the hope is in the stories…
South. By Southwest
Friday, the third day of Lent: I’m back home today, having wrapped up my visit at The Upper Room in Nashville Thursday afternoon. We crammed a lot of work into my short visit, and my head is still spinning. It’s going to take a few days to thoroughly process all the details we talked about.
I’m getting going this morning with a quote from an upcoming article I prepared for the United Methodist Florida Annual Conference Newsletter (No, I’m not “scooping” my own work – it’s just a concept I want to use as a jumping off point for today’s post). The quote is a statement made by Florida United Methodist Foundation President Wi-Lee Tan, during an interview for my upcoming story on Africa University.
The hope is in the stories. Ultimately ministry is captured in the stories of lives transformed, of communities transformed, and of societies transformed. It’s about the leaven in the bread. One person can make a difference.
This world map underscores the worldwide reach of Upper Room ministries
STORIES for LUNCH: And so yesterday, over a casual lunch at a Nashville eatery, I listened to the stories that help define my new friends – Tom, Philip, Matthew, John, Andrew, Dusty and Kyle. Two are in their 20′s, three in their 30′s and two in their 60′s.
The context was this ongoing – and critically important – conversation I’m involved in regarding what it means to be a vital, active, Christian man in the Twenty-first Century.
Lunch was set up by Tom Albin, the Dean of the Chapel at The Upper Room. Tom has been gracious enough to host me in his home this week, and we’ve spent several hours talking – like we were old friends – about matters of faith and spirituality. I’d been back at the Upper Room during the morning for some video-taping and he wanted to facilitate some dialog about what’s going on with Christian men.
Most of the stories are too personal to share with you here. But one recurring theme stood out, and that was the crying need in 21st Century North America for men to create safe spaces where they can not only share their stories but also ask hard questions.
ANSWERS: “But what if we don’t know the answers?” one of the young men asked. He’s pulling together a group of ten guys for a start-up group; most of them are “Culturally Christian” but have no active relationship with either God or church.
- “You want to be a group that is defined by its relationship to God’s Word,” I said.
- “I suggest that your focus as a group be the seeking of truth, not answers.”
- “You’re going to discover a more beautiful relationship with God as you develop a deeper relationship to God’s Word.”
- “You’re going to find that you love one-another more to the extent that you are honest and transparent.”
- “And you’re going grow in grace as you begin to put your commitment to follow Jesus into action and live like disciples.”
There are always going to be stories!
ONE STORY: The young man who is starting a group had recently been set free from some destructive patterns that threatened his life, his livelihood and his marriage. The group he’d been in played a huge role in his healing. Then, when he decided to launch a new men’s group, he searched the Internet for resources.
“What kept coming up was your name,” he said, “and your book, GET REAL: a spiritual journey for men.”
So – around four weeks ago – the young man purchased a copy of GET REAL. He then asked his father-in-law if he’d heard anything about it.
“Well, yes;” his father-in-law responded, “that’s one of the books we publish at The Upper Room. In fact, I just invited Derek Maul to come to Nashville for a few days. Would you like to meet him?”
It's always something...
SERENDIPITY: You can’t make this stuff up! One person’s story is all it takes. Ministry is the story of lives transformed. The hope is in the stories.
Hope… Peace… and Promise – DEREK
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:11-13
we simply must tell the story…
Speaking Ash Wednesday at The Upper Room Chapel
Dateline Nashville - Yesterday was a good day. The Ash Wednesday Chapel service went well and I enjoyed the more interactive luncheon session with the Reaching Toward Easter study group. But there is a lot more going on besides my presentations; I’m in the middle of a series of important discussions with my publisher.
The staff at Upper Room Books are working hard to facilitate progress regarding topics such as media interface, communication, accessibility, and how they work with authors. There’s a lot to talk about and there’s a lot on the line.
Here’s the question – and I’d value input from my readers on this point – how does a “niche” publisher with a highly respected name position itself to move with the market when what they’re really good at begins to shift toward the mainstream?
