Tag: Jesus (Page 34 of 68)

I Walk Too Fast

March 17, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Fast

Ok so it’s no secret – I move quickly. I like to drive fast, walk fast, run fast, move fast in general. I even have a tendency to talk fast, and for that matter type fast which explains all of the uncaught grammar errors – sorry about that. I don’t like to sit around and do nothing. I am always busy. I’ve even been given a nickname by some members of the church I serve. I’ve been named Speedy PD (PD for Pastor D). But there comes a time when we all need to slow down. I think I’m realizing that I just walk too fast.

We used to go on family vacations to Disney when our children were younger. We’d hit the parks and see all there was to see. As a matter of fact, my children would tell me to get ready for my vacation walking. It was a type of walking that was faster than normal and allowed me to weave in and out of crowds so we could get where we wanted with limited delays. But if I’m being honest, I think I walk too fast.

For many reasons, I just need to slow down. Personally speaking, walking too fast can leave you alone. There were times when I’d be walking so fast that I’d leave my family in my dust. They wouldn’t be able to keep up with me. It gives a really bad impression to your family when you’re walking so fast that they can’t even keep up with you. I was just walking too fast.

But more than just walks with family on vacation, I tended to walk fast in my spiritual life as well. And to be honest, the faster I walked the less room I would leave for God. Now I know that sounds a tad like an over exaggeration here but in reality it’s more true than we all realize. We sometimes need to slow down to let God catch up. I find myself sometimes leading God. Not that I can somehow move faster than God, but I’m sometimes a few steps ahead of where God has planned for me to be. So I need to walk a little slower.

I’m not sure what walking slower means for you but I would suggest starting with literally walking slower. Moving your feet at a slower pace. Taking smaller strides. Stopping for a minute to breathe the fresh air or take in the scenery. Slow down the pace in the mundane parts of life so you’re more comfortable slowing down in the critical parts of it.

But when it comes to your spiritual walk, literally moving slower isn’t exactly much of a help. We can, however, apply the same concept to our faith lives. We can read slower when we’re going through our daily readings. We can find a still, quiet place to have a moment alone with God. We can turn down the lights and just sit in silence. I know that sounds awkward and nearly impossible, but sitting in a quiet and semi-dark room is very calming.

Another idea that is definitely not original to me is something called a sabbath. The sabbath is the idea of stopping for a day or a set length of time and just going dark. Rest for that time. It’s not a vacation. It’s not a party time. It’s a time to rest and well…slow down! The purpose of the sabbath idea is that we are able to work from our rest and rest from our work.

I think we can all admit that in 2020 we were forced to slow down a bit. We couldn’t go to our gyms, schools, churches and even to work. We had to slow down and even stop for a bit. The point of sabbath is that we pause to evaluate where God is in our lives. Stopping or even slowing down in life is more critical than we might realize. If we don’t slow down, then God will make you slow down.

Let me say that again slowly. If you don’t slow down, God will slow you down. He might do it by letting you come down with something to cause you to pause for a minute. He might do it by making your car break down or giving you a snow day at school. He might even let a global pandemic shut the whole world down for a few months! For me, he let me speed cause headaches and anxiety that pretty much wrecked my body. You don’t have to like it, but if you don’t slow down God will slow you down. And someone else slowing you down will not be fun!

So learn from my mistakes and slow down. Pause long enough to evaluate where you are in relation to God’s plan for your life. It’s ok if you walk a little slower. Take it from me, you’re missing things by moving so fast. Maybe you’re walking too fast like me.

Please Stop Just Praying

March 16, 2022 / / 0 Comments

You know I have a bit of a love – hate relationship with the phrase our thoughts and prayers are with you. It just seems so very lame! Do we even know what we’re saying? I mean really, the context in which we say this phrase is that we don’t know what else to do so I guess we can just pray.

We treat prayer like it’s a last resort. A natural disaster happens or something occurs that shakes us to the core emotionally, and we say things like I don’t know what to do. All I can do is pray.

Yes you’re right! All you can do is pray! But that’s not a bad thing. Actually, that’s where we should all start. Start with prayer and I mean the real prayers for God to move mightily in a situation. Then wait for His leading. But instead we tend to move, then pray that God will be ok with our movement. Or we like to pray those generic prayers of God be with everyone and bring world peace.

Yeah. I get it. We should want God to be everywhere. But He already is. And we should want there to be peace in the world and in our communities. But when we relegate God to a spiritual slot machine by only coming when we can’t handle the problem ourselves it shows how little we think of God.

