God In the Now

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:1–3

This past Sunday we talked about a place called in-between. How being in-between is not a place that anybody wants to be, but that in reality it is the place where each of us always is. My point was that we need to recognize, cherish and live in the now, the continuous now. Have you ever been so concerned about getting to the next thing that you were almost completely unable to be present in the now? Have you found as I have that this reality was not cured when you got to the next place? There is always another place to get to. 

Jesus was on the way to his destiny -- to the destiny of us all -- his death on the cross, his resurrection for our sins. Mary was in the midst of some bit of confusion -- the man who raised her brother from the dead was talking about how he would soon be dead. So many questions must have been racing through her mind. And yet in the moment, she had a moment, with Jesus; an extravagant, ostentatious, probably embarrassing moment with him. It was a moment that I am sure Mary remembered until the day that she died. 

We need to remember that the goal is Jesus. The goal is not family, mission, church, worship -- it’s Jesus. Those other things are very, very important -- crucial to following Jesus, but they are the outflowing, the product of our moving toward Jesus. It is not completely linear, for example, we worship Jesus because we move toward him and we move toward him as we worship. I am a better husband because I desire and move toward Jesus, but I also move toward Jesus as I live into my role as husband in dependance on God and service towards my wife. Does that make sense? 

A deep sadness of mine is that so many Christians miss Jesus in the busyness of trying to get somewhere else, often in the rush to get to the place that God wants them to get.  As you read this, where do you find Jesus, now? Consider taking a piece of paper and a jotting down 10 ways that you recognize Jesus’ presence and grace are with you now. What if you were to do that two or three times a day? Give it a try. Let me know how it goes. Share what happens with others. I guarantee that if you do this simple exercise, you today or hopefully longer, you will enter into each area and responsibility of your life with a greater awareness of Jesus, with less stress or concern, with more courage and hope.

Peace, hope and love

Doug

The Measure of Success

“I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:23

You have probably heard the African proverb, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Maybe you’ve heard it too often. Even if that is the case, I think we all know that there is truth in these words. It is a countercultural truth -- we know that these words have truth, yet we also know from our experience that other people sometimes just slow things down, we can get more done if we just do it ourselves.

This same conviction often floods over into how we view and live out our lives as followers of Jesus. I have had more than one person say to me, “Doug, I know you believe that doing life as part of a group, meeting regularly, praying and doing ministry together is the best approach, but if I’m are really going to make a difference in this world, I can get more done, faster, on my own.” That might be true -- in the short term. That might be true -- if the measure is what we get done.

Let me suggest that while words like “faster” and “more efficient” have their place in a life of following Jesus, but they are not meant to be the leading or directing principles. These words need to be viewed with some suspicion. To not do so is to misunderstand the countercultural upside down Kingdom of God. Our culture -- the world’s kingdom -- will tell us that the measure of success is how much we get done. Jesus’ message is far less quantifiable, far more mixed and organic. Jesus uses words and phrases like rest, don’t worry, be content, yet he fuses them with an urgency that tells us to get up and do something while we can. Jesus is interested in process as much as he is results. Jesus is interested in modeling dependence upon him far more than he is interested in what we might think of as measurable success. At the same time, Jesus believes that we can have a far greater impact than we do. How do we balance these seemingly incompatible ideas?

As we move into the places and spaces, the dark and the broken, the places where God invites us to bring light and healing, we must avoid the temptation to be obsessed with the arrival, completion or end. God has called you and me to a journey, with him, to learn from him and to do the things that he shows us. To seek him, to trust in him, to depend upon him and then to be moving outward in his love toward the world. It is an amazing opportunity, the beauty of which will be missed if you choose speed over companionship.

Are you intent to travel alone? Think this week about who your spiritual companions are. If you do not have any, think of who they might be. Are you in a Small Group? Consider joining one. Are you meeting with someone regularly to share life with? Consider asking someone. If you want to go far, you must go together.

Peace, hope and love

Doug

Who Might Be Missing Out?

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Isaiah 55:1-2

What a great celebration we had this past Sunday as we began a new chapter in the life of Creekside. It was a wonderful morning of worship, of fun, of welcoming, expecting and dreaming. Even the long days of work leading up to Sunday were enjoyable times where  memories were created. I was so encouraged by how many people invested time and energy to make Sunday possible. If you had the opportunity to visit the new building at our open house on January 20th you know the amazing transformation that has taken place in a very short period of time -- all in the two weeks leading up to Sunday. Even though we know that the transformation is not complete and that there is still lots of work to do, let’s celebrate the goodness that we are experiencing. 

God has been with Creekside since our beginning. Through ups and downs, highs and lows, God has been and will continue to be faithful. A new chapter is the perfect time to reengage in the question of the why? Why do we do what we do? Why does Creekside exist? How did you find your way to Creekside? Why did you come this past Sunday? Why did you volunteer to help us get ready? What is next for you? What is next for Creekside? 

Jesus said something really interesting. In describing what it was like to follow him, he asked and invited, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28–30 The MESSAGE) There are so many people around us who, if they could believe these words, would flock to Jesus. There are so many people longing for rest, longing for a life that could be described with words like free and light. 

Unfortunately, for many, Christianity has been defined not as a freeing from the weight of an overburdened life, but the adding on of additional burdens. The adding on of burdens was never part of Jesus’ message. It was never the message of the Old Testament prophet’s who spoke of the coming Kingdom of God, “come and eat, come and drink, enjoy good food and wine, it’s all been paid for.” Our move is an amazing opportunity to reclaim the story. Do you know someone who might find a promise of rest, freedom and lightness inviting? I suspect you do. Could it be you? Could it be your neighbor? Could it be the hundreds of new neighbors we inherited when we moved? Who do you know that might be missing out on the life that God has planned for them?

Jesus invites everyone to this kind of life, a way of life that transforms us and empowers us to transform the world. On Sunday I said that the Church is called to be a countercultural, revolutionary, resistance movement that is marked by peace, joy, hope and love, and lived out by broken and messed up people who are being transformed by Jesus so that they can transform the world one little space at a time. The idea is that the Kingdom of God moves into the current kingdoms of darkness. As we begin to follow Jesus we are invited into a better way, a way of rest but also a way of significance. It is a way that frees us from conformity to the broken patterns of our culture, empowers us to resist, and to speak out, but to do so not as the world resists and revolts, but as people marked by the character of Jesus.  

Come, come, come. Come to the well and drink. Come to me all you who are weary. Come all who are thirsty. Come find real abundant life, more and better life than you ever imagined, here and now and forever when you die. Be freed from the striving, the burden, the weight. 

Who might be missing out? 

Peace, hope and love

Doug