But how can people call on him if they have not believed in him? How can they believe in him if they have not heard his message? How can they hear if no one tells the Good News? – Romans 10:14
Let me explain:
- Upper Room Books has built its reputation on developing “spiritual formation” materials that try very hard to avoid sensationalism, emotionalism, tapping into “trendy” spirituality, or buying into the absolutism and fundamentalism that defines more strident interpretations of Christian faith.
- Upper Room Books tends to keep a low profile. However, as more Christians – and especially young adults – begin to embrace a more thoughtful and less abrasive faith experience, the titles The Upper Room publishes turn out to be exactly what The Church both needs and wants.
Getting the word out
PUBLICITY! But my publisher is consistently out-gunned when it comes to getting the word out. There are precious few resources available to throw at publicity, and the corporate culture around here traditionally leans toward humility and reserve.
- Consequently, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Disciples of Christ, UCC, Cooperative Baptists and a whole host more denominations are buying books that don’t really speak to them and don’t come anywhere near to representing the theology and relational values they espouse in worship and their day-to-day lives.
- And they’re doing it for no other reason than this: they have no idea that Upper Room Books has exactly what they need to grow as Followers of Jesus.
Resources for the church
ETHOS: Don’t misunderstand me; I respect the Upper Room ethos and I’m proud to be part of an organization that is more interested in honoring its core mission than making a pile of money.
But here’s the conundrum… The core mission of The Upper Room will be compromised (is compromised) to the extent that literally millions of people miss the opportunity to utilize such a world-class resource.
The folk around here present a unique and faithful witness to the deliberate and transformational spiritual life, and – I believe – the Upper Room produces the best cataloge of faith-based books currently available in the English-speaking world.
MODERATES TO THE BARRICADES!!! Seriously, folks, this is no time for false modestly. We have to step up and claim the truth that moderate Christians have a strong case to present, a compelling story to share, and an amazing collection of resources to back it up!
“But how can they believe,” Paul writes, “if the have not heard his message…”
Upper Room Books
We need to preach it loud, and we need to put those resources to work to share the Good News.
So what can be done? How can my publisher guard its historic integrity while fulfilling its responsibility to make sure more people have access to these products?
Like I said, there’s a lot to talk about up here in Nashville - DEREK
Ash Wednesday: a shift away from business as usual
The Upper Room Chapel
Tune Town: I’m waking up this morning in Nashville, Tennessee. My publisher flew me in yesterday to do some author-ish stuff for a couple of days. Tom Albin, Dean of the Upper Room Chapel, thought it might be a fine idea to have me speak at the Ash Wednesday service.
It’s always a thrill and a privilege to be asked to bring a few words of encouragement. I seldom feel like I’m teaching anything new so much as putting words to unspoken impulses of heart and spirit, yearnings that are simply looking to find their voice.
And there are so many voices.
So this morning I’m reading from Christ’s conversation with Pilate in John 18. “But as it is,” Jesus said, “My kingdom is not from here….” It’s a phrase Jesus uses more than once during his ministry. ”My kingdom is not from here…”
But as it is – Jesus said – my kingdom is not from here
ashes, ashes....
The point of an Ash Wednesday observance is to enter into the spirit of Christ’s cryptic observation. There’s something about this journey through Lent that’s likely to bring out the, “not from around these parts” assessment from those we might run into. In fact, it should.
Some of you will go through the day with ashes on your forehead or the back of your hand. It can be a little unsettling. But that’s the idea. Ash Wednesday means something.
But what? For me, and this year especially, Ash Wednesday is a call from God to make a shift from “Business as usual” and to experiment more deliberately with Kingdom Life.
What’s the worst that could happen? Oh, people might wonder if we’re “from around here.” Maybe – if we begin to live more deliberately as Kingdom people – we’ll be tagged as “different” or “weird.”
Not from around here!
But you know what? The alternative is looking exactly like we belong in a culture that is teetering on the brink of collapse due to several decades of greed and corruption….
So it would bother you to act in a way that – instead – identified you with Jesus? “But as it is, my Kingdom is not from here.”
Not from around here? Good call, Jesus….
“Fat Tuesday” – so what…?