Prayer is huge. And I mean huge! When we pray, really pray, with heartfelt words – emptying all of ourselves at the feet of Jesus asking him to do what brings him most glory we will be amazed at what is possible.

So if you see something going on in the world or your community, please don’t just pray. Take time to just pray. Pray first. Pray second. And when you have done everything else pray. Because when all you can do is pray, you are doing more than you can ever imagine! Prayer is tapping into the very power of God. Prayer is not about bending God’s way to match your will. It’s about bending your will to match God’s way.

So pray. And when you think you’ve prayed enough, you should probably go ahead and keep on praying. Because the Bible is pretty clear that prayer might be all you have to offer, but that’s more than you’ll ever need.

But Didn’t Jesus Say?

March 15, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Ok so since my last post I’ve received a couple of comments (two of them) from a couple of people (again 2 of them) who may not have found my words all that acceptable. And that’s totally cool. I absolutely love having what a friend of mine calls robust dialogue around issues upon which we disagree. Well the point of contention with the post about my job not being to feed you was with a reference to something Jesus actually said.

In an effort to get inside my head and heart a little and see why I wrote what I wrote and what the perceived in-congruencies are of this Bible verse and my previous post, I decided to dig into what Jesus told Peter and what I intended by my comments. Here you go…

In John 21, Jesus cooks a hearty breakfast of grilled fish over a charcoal fire and recommissions Peter into the work he was originally called to do. Way back at the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus calls disciples to come and follow me. Then he says, I will make you fishers of men. Somewhere along the line, Peter and his compadres took the command to follow me less seriously and thought Jesus should follow them. Peter went so far as to even deny Jesus around a charcoal fire while Jesus was on trial getting ready to be crucified.

Fast forward now to chapter 21. We are now on the shore with Jesus and Peter. And there’s a charcoal fire. In my mind this is really an important detail that we tend to gloss over. The fact that it’s called a charcoal fire and not a bonfire or wood fire or any other kind of fire to me seems significant. Why? You ask. Well there is only one other time in John’s gospel where a charcoal fire is mentioned, and yep you guessed it. The time Peter denied Jesus it was beside a charcoal fire.

Now to understand why this is so important you have to go back to the time you were beside a charcoal fire, or even a fire in your fire pit for that matter. If you’re a campfire lover then you undoubtedly know the smell of the smoke in your clothing and on your skin. This is an unmistakeable smell. Not to mention the sounds of the crackling and warmth it provides.

Imagine for a minute you’re Peter, and you walk up to this fire. You smell the charcoal and feel the warmth and hear the sounds of the fire crackling on the shore. Where does your mind go? I would guess this is why the text describes this as a charcoal fire, because John wants us to go there too! Right back to the last charcoal fire. Peter would have remembered denying Jesus. He would have likely thought that some sort of scolding was coming. But what did he get instead?

Hey Peter do you love me? Then why don’t you feed my sheep please.

What! Jesus didn’t scold Peter, but instead consecrated him for continued ministry and mission work. So that’s the first part of this passage that really sets the stage. Second is a hidden little gem in the Greek language about the use of two different words for love which we won’t have space for here. Then Jesus tells Peter to feed my sheep and tend my lambs. So the question that was raised by two people about my former post was essentially if Jesus told Peter to feed my sheep, why are you saying you’re not going to feed the sheep entrusted to you?

Great question! But it’s kind of a wrong question. Now don’t get your undies in a bunch here. I don’t mean that to come across all sassy. It’s jus…if you really think about this for a hot second. Jesus told Peter to feed my sheep. Peter knew how sheep were fed. Do you? Do you know how a first century Jewish shepherd would feed the sheep? They would pasture them. They wouldn’t chew the food for them or bottle feed them. Ok. Sure for a time, like when they were young or if there were problems a shepherd could give a given sheep a little more attention and care, but that wouldn’t last forever. The shepherd was charged with making sure the pasture was green with enough good grass for the sheep to graze. Not to spoon-feed the sheep.

Now take that same imagery of feed my sheep by letting them graze a pre-selected pasture and bring it into the church today. If we’re going to apply the command of Jesus to feed my sheep to our modern context, then we sure as the dickens better apply it’s original intent and context as well. If, as a pastor, my job is to feed the sheep as Peter was commanded to do using the imagery of a first century Jewish shepherd, then I am commanded to lead the people to the pasture and ensure the pasture is tended properly. Hence I’m not going to feed you, but I am going to take you to the food and lay the food before you.

