Refuel: you need it

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In the gospel of Mark, chapter 2, Jesus's disciples are accused of working on the Sabbath. In the day, the Sabbath was a holy 24 hour period where no work was to be done. In fact, religious leaders had spent a great deal of time determining what was work what wasn't. They saw Jesus disciples doing minimal work on the Sabbath and had an issue with it. Jesus response was that Sabbath was made for us, not the other way around. We don't live to an inflexible schedule, but we do live by a guiding principle: we need rest. We need to refuel. That was Jesus point, not that we can work indefinitely, but that rest as a principle is in our control. 

In this current crisis, as we work from home, the lines between work and home blur. Like me, you might find yourself with no private time, constantly bombarded with needs and requests (from news coverage, child needs, work needs, home needs, personal needs). The idea of resting and refueling, especially emotionally, might be a wish far too fanciful to get. But we need rest (physical, emotional, spiritual, mental). We need to refuel. 

So, let's put that principal of rest being in our control to work:

Here's a few suggestions on how to do that. Please suggest your own in comments!

Physical

• Exercise
• Sleep
• Walk
• Control your breathing
• Hug those in your home for over 10 seconds

Emotional

• Have a video chat with someone you love
• Journal your emotions
• Connect with a counselor, pastor, coach or mentor
• Do something that fills your emotional tank (reading, playing, painting, crafts, etc)
• Listen to your favorite music

Spiritual

• Pray
• Download the Bible App and read through a plan
• Read a devotional, spiritual memoir or blog
• Find a way to spend 10-15 minutes in silence and solitude (noise-canceling headphones help)

Mental

• Turn off the news
• Shut down social media
• Read something fictional
• Start a class (Masterclass has many options)

There are many options, and you probably know some better than I listed here. Remember, you control how and when you find rest, so exercise your control. Refuel: you need it.

COVID-19: Is this the new world?

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Schools closed...events canceled...hospitals inundated...sports seasons suspended...shopping excess at grocery stores (toilet paper anyone)...social distancing...media flurries...travel bans...it reads like an apocalypse movie script.

Except it's all fact.

Is the COVID 19 impact the new normal in a new world?

Many believe it is.

But for me, this provides an opportunity...for the best in us to come out.

Here's what I mean...

We can care for each other in powerful ways as we face this crisis together. Here are some thoughts on how to do this:

• Guard your health: follow the advice of your PCP and CDC advisories. DON'T follow a meme on Facebook...many of them are inaccurate, and some are even dangerously wrong.
• Manage emotions: avoid being overwhelmed and limit media coverage that exacerbates your emotional mood. 
• Care for your neighbors: check on those near you, especially those who live alone or single parents with kids. Offer help, stay connected, express support.
• Share resources: Out of your excess share with those who lack.
• Respect the decisions of others: don't invade others choices to distance socially, or self quarantine.
• Don't discriminate: avoid assumptions based on race AND stand against discrimination of people. I have heard from people who have experienced profiling and discrimination first hand due to assumptions about the Coronavirus.
• Pray: if you are a person of faith, pray for the officials, medical personnel, those infected, those in fear, and those near you.
• Embrace the gift: for many people they are heading home due to closings and cancellations. Embrace the gift of downtime, if that's what you have. Be with your family, love each other, play games, watch movies, enjoy the rest.

We will emerge from this virus. The world may be different when we emerge, but we will emerge. There will be new restrictions, new vaccines, new ways of operating, new ways of traveling, but we are a resilient people who will find a way. We can do this together.

As a person of faith, and a pastor, I also believe this crisis gives us the opportunity to remember that there is Someone greater than a disease, a power greater than fear, and hope greater than death. A follower of Jesus from 2000 years ago realized this truth and wrote about it. His name was John, an apostle of Jesus, an eye witness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Here's what he wrote almost 2000 years ago:

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear."

1 John 4:16-18 (NIV)

That Someone is Jesus

That Power is love

That Hope is life in Christ

In these coming days, let's make a new world based on these truths where  

...faith replaces fear.

...hope defeats despair

...community replaces isolation
...love conquers hate

Join me in creating this new world that defeats COVID-19

When the Next Generation Teaches it Better

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Each Sunday our faith community gathers before service to pray and share. It's a time when our Family Ministry Director also shares the theme that the next generation is learning for that month. We call it our life app (based off the Orange Philosophy curriculum). She shares the theme and the one sentence description.

This month the theme is forgiveness. The one sentence description:

"Deciding that someone who has wronged you doesn't have to pay."

When she shared it, you could hear a pin drop...people visibly paused and began to think of the implications of that sentence. It hit me square between the eyes. Imagine if we could all forgive people who have wronged us, by deciding that they don't have to pay us anything.

It had such an effect, I asked her to repeat it. It has stuck with me all the time since then and this afternoon, as I was reflecting on it, I asked her for the exact wording because I wanted to share it here.

Like any of you, I have people who have wronged me. I'm trying to apply that sentence to my heart, mind and life today. I am trying to decide that they don't have to pay. I'm working through releasing them from the bondage of my self-righteousness. Because, the truth is, I'm the one in bondage.