Lent - it's a journey we all need to take
Note: Today marks the first of the 49 daily readings that comprise my “Reaching Toward Easter” initiative. Each post will open (or close) with a short reference to the day’s meditation. But it’s not necessary to read the book to derive meaning from the post.
Then Jesus said…, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples…”
SHROVE TUESDAY: Today is also known as “Fat Tuesday” on the Gulf Coast. Or, back when I was growing up in the south of England, “Pancake Day.” My mother used to make crepe-style pancakes that we’d soak with fresh-squeezed lemon and sugar. They were sooooooo good and I’d keep eating them for so long as she was willing to keep making them.
I’m quite sure the spiritual meaning of Shrove Tuesday was lost on me at the time. I either didn’t know, or didn’t understand the principle of using up all “the good stuff” in the pantry before beginning the coming season of self-denial. There certainly wasn’t any shortage of good stuff in our kitchen once Lent started. In all honestly I can’t locate the recollection of even an ounce of self-denial in my memory of childhood.
See any self-denial on Wall Street?
CONSUME THIS! And there’s precious little self-denial in the way most of us experience the world today. What’s more likely is self-indulgence, or denying somebody else in favor of more for ourselves. We’re still trying to emerge from a decade or two of a “Grab all you can, when you can” mentality that pretty-much defines the consumer culture. And it isn’t pretty at all, is it…?
The reason I’m beginning this journey to Easter today, essentially one day early, is so that the core idea of Lent will begin to take root. I want us to give ourselves the best chance of waking up tomorrow morning in anticipation that Ash Wednesday really will begin to prepare us to walk with Jesus.
There’s a phrase I’ve been using at just about every speaking engagement I’ve had over the past week or so. It goes like this: “The big deal about Lent is to make sure we arrive at Easter in six-and-a-half weeks having already been somewhere with Jesus,”
I want us to hit our stride, walking with God.
Show me the way...
One more small point: I believe that the evidence is out. Approaching Easter as a “one-off” holy day typically leaves us momentarily gorged, but eventually disappointed; and the way so many of us acquire consumer goods does not even begin to make us happy.
However, tomorrow marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. Isn’t this a great opportunity to start down a new path?
- DEREK
giving thanks, regardless…
Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18)
Marianne and Bill giving report as Rebekah listens
I really can’t think of a more appropriate “Monday morning” scripture selection. It’s another example of the question I posed last week: “Do you have to go scrambling for some useful scripture to custom fit your circumstance…? or is the Word already at hand?” For me, increasingly, The Word is already at hand. Consequently, the stories I’m sharing this morning are attaching themselves to the scripture selection that’s already written on my heart and mind.
I’ll start with this (above) photograph from yesterday’s “Annual General Meeting” at First Presbyterian Church of Brandon (I apologize for the image quality but it was a last moment snap to help me remember). Many congregations dread these meetings because they’re typically full with dismal news, contentious, and loaded with negative statistical reports along with spin and defensiveness from staff.
Reviewing the annual report
Not so at First Brandon. Average weekly attendance (396) showed an increase every month as compared to 2010. Membership (508) posted a small gain. Giving is up despite the economy. “Over-and-above” special mission initiatives added close to another $100,000. Ministry team leaders gave reports that were positive and inspirational.
Then there is the building. We’re all moved in, yes, but the real excitement is the expansion of ministry the space facilitates. Bill Hellman summed up by saying, “Remember the initial quote for cost? Well, we’re all done and we have over $100,000 remaining. Remember how the plan didn’t have enough money to finish out the second story? We were able to do the whole thing and now we’re using it. Remember that the plan didn’t include money to do anything at this end of the fellowship hall – now it’s completely done. Remember… Remember… Remember…?”
Say what? We came in under budget plus we did a bunch of stuff extra? Holy moly!
I’d like to say “Thanks, God.” Plus I believe the whole “pray without ceasing” ethos has had a lot to do with the positive results.
they had to drag in some more seats
BOOK THING: First thing Sunday morning I drove over to Lakeland to speak at First Presbyterian over there; two or three adult Sunday school classes are studying “Reaching Toward Easter.” So they asked me to do a “kick-off” talk.