So I’m still not going to feed you. I still don’t think it’s the job of a pastor, DCE, church body or anyone to go on feeding the people, like literally feeding them. But am I regularly going to lay the feast of God’s word in front of the people God entrusts to me? Abso-stinking-lutely! (Technical term for you betcha!) Am I going to make sure the Word of God is rightly taught so that all can have access to the truth of God’s unchanging word? You better believe it! Am I going to lay before the brothers and sisters the true Body and Blood of Jesus as a foretaste of a much greater meal to come in heaven? You can take that one to the bank!

But I’m not going to let you as a called disciple of Jesus sit around and wait for me, or anyone for that matter, to feed you. I don’t want anyone to make you think that pastors have some magical access or backstage pass to some truth you don’t have access to! I’m not going to pick up the spoon and feed you. I’m not going to chew the food for you. I’m going to show you, train you, equip you to use the gift of God in His Word so that you can be fed even when you’re not with a pastor.

So there you have it. Jesus did command Peter to feed the sheep. And I’ll do that the very way Peter would have fed the first century church and the way Jesus even fed the disciples. But I’m not going to chew the food up and spit it into your mouth. Come join me and let’s graze on the truths of God’s word together and see what amazing things He is doing all around us!

What I Learned From My New Washing Machine

March 8, 2022 / / 0 Comments

My family recently moved into a new home. And with a new home come a lot of new things. New furniture. New drive time to work. New challenges with an older home with more land. All sorts of new things, some we expected and some we didn’t see coming! New is sometimes challenging and sometimes rewarding all at the same time. One of the new things that happened in this new to us home was an unexpected new washer and dryer. 

Ok so the backstory here is that our washer and dryer worked fine. They were about 7 years old but still functioned well enough. They washed clothing and dried them sufficiently. The washer wasn’t something my wife ever really loved, but you can’t just replace something that works perfectly fine. It didn’t give her the impression that the clothing was super clean. She would regularly comment that the clothes were sometimes soaking wet coming out even after the spin cycle was completed while other times it felt as if they hadn’t been wet at all. 

Fast forward to the new home, where the space the washer and dryer were supposed to occupy was not sized appropriately. The opening was a little over an inch too narrow. Normally I would do some form of rehab work to widen the gap and make the things fit, but it just wasn’t going to be economical for us to do that this time. Between a load bearing wall and a cabinet with built-in sink, there wasn’t a real option to easily make this work. So we decided to sell the old set and get a new pair that would fit in the allotted space. 

When the new set arrived, we did all the hook ups and leveling and ran a “test” load to ensure the spin cycle wouldn’t shake the house off its foundation. All was good. So we loaded up some sheets and towels for the first official load in the new washing machine. 

Much to our amazement, this washer was legit washing our clothing. I know it might not mean much to anyone else but the front door is a window and we could see the water coming in and the clothing sloshing around in the water at the bottom of the drum. The towels and sheets would slowly spin through the water soaking up little bits with each passing spin. 

Life as a follower of Jesus is sometimes like that old washing machine of ours. We go through life and don’t really show any signs of being soaked by Jesus. We’re not saturated by the truths of the gospel. It’s almost as if we just dip our toes in the waters of baptism and think that’s enough. This is one of the great benefits of the imagery associated with a full immersion kind of baptism. Now before some of you get all weirded out by that statement, yes I’m a Lutheran pastor and yes we baptize infants and no we don’t normally have immersion type baptisms. I just said I like the imagery associated with the full body soaking in an immersion scenario. Even though I’m not opposed to immersion by any stretch of imagination.

But water alone isn’t the point. It’s not like sprinkling someone with water or soaking them in a pool is really going to change much for anyone. The truth of the matter is it’s the gospel that makes the difference. We need to be soaked in the waters of the gospel truth. We need to be totally immersed in the life of Jesus. A program here and there won’t do anything for us. As much as I love the whole idea of church planting and missional communities, they are not a golden ticket to a more Jesus filled church. They are tools for growing the kingdom, but the real meat and potatoes of the meal of kingdom growth is found in gospel saturation. Lives totally immersed in the life giving truths of Jesus. 

So the long and short of this whole story is that a new washing machine helped me realize that perhaps we might need to change the way we spin through the waters. That’s the key difference between the old and new washing machine. The old was a top load while the new is a front load. A simple shift in how we approach matters of faith might yield a massive difference in how saturated we become with the grace of God. 

Today I encourage you to spin through your time with God a little differently. Don’t take for granted the simple things. Maybe it’s where you sit while you read. Or what bible you use for your daily reading. Maybe listen to it read while going for a walk. Or play the daily reading while you’re driving to work. Let God change the direction of your spin through His word and watch what a life saturated by the gospel can do for your outlook on life.