I say "trying" because it's a hard thing to do. And as if God was underlining, bolding and italicizing it, we watched A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, which has a theme of learning to forgive too.

So, today I'm making a statement of commitment: I am deciding that those who have wronged me don't have to pay.

And I hope that those I have wronged might find the way to release me from having to pay too.

Our world needs more of this. I hope you can release those who have wronged you too.

What pastors really think about on a Monday...

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These past two weeks have been exhausting - on all fronts.

• Two core leaders shared about a need to step down due to family needs leaving massive holes in their place. 
• Three people shared about deep struggles their children are facing.
• One congregation member died.
• Another has a father fighting for his life.
• Two couples are busy going through pre-marital.

All of this is extra pastoral work on a normal week of meetings, sermon prep, sermon feedback, your run of the mill critiques and complaints, regular counseling, strategy sessions, business analysis, leadership development, financial planning, volunteer development, mentoring, spiritual direction, reading, studying, praying and writing.

And none of it more important than being a husband and father.

So yeah, a tiring two weeks.

This is what many pastors face in any given two weeks.
And most of them do it alone without the amazing team of volunteers, colleagues and bosses I have.

So, here's my request: say a prayer for the pastors you know.

Most are lonely...
Many feel like failures..
Some are depressed..
A few are even thinking of quitting...

I've felt all of those things at one time or another, and even all of them at the same time. This past week I felt down, and most of it due to a tiredness of the soul that comes from caring for others as they endure suffering that seems without end. It's not the same or as hard as those who are suffering, but it wears on you.

So pray for the pastors you know. They need it and want it. And pray for those they are caring for...they need it even more.

Your prayers and a kind word might just make their day and give them the energy they need to bring care and comfort to those in their care.

Here are my prayer requests

• Pray for the engaged couples to have healthy relationships leading heading into their weddings.
• Pray for the family who lost a loved one this week.
• Pray for the family gathered round their sick dad, husband, and friend as he fights for his life.
• Pray for the leaders stepping down to care for their family.
• Pray for people to rise up to fill the holes they leave behind.
• Pray for those families with children going through a tough time.
• Pray for your pastor that they might be strengthened in their work.

 Thank you for your prayers. May God hear them and answer them in accordance with His will.

Superbowl Half Time Craziness: J-Lo, Shakira and Adam Levine

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I watched the Superbowl Halftime show twice.

Once with my family, the second time with my wife. 

And then this morning, social media erupted in craziness. I wasn't quite expecting that...I guess I am still naive. Comments ranged from Condemnation to support, scandalous to championing minorities, strip show to skillful art. And perhaps the most pointed comment from one social media post: where was the body shaming of Adam Levine when he took off his shirt last year?

But here's my issue: people critique J-Lo and Shakira for denigrating women, setting back the women movement, and other such challenges for dressing and dancing in the manner they did. They talk about it as a betrayal of the women's movement that they were provocative. 

This is a deep misunderstanding of the drive for equality for women. It's about having the power to choose. Women Equality is about women exercising power over their own bodies, their own careers, and their own decisions amongst other things. It's about choice. I am going to assume that J-Lo and Shakira had control over the halftime show that carried their name.

Therefore, their choice... 

...to sing the songs they did, 

...to wear what they wore

...to celebrate their cultures (with dance moves, language, clothing and accessories)

...to promote unity and history

...to include family

...to display themselves

Is a celebration, not a denigration, of the fight for equality.

Assuming they made the choices, that is the point. THEY MADE THE CHOICES.

Whether you liked the choices or not, whether you conclude bad taste or excellent show is your choice to make. But to say their choice denied women the right to choose is mistaken.

Personally, I liked their halftime show, but didn't especially like the overly sexual messaging. But I celebrate their choice. I have been a fan of Shakira for years and even had her "Hips Don't Lie" as my ring tone (imagine that ringing in the middle of a church staff meeting)! I thought it was a good half time show and loved that for the first time ever two females of another ethnicity were the headliners.

And by the way, during the game, as celebrated by another commercial, Katie Sowers became the first women to hold a coaching position in the Superbowl. That's a lot of firsts and worth celebrating.

Equality for women! 

Yes...we need it...and now, not later!

And Jesus fought for this same choice: he spoke to women and asked their opinion (giving them choice), he revealed himself to a women first (giving them a choice to share it with the others), they were part of his group of wider disciples, supported his ministry and enjoyed his friendship. Jesus celebrated the right for women to choose. We should too.

Kobe Bryant: a reminder of our mortality

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The sudden death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter and 7 others has left people in shock. From the tears of Doc Rivers trying to process this to the crowds standing and chanting at the Staples Arena his passing has impacted many. I, too, was impacted. For me, it came from a post by Jen Hatmaker expressing comfort and sorrow for Kobe's wife, Vanessa. In one day, she lost her husband and a child. I cannot begin to imagine that grief. Another family lost a wife and child in the same crash.