Well, they expected around 75 participants. By this weekend they had sold 100 books. Then Sunday well over 100 people showed up to hear me speak. The church plans to order more copies.
MORNING: Today the skies over Valrico were partly cloudy in the early A.M. and the air temperature hovered just below 60. I enjoyed the way the cool morning light worked its way over the eastern horizon and onto the underside of the low clouds before spilling over onto my street.
Sometimes I get a little carried away when I'm speaking!
I know it’s easier to give thanks when life is so positive. But look at the instruction at the end of the Thessalonians admonition. It says that giving thanks is the will of God for me. That sounds like a commandment, and one with no less direct authority than the original Ten.
Be thankful. In every circumstance that we encounter. It is the will of God for us!
In thanks – DEREK
Sunday = a time to listen, to learn… and – always – to search
Note: I understand that a lot of folk are still reading – or looking for – Friday’s post on cancer and hope. If you missed it, click on “recent posts” to the right, then go to “February 2012.” Once you’re there, scroll back a day or two and take a look at “cancer, hospice, and a conversation about life.” Apparently it’s been a big help for many people.
Today I plan on sharing a more straightforward story:
Good Lebanese Coffee
Learning Curve: I was on my way back from my brother’s Thursday when I stopped by to see my friend Charles Willard at Sun City. Charles and I teach an adult education class together at church. It was time to get our heads together about the Lent study and beyond.
I’m so blessed to teach with Charles; he’s a bona-fide scholar. Charles is a Presbyterian minister, held the position of Librarian at Princeton Theological Seminary and then Harvard Divinity School, and taught New Testament studies at both institutions. Now he helps higher learning theological institutions gain or keep their accreditation.
RINGER: Teaching with Charles is like having Roger Federer as your doubles partner in the neighborhood tennis tournament, or bringing in Babe Ruth to hit clean-up for the church softball team. All I can say is, if you have the chance to attend our class but you don’t… you really are missing some good stuff!
One of my friend’s ministry gigs several years ago was mission work in Lebanon. It was there that he learned how to prepare proper Middle Eastern coffee. Like tea in England, the service of coffee is an act of hospitality. When you walk into someone’s home and the first thing they do is to serve you, that is a very good thing.
Listen… Search… Learn: So we shared coffee and we talked. We talked about a wide range of topics, but always circling back to the great opportunity we have to share the faith journey of those in our class and to search the scriptures together for guidance and truth.
They were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:11 – Amplified Bible)
The phrase “search the scriptures” strikes me as terribly important in our intention to be everyday disciples. And I love the phrase “with inclination of mind and eagerness.” The concept reminds me of an ordination examination I once sat in on. The preacher-to-be opened the Bible, announced the scripture lesson, and then used the phrase, “Listen for the Word of God.”
More than one minister present took issue with the phrase, suggesting that it suggested doubt that the Word of God was going to be heard. “You should say, ‘Listen TO the Word of God,” one rather pompous pastor lectured. “Tell me, do you believe the Bible is God’s Word… or not?”
Would we listen?
PREPARED & TUNED IN: But I think the young would-be-preacher was correct. God could be standing on the communion table, reading scripture through a megaphone and we would still miss God’s Word unless we were properly prepared and tuned in.
We have to search the scriptures, and every time we do we find something new, something different, something powerfully and specifically for us.
That’s one of the problems, I believe, with the literalist viewpoints that take the searching and the understanding and the listening and the contemplation out of scripture. I believe ready-made answers and tidy explanations are the last thing dynamic faith needs in these troubled times.
So we continue to search… and we continue to listen… and we continue to ask God to be in charge of the process… and so we learn – DEREK
reach, love, laugh
Every picture tells a story... (photos of David from Naomi Campbell)
REACH: I have decided this morning that it’s time for a few – admittedly gratuitous – pictures and comments from the Connecticut grandson connection.
In fact, we’ll ramp this post up to “Grandaddy Letters” status. It’s been a while since I’ve written a specific communiqué for the inimitable David Henry Campbell and a couple of these photographs have jogged my consciousness in the right direction.
“Dear David, this is your grandaddy Derek. I’ll try to be brief…..” I can’t help but smile when I look at this picture with the toy station. Here you are, just four months old, and you’re reaching, grabbing, pushing buttons, doing your best to make something happen.