Grace Upon Grace

February 1, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Bear One Another's Burdens - Verse Meaning Explained

I get to see all sorts of things in my line of work. Many people joke around about me only working an hour on a Sunday and the rest of the week goof off with video games or who knows what. To be totally honest, there are things that come across my desk as a pastor that I really wish I didn’t have to manage. But there are other parts of my day that make me just pause and realize how amazing some of the people who surround me truly are.

The situations that blindside us and pretty much throw us into a tailspin are the things no one wants to deal with. We run from them. We fight to get out of them. We try to make our way through them. But really we just want these unknown and unsolicited crappy days to just go away. Whether they are relationship meltdowns, financial crises, disturbing health news or family drama, we will have to come to grips with some level of all of these things throughout our lives. How we make it through some of these truly life changing moments often is determined by who we let into our circle.

One of the most blessed parts of my job is to be someone who is trusted to be part of someone’s circle. I get the honor of being the person who’s there when good times happen. I get to hear the good news of a baby born or a guy “popping the question.” I get to see the smiles and endless grins on the faces of those who are filled with the joy of living.

But I’m also honored to be invited into some of the darkest and scariest moments of people’s lives. I am called on when a loved one is ill, hospitalized or tragically dies. I’m there when a child needs medical attention. I’m invited into the circle when families are in turmoil and trust within friendships becomes broken. I get to be present when tears flow and hearts are broken and fear overwhelms.

I write these things not to pat myself on the back but to remind you that you are vastly important to me. No matter what level of connection I’ve had in your life, believe me when I say that walking with you through good or bad times is an absolute honor. It’s something I do not take lightly.

As I write this some of you are filled with joy while others are barely able to breathe under the pressures of life. No matter which end of that spectrum you may be on, know that I or someone like me is just a call away. We do have limitations and boundaries but in general we are here.

It is in these moments, entering someone’s story especially a story of crisis that I witness some of the most amazing displays of grace that one could ever imagine. It is in the moments when life is unraveling at a pace that is dizzying, that we get to witness someone’s true character. It’s not when life is easy that the real person shines forward. It’s when they are stressed beyond belief, broken seemingly beyond repair, weak beyond imagination that someone reveals who they truly are at their core.

I have recently come to realize that the strongest people in the world are not necessarily in a uniform, at the gym or wearing a cape. They are simple, ordinary people who put their feet on the floor in the morning when they’d rather stay in bed. They move forward when it would be way easier to fall backward. They stand when the world says to sit down. They remain silent when every ounce of their anger says to speak. They’re the people who demonstrate grace in ways that I didn’t know were humanly possible.

To the many people who’ve been a part of why circle and invited me to be a part of your story over the past several decades, thank you for showing me what grace looks like in so many ways. Thank you for being the evidence of grace upon grace in even the least graceful of circumstances. Thank you for the trust you’ve shown. Thank you for showing me what the love of Jesus looks like today.

My Give a Crap Meter Is About To Break

January 27, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Too Much Compassion? - Here 2 There

Alright I’ll apologize at the outset here to anyone who gets offended easily. However, if I’m being honest, knowing that you’re still here you probably means you don’t have super thin skin. I don’t think I have to tell anyone in our world today that life is hard. We can’t do the things we used to do. People tell us one thing then do something totally different. You pour into someone with your time and energy and love and support then they turn around and slap you in the face or turn their back on you when you’re in need. And this is beyond taxing!

There’s a very real thing happening in life right now called compassion fatigue. It’s what happens when you constantly care for others and have no one there to care for you. It’s what I call my give a crap meter is broken. And for complete transparency when that meter breaks I’m a bear to live with because it impacts how I care for everyone. When we invest in someone and they turn around and live like we don’t matter at all, it depletes our ability to care for even those close to us. We start to wonder if everyone feels the same way as that ungrateful person. We act more guarded and jaded and honestly we start to be less friendly to our real friends and family.

So if you’re one of those people who receive the care from someone but don’t show any gratitude, it’s time to fix that one. Don’t be a jerk! If someone is there for you and supporting you and lifting you up throughout life, then make sure you don’t turn around and kick them out when they’re having a hard time. Ok off my soap box because those are rarely helpful. Now for a couple of positive things to help protect yourself.

How do we combat compassion fatigue?

