne Robinson's What Are We Doing Here) had this to say on the subject:

Other creatures have apt and elegant organs: birds can modulate the air, and form it into sweet, delicious notes and charming sounds; but no creature, except man, whose soul is of an heavenly nature and extraction, can articulate the sound, and form it into words, by which the notions and sentiments of the soul are in a noble, apt, and expeditious manner conveyed to the understanding of another soul.

It truly is a remarkable thing that by moving air through your larynx and simultaneously moving your mouth and tongue around, or by making marks on a page, you can manipulate the movements of a human soul. It's not a thing to be taken lightly.

What's more, to change inward realities is also to change outward realities. Persuasion elects leaders, creates laws, preserves peace, starts wars. Persuasion builds interstates, bridges, prisons, parks. Persuasion builds whole societies and cultures.

And yet...

While it is true that we can create realities through language, we can't create reality. Reality is given, not made with human hands or human voices or human consensus. And reality always has the last word with the sub-realities we make for ourselves. As I have said before in this space, reality is that which continues to exist whether you believe in it or not. Believe in gravity or don't believe in it. Either way, if you jump out a window, you'll fall to the ground.

Reason, according to Thomas Aquinas, is a "regard for and openness to reality," an "acceptance" of reality. This idea is very closely related to the ancient idea of prudence, the first of the four cardinal virtues. There are ways, of course, to bend or twist reality for our own purposes—at least until reality snaps back on us. And it always does. That snap-back is sometimes referred to as karma. You can use that word if you want to, but I'm going to call it the coming of the Kingdom of God. Every time reality asserts itself against the status quo, it gives us a preview of the day when reality is all there is. Lord, haste the day.

But I digress. If prudence or reason is a willingness to align oneself with reality, cunning is the attempt to align reality with oneself. Josef Pieper defines cunning as "the insidious and unobjective temperament of the intriguer who has regard only for 'tactics,' who can neither face things squarely nor act straightforwardly." In our public discourse I see a lot of cunning people who show no regard for reality, who seem to believe that no falsehood is too egregious if it serves their purposes. The ends justify the means, as the old saying goes. But I feel compelled to point out that if justification is what you're after, political ends aren't going to do it for you.

My fellow Americans, as the 2020 election approaches, let us throw off cunning. Most of us aren't very good at it anyway, and trying to be cunning only leaves us at the mercy of those who actually are. And while we are at it, let's also throw off cynicism. I will admit that cynicism has its pleasures, but they are pleasures more appropriate to sophomores than to mature adults like us. Cynicism, like conspiracy theory, is just oversimplification posing as sophistication. 

In place of cunning and cynicism, let us embrace prudence. In the coming weeks, you will have many opportunities to use your voice to create new realities—to argue, to express your opinion, perhaps even to persuade. Will you use your creative powers to help others (and yourself) come into closer alignment with reality? We won't all agree on the nature of reality. Reality is exceedingly complex, and self-interest inclines me to ignore the parts of it that don't jive with my notions of how the world would work best for me. Even so, an openness to a reality that exceeds and supersedes self-interest is an excellent place to start.

Every day you wake up in a world that you didn't make. Rejoice and be glad.

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