You come from a family that believes not only that we can all make a difference, but believes that we were placed here in this world specifically to make a difference. Making a difference is our job, our purpose…. You’re already discovering that – much as you enjoy watching your mama play with your toys (and one day you’re probably going to have to hide them from her!) – it’s more fun to get involved yourself.
Way to go, David! Keep reaching out. This is just the beginning.
Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. (Psalm 127)
That's right. I love your grandma too!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE: It does my heart good to see that you love your grandma! Know what? I love your grandma too. She’s awesome in so many ways and I pray that you have the opportunity to know her more and more as you grow. However, now that you’ve opened this conversation about love, I want you to know a couple of important truths on the subject.
First, the most foundational truth about love has to do with faithfulness and commitment. Love has more to do with choice than it does emotion. In fact, the best emotions emerge in response to faithfulness. So understand this: We are your grandparents and we choose to love; you can count on that love 100% and for every day of your life.
The other thing I want you to know about love is this: LOVE DARES. Too many people live without coming remotely close to their potential, and more people still fail to love at anywhere near capacity. And here’s the thing about capacity – it increases the closer we get to full. So I want you to be extravagant when it comes to love. We weren’t created to hold back, we were created to live – and to love – in abundance.
"Evidently you're a funny little dude"
LAUGH: Finally, I’m so pleased to see you laughing (evidently you’re a funny little dude). Seriously, there’s simply not enough laughter in the world today. So learn to love (we’ll be talking about this a lot over the years), and please-oh-please become a world-class virtuoso of mirth too.
People who learn to laugh (at themselves, with others, in response to difficulty…) are not only happier, but they make the people around them happy and at peace.
Laughter is a lot like love in this respect, and this word goes with the idea of “reaching-out” that we began with. We were placed in this world, dear David, with the expectation that we would live to capacity, love with faithfulness and generosity, and bring joy and meaning via our passion for life and our inner peace.
- Live to capacity;
- Love with faithfulness and generosity;
- Bring joy and meaning via our passion for life and our inner peace.
reach, love, laugh
Love, and laughter, and reaching out are huge elements of the path to inner peace. So keep it up, kid – we’re already so proud of you and we are brimming with excitement for your future.
In love, and because of love – GRANDADDY DEREK
(for more “Grandaddy Letters” posts, click on “Grandaddy Letters” in the key words….)
cancer, hospice, and a conversation about life
The Sunshine Skyway, Thursday
IMPERATIVE: I’m backed up with work this week. But first I have to write this post. My brother Geoff has run into a few more negative results in his ongoing cancer journey. So I headed down to North Bradenton for a lunch time visit and we chatted for a couple of hours. Our conversation has been working on my heart and mind and I’m having a hard time thinking it all through. So I guess I’ll take my own best advice and simply put one word in front of the other and see where it leads.
WATERS OF ETERNITY: But first I had an errand to run in Tampa. Then I continued on down I-275 and over the Sunshine Skyway. Just before the big rise I pulled over to the waterside park to catch my breath and take in the view. I immediately thought about “passage,” and “crossing,” and the way the waters of eternity lap so closely against the margins of our lives. Mortality placed itself firmly in the front of my consciousness.
Getting over the hump...
When I got back in my car I opened the roof and the windows to let the fresh air breeze through. I wanted to feel liberated – not restricted – on my way over. I didn’t think that I was driving my vehicle across a metaphor so much as breathing in a little understanding. We are more connected to eternity than we think, most of the time.
CANCER: I’m going to share some thoughts from my conversation with Geoff, and I want you all to know why. Before I left we talked about confidentiality, and medical privacy, and the limits of public information. But my brother is insistent that I help to tell his story.
The reason why – Geoff said – is that his experiences, what he is learning through this struggle, and what God is teaching him about abundance and “living like we mean it”, are his gift to all of us. This conversation about life and eternity is appropriate wherever we might be on our journey toward life beyond life.
“I am an open book, Derek,” Geoff said, “and I want you to help turn the pages.”
