I Wonder--January 29

Yesterday, in Sunday School we addressed one of those truly hard, challenging, concepts of our Christian walks that lives in the Sermon on the Mount. And while I would like to state that we 'solved' this one, we didn't. Frankly, no one since the Lord Jesus walked the earth has anyone truly been able to live up to the standard that Jesus taught in Matthew 7. But as Paul reminds us, we keep working at it diligently and we trust the Holy Spirit to help us (Phil. 2.12). 

But I value the conversation yesterday. I value the ability to think deeply. I value the vulnerability that it takes for men and women of the church to look at each other deeply and speak from their hearts . . . and as you know, I appreciate people willing to come alongside of me and: wonder about such things. 

In the book that I just finished I read these words which ring true to my heart: 

"The ability to look deeply [to wonder]

is the root of creativity. 

To see past the ordinary and mundane

and get to what might otherwise be invisible."

I believe that we are called by God to look deeply at ourselves, and at our community. We are called by God to notice what is easily noticeable and act--that is the easy part. A lot of people do that each and every day. A lot of churches do that every week. 

Yet at the same time we are also asked to stand beside God, look out into the community deeply, and wonder about what we are seeing. . . that is where transformation takes place. Long-lasting change takes place. 

Certainly the things that we are seeing and witnessing might mean one thing--and that one thing might be clear and direct. 

But what if it isn't? 

What if God is asking you and I to creatively linger in one spot. Gaze a little longer. Notice something mundane. Something that might be present the whole time but because no one else is looking at it, it is invisible to the vast majority of the church and community at-large? No one sees it. . . perhaps no one cares about it.  

I wonder what would happen to that thing, in the life of that one person (or persons), if we and God creatively spoke about whatever it was that we saw? 

I wonder--January 25

Do you participate in the work of God in the community or are you a passive observer only? Is the mission of God too big for you or could you imagine yourself being part of what God is doing in the community--even in some small way?

Another way of asking the question is: do you bring something of value to God and God's work to redeem the community?  

To consider this question let's keep thinking along the same lines as yesterday and wonder together. . . In the book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, we read: 

"We perceive, filter, and collect, data, then curate an experience for ourselves and others based on this information set. Whether we do this consciously or unconsciously, by the mere fact of being alive, we are active participants in the ongoing process of creation."

 If these words are correct (and I believe that they are); then we are participants in the process of ministry with God. The Lord is inviting us into partnership. And more than simple partnership, which would be a wonderful blessing for any of us, God might just be inviting us to co-labor with Him in the community to spread the redemptive work and mission. 

God might just ask us if we are willing to work side-by-side with Him in the local community.

And while you and I might tempted to think that we are unworthy to stand beside Jesus and work alongside of him, we are all sent into the mission field by the Lord because He trusts us; He believes in us. For we all witness what is taking place around us in this world. Every second, of every day our eyes, ears, and our lives witness opportunities to share the love of Christ with another persons. 

I wonder.... who do you think opened your eyes, your ears, and your hearts to notice this in the first place? Perhaps it is the one who called you into partnership in the first place... 

I Wonder--January 24

 For a while now I have seen a certain book at my local book store and it has caught my attention. Finally last week, I broke down and bought the book and I am so thankful that I did! The book's author is a famous music producer whose has worked on some of the most important rock albums for the last 40 years. 

As with many great creative thinkers, the book does not follow a traditional format. There is a chapter that consists of a few pages followed by three lines of prose centered on a page or two. Then another short chapter followed by some more prose. This repeats throughout the entire book. But if you dare to open the book and consider with Rick is writing about, you will find a gold mine to consider. 

In the first chapter, a chapter titled: "Everyone Is a Creator," he writes this: 

"To create is to bring something into existence that wasn't there before. It could be a conversation, the solution to a problem, a note to a friend, the rearrangement of furniture in a room, a new route home to avoid a traffic jam. . . Through the ordinary state of being, we're already creators in the most profound way, creating our experience and composing the world we perceive." 

While Rick is not write from a Christian theological perspective but one of a musical producer, I find it hard not to hear an entrance point into our community in his words. 

We often think that to serve the Lord in our community has to be a big, large-scale, dynamic, vibrant project. It must be reproducible; it must shine. It must look good on social media and/or fit well on a flyer or some other form of media--and at times that is indeed necessary, I do confess. 