Surround yourself with people who care. I know this sounds like one of those ridiculous and superbly obvious statements. But you’d be surprised how many times we surround ourselves with people who suck the life out of us even when we’re empty emotionally and spiritually. Take an honest inventory of your friends and see who is really there for you when the crap hits the fan in life. Who are the ones that are there when you are hurting and broken? Who are the ones that check in to see if you are ok? Who are the ones that just show up? Who are the ones who don’t make it about themselves?

Set clear boundaries. This one is huge and I can’t stress it enough. You need to know when enough is enough. You need to know when someone is using you for their personal gain and not in the friendship for any mutual benefit. Boundaries don’t have to be the same for each person either. You just need to make sure to give yourself space to heal and recover from constantly being “on” for other people. You matter too!

Space to refuel is critical. So I’m not a big sit by a fire and read a book kind of guy, although a fire sounds good on this 5 degree day! Consider what you can do to fill yourself back up. Some like to get a massage. Others go for a walk. Maybe go out for a night with friends with no agenda. Workout. Go for a run. Drive around the outer belt, not during rush hour of course. Go on a vacation. Turn off your phone for an hour. Go play in the snow with your children. Dive into the bible or a good devotion book. There are a million things you can do to recharge a bit, you just have to be intentional. The point is that you can only pour into someone else what’s being poured into you.

Stay resilient. I always thought resilient meant never giving up or always pushing through. But the definition, according to the interwebs, is able to recover readily from a misfortune. Now that’s a pretty good one! We need to be resilient when working with people who are in a time of need. They’re going to say and do things that will hurt, but be resilient and bounce back. Don’t take it personally if a person who is in crisis doesn’t seem overly friendly. Give them space and take your own space then come back to make sure they’re ok. The point of resiliency is that we need to be flexible with those around us. If we’re super rigid, the second something goes wrong we will break. And no one wants to break.

This is not an exhaustive list of ways to combat compassion fatigue. These things are intended to hopefully help you see that you do matter. To someone in your circle you matter more than you know. Even if you’re beaten by the world and feel abandoned take time to look around and see who’s in this mess with you. If you’re empty, lean on those people. You won’t regret it.

I’m Sorry But The Church Is Not The Point

January 19, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Ok so if you’re a certain type of person, you probably don’t like that statement. The point here isn’t to upset anyone nor is it a knock on the church either. The point is that I think over time we, as pastors and churches, might have lost our way a little bit. I by no means am perfect, nor do I get this right all the time but this is a pretty critical thing to get right.

Church Centered

There are many of us in churches around that have become kind of church-centric. The church becomes the reason the church exists. It’s like saying the church is the most important thing going on in the church. That’s just not the case.

I had the chance to participate in a conference recently that for all intense and purposes said the end result of all the church does is to get people into the church. Yikes! That’s the most selfish, egotistical, and downright heretical thing I’ve ever heard! The church does not exist to fill its seats or pad its bank account. Too many churches have become so consumed with doing it their way or preserving what they have that they’ve lost sight of why they exist in the first place.

A church-centric kind of church really cares more about boards, budgets and butts than anything else. A church centered on itself makes it hard for people to get involved. You can’t do anything without some sort of membership status. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some places where a level of ownership found in membership is important but to limit all activity and service in the church to a members only status isn’t healthy.

A church-centered kind of environment gives the impression that it’s all about the church. The church and worship become the end goal of all the church exists to do. Often when a person joins a church-centered kind of atmosphere there’s really nothing left to offer. Worship is it. It’s the sum total of what the church has and what it expects from those who make up the congregation. Worship is vital, critical and necessary! But it’s not all the church is here for by any means. So if it’s not solely about worship or the church from an institutional side of things, what is it?

Kingdom Centered

It doesn’t take much to veer off the tracks from the church God established in the book of Acts to one that’s really all about self preservation. The way back is to hone one’s sight back on what’s most important and that’s Christ and his message of Grace and Truth and Mercy. It’s about becoming kingdom focused again.

A kingdom centered church is one whose focus isn’t on numerical growth but on depth of growth. Look I get it, numbers matter. We have to count what we can count. But can we take measurables and find a better way to use them? I’m part of a system that asks for year end reporting, which in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. Again you have to measure what you can measure. But the measurements we record only show part of the story. They only show basic connection not depth of engagement.

At the church I am called to serve, we measure a series of numbers as part of a discipleship pathway. There’s an expectation that comes with being a part of this church. It’s bigger than here. It’s bigger than worship or Sunday School or a website or time of day. It’s about engaging in a life that demonstrates obedience to a different way of life. To that end we measure a progression of data. When one number goes up, the other numbers should increase at a similar rate. If there is a lag in numbers, we have to ask some hard questions.