Geoff behind a table-full of medicines
FIRST THE HARD NEWS: The change for Geoff over the past two weeks is threefold -
- First, the liver cancer has proliferated – is proliferating.
- Second, Hospice has been prescribed in order to help manage pain and coordinate care.
- Third – and this came out just yesterday – he now has bone cancer too.
It had only been a few days since my last visit, but I was taken by the visible evidence that the reach of the disease has shifted. Pain, difficulty in movement, loss of appetite. It was all revealed in the way he got up from his chair to greet me.
IMPORTANT CONVERSATION: We talked a lot about the meaning of life. We talked about vitality, and how it is a much bigger concept than physical fitness. We talked about fullness, about what Paul referred to as, “The Life that is truly Life.” Here’s the passage:
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life… 1 Tim 6:17-19
It turns out that my brother truly is rich.
And we talked about healing, and about medical interventions when the end of our physical life is right there, lapping up against us like the ocean against the shore.
“I’m entirely open to the idea of God healing me physically,” Geoff said. “But that would be God’s decision. Believing that God can heal doesn’t change the fact that I need to make reasonable decisions about my care that work in my best interests, given the continued progress of the disease.”
strong cords that hold us together
CLICHÉS THAT RING FALSE: Let’s make sure we understand what’s true here. The language we use to talk about these kinds of issues turns out to be critically important.
- First cliché: Many people say they don’t want to talk about Hospice because, “Hospice helps people die.” But it’s actually more true to say that, “Hospice is helping my brother to live!”
Effective pain management and loving care typically increase both the quality and the length of life.
- Second cliché: Another common red herring idea is, “We don’t want you to give up…” Believe me, the choice to forego aggressive interventions in favor of Hospice care is not “giving up.” Hospice care happens to be a reasonable treatment choice.
Let me repeat that. When a treatment choice is palliative rather than invasive, the team of care-givers is making a reasonable medical decision. THEY ARE NOT GIVING UP!
If a Hospice-referred cancer patient is driven to aggressive treatments they are uncomfortable with because someone else is unable to handle a difficult diagnosis, the following scenarios tend to play out:
- First, the treatment will likely make the patient feel worse and result in additional suffering.
- Second, the patient’s chosen path will have been compromised and the rhythm of their life compromised.
Looking back...
SACRED RHYTHM: This is a crucial point. The path to the passageway from time to eternity is typically a long one. Finding peace at the latter stages of the journey is critically important. Coming to terms with the fact that this life is temporary is an important element in understanding that the fullness of life transcends time and space.
The fullness of life transcends time and space.
Geoff with his daughter, Hannah, and Granddaughter, Haley (Thanksgiving 2011 - photo by Alisia Hess Thompson)
Geoff and I talked about the fact that his life has found its rhythm. His confidence and his peace are so much more real than the pain and the breaking down of his increasingly fragile body.
That’s enough for this post. There will be more, because my brother is courageous enough and generous enough to think about and to love the rest of us, and to talk about the end of his life without fear.
57 years into the conversation… and now he’s a pretty good theologian!
Peace – DEREK
logistics, statistics and ballistics
check out the "follow" button (above right)
Item # 1 – logistics: We all know I’m not much of a “geek;” I’m not ashamed to admit that technology is always somewhat of a challenge. However, in a recent “aha” moment, I discovered how useful the “Follow blog by email” button can be. Check it out, especially the “manage” feature that allows readers to customize how – and how often – you receive new posts.
Help me have happy stats!
Item # 2 – statistics: Yes, I’m aware that “statistics” rhymes with “logistics.” I swear it was an accident. 2012 has seen a significant up-tick of interest in this blog. Currently, combining numbers from the three sites where these musings post, around 300 people stop by each day. With your help, I’d like to see that number top 500. Please consider sharing this blog address with your friends, forwarding links to posts you have found helpful, and inviting others to check in from time to time. “Word of mouth” is still the best possible way to get a message out, so I’m relying on each one of you.
Item # 3 – ballistics: Okay, I admit it, this time I succumbed to the temptation to add another rhyming word. But it actually works. You see I really am thinking about the “dynamics of projectiles” here. We all launch ourselves at the beginning of each day. Now I’m not talking about “going ballistic,” (which I’m sure we all do on occasion) but our “flight characteristics” as we head out into our lives.