Kobe's death reminds us of our own mortality: the reality that at any moment we could die. His death leaves us adrift, shocked and in denial at what happened, wondering about when it will happen to us. I've seen pastors comment in comfort, people mourn in public and private and the ripple effect of this event spread across the world.

With that in mind, as we draw comfort from each other, as we love on our children and spouses dreading the nightmare that is Vannessa's reality right now, let's allow this grief to spark us into living differently. Don't leave for tomorrow what could be done today.

President Obama commented that Kobe was getting started on a second act that would have been just as meaningful as his basketball career. While he is gone, let's make Kobe's second act our actions. Don't leave for tomorrow the loving action, the courageous stand, the inspiring action that can be done today. Let's make a difference, because as Kobe's death reminds us, tomorrow might never come.

Dear Future President Part 3 of 3

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In the final session of our Dear Future President series the message focused on one final foundational issue that is important to God, his followers and therefore should be important to the future president: the environment. I used the words environment, the world and the earth interchangeably in the message and summarized the message in the final letter to the president listed below.

Dear Future President,

We live in a world created and owned by God. We are born into this world and leave this world. We do not bring anything in with us, and we do not take anything out with us. All we have is this short space of time where we live together in a symbiotic relationship with this world. How we live can negatively or positively impact our world. God has entrusted this world to us, and God holds us accountable for how we live. When we steward the earth as a gift from God, we all benefit. Dear future president work as the chief steward for our nation; a shining example to us and others on how to steward well.

As you make decisions about this world consider a story of Jesus: a parable, designed to teach and make us think. The story is about three servants given resources by a master. Two servants invest and increase their master’s gifts. One does not. The master blesses the one who invests and increases the resources given. He punishes the one who does not. Let us together, invest and increase the precious resources that are our world. You do your part; we will do ours.

We will live simply and wisely, performing small actions that when counted together will be big actions nationally. We will limit our desire for more and commit to being generous with those in need. Dear Future president, we humbly ask you to do your part: protect our limited resources, manage them wisely and advance future technologies that might show an increase in our resources. Work with others around the world in global partnerships and efforts to find ways to invest into and increase the resources of our natural world. In this way, we might secure a future for the generations to come until Jesus returns.

Dear future president, steward this world as a gift with wisdom and humility for it belongs to God.

Yours truly,

A follower of Jesus.

The application of stewarding the created world is diverse. The tendency is to see one's own lifestyle as appropriate, necessary or right and others as wrong or extreme. But, perhaps the better task is to learn from each other and provide grace to each other as we try to live this out. What do you do to steward our world?

Dear Future President: Part 2 of 3

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Dear Future President is a message series I am preaching at Faith Community Church this month. It is a three week series posed as a letter to the future president of the United States communicating what we believe is important to God and to His followers. This is a series, like all messages, worked in partnership and under the guidance of our lead pastor Mike Laurence. At the end of each message I read a letter I have written to the future president based on the message.

This is the second letter based on the second message: People Matter. It is a little long, but I think it captures the essence of why people matter.

Dear Future President,

As a follower of Jesus, we believe God created every human with care, intention and effort. Every person, from the least to the greatest, from the poorest to the wealthiest, from the citizen to the foreign is made in the image of God. Every person has worth, dignity and purpose. This means we believe that all of us should treat people with the dignity, worth and respect according to how God created them. In Christian terms, as Jesus commanded us: we need to love all people. Dear future president, as you lead us, lead with a deep love for all people.

God knows, as do we, that it is easier to love and care for those who are like us. It is much harder when they are different to us. God knows this too, so he specifically put laws in place to guide us in how to love those different from us. How we treat people different from us, reveals how we see the image of God in all of us. Dear future president, you lead us in this nation, and you represent us to the nations of the world. Lead through the lens that sees all people with respect, dignity and compassion.

We are a diverse nation, living in a global village. Your job is extremely difficult. We know you face choices with terrible consequences and limited information. We pray for you in those choices. We also ask, graciously, that you accept the challenge to make laws that are just, fair and compassionate. Make laws and policies that restore and nurture the dignity and worth we have, including the laws that provide protection and punishment for those who break them. Follow the teachings of Scripture and the convictions it brings to protect all people, care for those in need, do justice and show mercy. We need to do the same. We, as followers of Jesus, have failed to do this, and we are convicted of our own lack of love. We will work harder to honor the image of God in all we encounter as we ask you to do.

That is why we ask finally, that we work together. Build bridges to communities of faith so that we can serve together. The government cannot meet all the needs it faces. Neither, can communities of faith. But together, oh dear future president, together we might become agents of God that create a great society. We might build a country that brings hope to the desperate, security to the endangered, prosperity to the poor and happiness to the downtrodden. Together we might build that great American dream where all people, regardless of race, creed, gender, wealth, or orientation, might pursue life, liberty and happiness.

And in that work, we, as followers of Jesus, pray that all people might find the hope that comes when they enter into a relationship with Almighty God, their creator who made them with dignity and care in order to love and be loved.

Dear future president, lead with love because people matter, and so do you.

Yours truly,

A follower of Jesus.

What are your thoughts about what you would say to the future president about why people matter?