The information we look at is simple and relatively easy to track with a few general questions. How many people are in worship on a regular basis? This number represents the group of people who are simply present in the worship life of the congregation from a mostly observation based position. They’re not leading, teaching, or serving.

The second question we ask is of these people in worship how many are in some form of Bible study or growth opportunity beyond worship? This number shows us those who participate which takes more commitment than watching for an hour on a Sunday and puts one in a place to be challenged a little more personally to a different kind of life.

The third area on which we focus is the area of service. So how many people are moving from observation in worship to participation in Bible classes or groups to some form of involvement in a specific area of ministry or service in the church. These can be anything from clean up crews for events, to those mowing the lawn or cleaning up outdoors, to greeting people when the arrive on Sundays. The sky is the limit here. It’s about helping people see the value they have in the church as a whole.

Finally, we focus on invitation. How many of those present and involved are bringing others along for the journey? This shows ownership. Ownership not of the church. Not of this local expression of what church looks like either. It’s ownership of a different way of life. It’s ownership of a kingdom centered mentality.

You see, Jesus said in some of his last recorded words in the book of Matthew going make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.

Did you see it? Right there at the end. As pastors we focus so much on the beginning of this that we tend to gloss right over the end. Make disciples yeah we talk about that a lot. Baptize them? Yep got that one covered as well for the most part. Teaching? Sure we teach a lot of information that is readily accessible in a variety of mediums. But what about teaching obedience? That’s a whole different ball game.

A kingdom centered church is one that teaches obedience. Not just head knowledge. Not just know your bible and what it says. But know what it says. Know its context. And let that shape how you do life. That’s the key. Right there. A kingdom centered church is one that seeks the transformation of its members to more intentionally live out the calling of God day by day.

So go to church! Attend worship! Yes those are very important and a key part of who we are as followers of Jesus. But go one step more. Take your worship out of the building and into your neighborhood. Remember worship isn’t the end game it’s a resource God has given us to move us closer to His image in us.

Stop Being So Shallow!

January 7, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Why Most Men Prefer the Shallow End of the Spiritual Pool | HuffPost Life

I have to say there are a lot of shallow people in this world. And even more so that’s really what’s being pedaled through our media. From printed news stories to tv news broadcasts to the infamous social media streams, there’s an abundance of surface level junk floating around. And in a superficial world, depth can be very attractive.

The set up

It’s no secret if you’ve been around this blog for any length of time, or if you know me at all, you will know that I’m a pastor of a semi-rural/suburban church in central Ohio. So much of my thinking revolves around my experience in that world. However the principles I’m about to share while mostly from my immediate context can be applied to a number of different fields from small businesses to politics to friendships and much more.

Cool versus Authentic

Ok so this is a pet peeve of mine. People trying to be super cool or hip or culturally relevant and totally missing the point of what’s happening around them. There was a craze in the church about a decade ago, that still is very much prevalent today, where churches tried to be mini versions of their culture. For many of them you couldn’t tell where the culture ended and the church began. This is a problem!

Churches did this because they wanted to be relevant to culture. They wanted the world to like them. They fell prey to the 3 Bs of life: boards, budgets and butts. Boards represent our power structure. Budgets represent our financial stability. And butts represents our fame or connectedness, aka church membership. When any of these are driving forces for you, then you will quickly realize that you’ve fallen for cool over authentic.

People are not walking away from God. They’re walking away from the church and fake expressions of the gospel.

It’s not just churches either. You can see it in businesses trying to become all things to all people and then quickly becoming nothing. It would be like McDonald’s trying to market as a 5 star sit-down restaurant for you to go for your 50th wedding anniversary. If they did this, they’d lose some clientele. Admittedly they might pick up some others but I hope you get the point. Focus on your purpose.

The church’s purpose is to bring the good news of Jesus to the world. When the how becomes more important than the what, we’ve missed the point. When we become more interested in laser shows and perfected Instagram stories than we are with the gospel, we have a problem!

No Pain Here

Another issue we deal with when it comes to being authentic is the illusion of perfection. The old workout adage of no pain, no gain is well known by many. But I think in the church we try to paint this sick image that we’ve got it all together and that nothing is ever wrong.

Get a group of pastors in a room and ask them how ministry is going and inevitably the conversation will turn to performance instead of authentic pain. We measure our effectiveness by how many people we have or how much money we make or what kind of building we’re in. We leave no room for real hurt and recovery and pain and stress and weakness.

If the church wants to be relevant in the world, stop pretending to be perfect. If the band is off, claim it! If the pastor blows the message, admit it. If the lights don’t put on the show you’re looking for, then who really cares! What’s the main point anyway?