Setting the day in motion...
So here’s the question. How, as a projectile into this new day, do we launch successfully? What are the characteristic qualities of our flight path? Are we erratic, or consistent? Is there any purposeful sense of direction, or are we haphazard and – to use a related idea – aimless?
Solutions: I’d like to suggest two short-term interventions and one long-term commitment:
- Set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier for the next four days. Then, once you are up, take a 15-minute walk.
- Spend the first one minute (just one) in prayer. Simply repeat the following sentence several times: “Lord God, please be with me today and bless my family with your love.” Take the remainder of your short walk in silence. Then complete the walk with the same prayer.
THEN, beginning next Tuesday (February 21, Shrove Tuesday), I’d like to invite each one of you to take the 49-day Reaching Toward Easter Lenten journey with me. There are three ways you could do this:
- Read along with me in my new book, Reaching Toward Easter. Find it at – Amazon or The Upper Room
- Participate in the really cool “On-line Lenten Retreat” The Upper Room has organized. You can find details at – Lenten Retreat
- Log in to this blog every day and pick up a different perspective. Invite some friends to join you.
What ever you chose, please do something intentional that will launch each day in the right direction. Life always has the potential to be transformational. Don’t miss the opportunity.
Petra - stepping out of the routine
One more thing, and it’s my guarantee. If you take the 49-day challenge, reading and praying with consistency and purpose, I am 100% confident that you will be a transformed person by the time Easter Sunday rolls around.
Do you dare?
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” – Luke 24
Peace, and Promise – DEREK
Downton Abbey and our tendency to struggle against life
Our Asbury Seminary "EO" tour group with the Pyramids, January 2012
NORMAL? This morning I have been sorting through some of the memorabilia from our Middle East trip. It was a month ago today that we returned to “life as normal.”
But it’s not life as normal. Life as normal would assume that nothing has changed. But real life is defined by change – that’s what makes it life. Trying to “keep things the same” is actually a struggle against life.
PBS series
Downton Abbey: This idea is beautifully illustrated in the new PBS Masterpiece Theater series, Downton Abbey. We’ve missed a few episodes, but have kept up with the storyline. This past Sunday, with WWI behind them, Lord Robert Crawley tells anyone who’s willing to listen that he wants life to return to “The way things were before….”
Beyond the day-to-day drama that plays out in the lives of the characters, the overarching conflict that drives the Downton Abbey narrative is the societal shift – away from the Victorian/Edwardian Age and into the “Modern World.” It’s change with the inevitability of continents shifting.
The change is incremental at first, barely registering yet irrepressible, an undercurrent of motion that builds and builds until cracks start to appear and foundations begin to crumble. There’s no putting things back together again after that. But the commitment to such studied inertia is a value that drives the dreams and the policies of people like Lord Crawley.
My brother, Geoff, singing with his daughter, Hannah, at a recent family gathering
URGENCY: My life should not, cannot, be the same as it was a couple of months ago – especially having launched 2012 in the manner that we did. This week one of my friends said that he has observed a real shift in Rebekah’s preaching in terms of urgency. I pray that the same evidence is plain to see in my work too.
There are other factors at play, of course. There are life-and-death struggles, critical uncertainties regarding my newspaper writing, constant questions as to what’s next for me professionally, and so many variables in the mix when it comes to plans for the future.
LIFE = CHANGE: But life, the irrepressible urgency of being, must not only be ready for change but ofttimes at the steering end of the equation.
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. – Luke 6:38
The past is interesting... but life necessarily involves change
God’s faithfulness is a constant, something that will never change. But, and in the truth of that unchanging promise, our challenge is to live with urgency and integrity. “The way things were before…” is always the wrong direction! Because the promise of Jesus is the New and Living Way.
If we need to do anything to share the Good News of love and redemption in this world, then what we need to do is to demonstrate that we are ALIVE! “Life and light to all [God] brings,” the carol reads, “risen with healing in his wings…”
Life… and light - A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over - DEREK