But if Rick is right, if something as small as moving a chair closer to another person so that they can see that we truly do care, if that "creative act of furniture moving" is also an act of ministry, then I wonder what small thing God be asking you to do today?  

For God see the world both in the macro and the micro. Jesus had the time to save the entire world, but He also had the time to sit by a well with an unwelcome woman and talk with her during the hottest part of the day when no one else had the time or the desire. 

Maybe there is something creative that God is asking to you participate in right now? What does it look like and how much time does it take?

I Wonder--January 18

Today I was listening to a new audiobook and something the author said caught my attention. She was speaking about the future and how we perceive it. The section in question that I was listening to was from the introduction and Jane wondered about how long it might take someone to read a new book.

She went on to ask, 'what might happen if you gave yourself 10-years to read that book?' (For some of us, having 10-years to read a book might be freeing or helpful).

Now while that seems like an excessive amount of time, consider Jane's rationale. She says:  

“What matters is whether your brain perceives an abundance of time. So give it a try. Give yourself luxurious ten-year deadlines. You might be surprised at how much faster and more happily you do things you’d otherwise put off when you feel time-rich, and therefore more in control of your timeline.”

Jane is not writing or considering ministry in the church or a faithful response to God's revelation. But what if she was?

In ministry we are in the 'long game.' . . Perhaps the 10-years game. Results may come. And those results may take a long time--but they do come because they come in Christ Jesus. And Christ Jesus is faithful. 

Why do we think, or why have we been lead to believe that the results have to come overnight? I wonder what might happen in your life and in your faith if you gave yourself the grace of time and received the grace of the Lord. 

Blessings

Derek

I Wonder--January 11

We are now in the season of Epiphany. 

During this time of the church calendar the focus shifts from the joy of the Incarnation to the needed response to Christ's birth in the new year. For the next five weeks the church is asked to consider its response and how it will take the revelation of Christ into its local community--and ultimately the world. 

Quite simply we are tasked with evangelism--and it is not a passive call. 

As I think about this mandate from God and ask I consider the  responsibility for the church, I remember the words Albert Outler wrote. He said: 

"Give us a church, whose members believe and understand the gospel of God's healing love of Christ to hurting men and women. Give us a church that speaks and acts in consonance with its faith – not only to reconcile the world, but to turn it upside down! Give us a church of spirit-filled people in whose fellowship life speaks [of eternal] life, love to love, and faith and trust respond to God's grace. And we shall have a church whose witness in the world will not fail, and whose service to the world will transform it."

This past week, I asked the children here at Bethesda if the Christmas season was complete, and amidst jokes about snow marking the end of Christmas, we discovered that Christmas is not complete. It is not complete because we have the evangelistic responsibility placed before us by God to share the miracle with our community. 

The decorations may be put away, but the message should not also be put away. 

The Christmas season is not complete because you have the opportunity, and the call, to pass on what you learned and experienced from the Messiah. To paraphrase what Oulter was saying in the above quotation: we will transform the world because we witness to the power of God in our midst. 

I wonder if that is something that we as the Body of Christ will do during this Epiphany season?  

I Wonder--January 4

One thing that I am not fond of is a New Year's resolutions. For most people these are promises that are not kept. The effort seems to be lacking. Certainly I want to 'do' better, 'be' better every day of my life as I am in Christ. So why wait until January to attempt to do anything about this? Should not our growth as Christians be a constant, consistent matter?  

I wonder if God asks us to continue progressing towards Him and His will in our lives? 

Writer Evelyn Underhill addresses my struggle in this way. She writes:  

"Some people may seem to us to go to God by a moving staircase; where they can assist matters a bit by their own efforts, but much gets done for them, and progress does not cease. Some appear to be whisked past us in a lift; whilst we find ourselves on a steep flight of stairs, with a bend at the top, so that we cannot see how much farther we have to go. But none of this really matters; what matters is the conviction that all are moving towards God, and, in that journey, accompanied, supported, checked, and fed by God."

God asks each of us to practice our faith. He asks us to remember that He is always present and accessible to us--in the good and in the bad. 

Perhaps what Evelyn is talking about resonates in your heart and life? Perhaps the message in 2024 from God might be a reminder that He is there and wants to grow your relationship together. . . Maybe that is a resolution that we could actually keep.