When we embrace our struggles and surround ourselves with people are gifted where we are not, we stand a much better chance of reaching people that are not exactly like us. It’s ok to have a bad day. It’s ok to not be ok. Don’t paint yourself with a pretty made up face when you’re broken. Sometimes we can’t heal until we face the pain we’re going through.

Are you against everything?

Ok so this one might be a little personal for some of you, and that’s ok. Do people have any idea what you stand FOR? Or do they only know what you’re against? I have had many conversations with people who are not what we would call churched people. We’ve talked about sports, beer, marriage, community, politics, health. You name it, we’ve probably talked about it. But more times than I’d like to admit, whenever the topic of church or religion comes up I get a similar answer.

Is the church for anything? Or is it just completely against everything in this world?

I think this is a dangerous image to portray! The church should most certainly take a stand on what it believes. Without question there are some things we most assuredly need to stand against. However, if the main voice coming out of the church today in our 21st Century culture is what we’re against we’re giving the wrong message.

Over and over again Jesus told us who he was for. He didn’t agree with the lifestyles of everyone he defended or came alongside but he still showed that he was there for them. The woman caught in adultery is a fine example of this. There’s a story in the bible of a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. Cultural norms said she was to be stoned. But Jesus steps in the middle. Now understand fully that Jesus had every legal and moral right to throw that first stone. He could have annihilated her with thou shalt and thou shalt not commands. Instead, he stepped between her and her accusers and loved her.

Where is the church today when it comes to the oppressed and the marginalized? Where is the church for those who’ve been displaced from their homes or lost loved ones in tragedies? Where is the church with those who are considered like this adulterous woman?

You see the church is called by God to be encouragers and equippers who are compelled with a mission far greater than ourselves to accomplish something that is far beyond ourselves. When the church stays steadfast in its confession of who God is while regaining this beyond self mindset, we’ll become truly relevant again. Essentially, we don’t need to change our message. We need to change our attitude.

Where do you find your rhythm?

January 4, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Great Skills You Can Learn from Drumming - Jessica Peresta- The Domestic Musician

We all have rhythm. No, not the ability to play drums or keep a beat even, but we all have a rhythm. Rhythm is all around us and it’s part of our day to day lives in so many places that we often overlook it. I mean right now, you’re probably reading this with some form of rhythm to your pace. Your heart is even beating to a rhythm (I hope it is!).

Rhythm is all around us as well. There’s rhythm in the sunrise and sunset. There is rhythm in the way the feet hit the treadmill in the gym. There’s rhythm to your breathing. Seasons follow a rhythmic pattern. Everything about life is based off of a healthy rhythm.

As we kick off a new year together here on the blog, I wanted to spend a few minutes discussing healthy rhythms. I really think rhythms are the biggest struggle many of us have in life. Whether you’re struggling with weight or finance management, relationships or body image, productivity or worship attendance they all revolve around rhythm. And there’s one rhythm that sets them all up properly.

If you look at the world around you and especially at the way the world was formed. As a follower of Jesus, I believe that God formed all of this in the way it describes in Genesis 1. That part of the Bible lays out what we call the 7 days of creation. In those days of creation, God sets a whole series of rhythms or patterns for the world. From tides to sunrise/sunset to seasons to even the way he speaks and things happen, it all follows a rhythm. Nothing was made in creation that didn’t involve God speaking. Even before he created man, God said let us make man in our image. There was a rhythm to how it all happened.

But the problem is, we live in a world of solo drummers. We don’t like to march to someone else’s drumbeat. We like to be creative and come up with our own rhythms. I’m a huge advocate for consistency and patterns.

Heck look around the world right now as people are crying for a return to normal. They’re not looking for normal! They’re looking for rhythm. Our rhythm of life was disrupted nearly 2 years ago and we haven’t found a sustainable rhythm yet. What we call normal is really a comfortable and sustainable pace with which we can walk, talk and live our lives. We haven’t had that for a while now and we long to have it back again.

But it goes a little deeper than just waking and sleeping at the same time everyday, which is of tremendous benefit in and of itself! There is a deeper rhythm that must be established to really have things moving in the right direction and to establish a sustainable pace for productivity, health, wellness, relationships and all aspects of life to truly flourish.

Below is a message I gave to kick off the New Year at Living Word Galena. In this message I’ll dig a little into the idea of the rhythms around us and how they can help us stay in rhythm. I’ll also give a couple of tools we have here to help keep us in rhythm.

A year in review

December 27, 2021 / / 0 Comments
2021 Year in Review | HCPLC

Something I like to do at the end of each year is look back and see where we’ve been. Some of what follows is more personal while other parts are more general and I believe can apply to most of us. But none of this is intended to be depressing! As a matter of fact the point of this year in review is to see what we can learn about ourselves and the community around us. So buckle up for a trip down short-term memory lane.

Ok so we start with calling out the elephant in the room. The year for some flat sucked. And for others it was ok. But I don’t think many people experienced a banner year. That’s a pretty big overgeneralization, but I think it applies to most of the population. From constant guessing about what’s next to trying to figure out how to stay healthy to keeping the income more then the expenses has proven to be challenging to many Americans.

The year started off with many of us trying to get back to normal, or as close to it as possible. We quickly figured out that what normal means for one person isn’t the same as normal for the next. Enter 3 issues that I feel summarize this year.

Is mutual respect still a thing?

So this is going to sound negative but stick with me for a second. One thing the last year+ has taught us is that mutual respect isn’t really something we can all agree on. It depends on where we get our information, what we believe to be real, whose opinion we actually value, and who our true friends are. This year has tested all of these ideals. And the challenge we have faced in 2021 was to not let these differing opinions divide us.

Something that we’ve all seen this year has been the walk away or lash out methods. It’s heartbreaking to see family and friends disagree on something, then let that disagreement lead to division. We can have fun rivalries in sports, why not in other areas of life? We have thick skin with some topics, so why has 2021 thinned our skin so badly? I really think it’s an issue of respect. We want someone else to respect us but we’re not as willing to humble ourselves to let someone else have an opinion that’s different than ours.

A token to take into a new year is to watch our reactions. Think before you speak or act. It’s easy to yell at someone or virtually erase them when they say something we don’t agree with. It’s easy to talk behind their back and belittle them. But it takes maturity to open up and welcome an honest and heartfelt disagreement. Then walk away as friends who see things differently.

We’re all going to die…eventually

I get it no one wants to talk about it but it’s true. We can’t live our lives in fear and that’s unfortunately what I have seen a lot of the past 12 months. No this is not a political or even a simply health related statement. Just look at how we react when storms are predicted. If we get word that a snow storm is coming, we rush to the store to get all the batteries, water and bread we can find. This past year has seen some shortages of products on shelves in part because when bad news spills into the airwaves we jump to fear mode.

Something to take with us into the new year is to find a place where you can grab ahold of hope. For some it’s in their loving family. For others it’s found in their friendships. For me and many like me that hope is found in my relationship with Jesus. Not everyone is a person of faith but I can attest personally to the fact that when my faith seems less, my fear increases.

Surround yourself with people who can encourage you. If you have a group like this, know you are blessed tremendously! Don’t be so easily offended when one of your encouragers actually puts the screws down and challenges you. If you can’t take challenge from a friend, then you might have your hope in the wrong place.

Way more good has happened if you just open your eyes.

Have you ever purchased a new to you vehicle? Then you realize that everyone in the world drives the same car! I remember getting my Black Ram 1500. Then I realized three of my neighbors had very similar trucks. You tend to see what you feel most closely.

The challenge we’ve faced in 2021 has been a product of our society lusting after scandal and fear and the whole sex sells mentality. If there’s bad news or a juicy story, you better believe that will flood the social streams! And when that’s what fills our minds, that’s all our eyes will see. As we move into a new year, we have the chance to change what our minds see. We have the ability to alter what we put into our minds so that our eyes can actually focus on something totally different than scandal and all the negative floating around.

As a person of faith, one thing I like to do is join members of the church I serve in reading the bible. We read the whole New Testament in 2021 and it helped so many people! In 2022, we’re doing another reading plan but this time it will be a more chronological approach to the Bible. We’ll read a little bit from all over the Bible in order of how it would have happened. We’ll leave out some of the parts that are, well harder to get through. The point will be to fill our minds with the things we want our eyes to see.

So all in all the year 2021 wasn’t the best of my 45 years to be certain. I suffered loss in areas of my life that I never would have predicted. But the true blessing of 2021 was that something happened in my heart that made me appreciate the simplicity of certain moments. What used to really irritate me, doesn’t seem to take the same toll. I’ve been able to see the people who are really there for me to support, encourage and challenge me. I’ve also been able to see the ones that aren’t. They each hold a special place in my life. I wouldn’t be who I am without the disagreements, encouragement, challenge, support, accountability, and camaraderie of so many. Thanks for a great year in 2021 and I can’t wait to see what new things God has in store for us in 2022!

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 derrickhurst.org

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