Happy Friday
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed.” Isaiah 54:10. This week I had a chance to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park – which is spectacular. Both the mountains and the oceans make me (and my problems) feel wonderfully small. And they remind me of just how big God is. It is great to hear Him speak through Isaiah and say, “my love and commitment to you are bigger than the mountains.”
Be Thankful!: In previous updates, I’ve talked about journaling in general and my new habit of daily listing two things that I am thankful for – one in general and one specifically focused on Sheri. A recent article suggests that a “gratitude practice” has real benefits. According to research done at UC David Medical School: Keeping a gratitude diary for two weeks lowers both stress, depression and blood pressure. It also reduces feelings of hopelessness.
Who am I? A friend just returned from a three-month sabbatical. When I asked him for his biggest take-away, he said that while he’d gained a lot simply by reminding himself the order of his priorities – i.e., Christ-follower, husband, father, pastor, employee of the church, the real insight had come by realizing how each built on the other. “I can’t be a good employee if I am not a good pastor; I can’t be a good pastor unless I am a good father; I can’t be a good father unless I am a good husband; and I can’t be a good husband unless I am a faithful disciple. Everything I want to do and be grows out of more diligently focusing on Christ.”
Think like a farmer not like a student. In college we learn to cram a semester’s worth of material into our head days before the final exam. Unfortunately, that is not really a life-skill. Those who survive and thrive learn to think like farmers, not college students. And farmers know that if you want to harvest in the fall you have to plant in the spring. What are you planting right now?
Willow: I’ve not yet said anything about Bill Hybels and Willow Creek, but after last weekend’s NYT piece, it feels like I should say something. Am I surprised by Bill’s behavior and duplicity? Yes. Completely? No. I am very sad and very mad, but not very surprised. Why not? 1) I am aware that few people live up to their public image; 2) I’ve been in ministry long enough that I’ve stopped being surprised by sin; 3) I was aware that Bill had a hard time holding onto senior staff (which suggested something wasn’t quite right); and 4) I am aware of the darkness in my own dark heart. I am praying for the Hybels family and for those left picking up the pieces. I have learned a lot from Hybels and Willow – indeed, this week I am finishing this update from Willow’s campus, where I am attending the Global Leadership Summit. But the question I am asking is, how much of the leadership model he promoted is flawed. (More to follow.)
Fiftieth: I was in Colorado this week to officiate at a renewal of fiftieth wedding vows. It was great fun. Renewals can be a gift to children and grandchildren. This one was. As I have mentioned before, it’s one thing for beautiful, star-eyed twenty-somethings to say, “I do”. Those who have been married more than a few weeks know that the couple making the pledge have no idea what they are signing up for. (They not only do not really understand marriage, they hardly know the person they are marrying). It’s another thing for those who have weathered the challenges of five decades to say, “there is no one I’d rather replay my life with than you.”
The Bachelor is 1 for 22. In a move from the sublime to the ridiculous: after 22 seasons on the air, it turns out that only one of the couples matched on The Bachelor are still together. Apparently speed dating in a hot tub seldom leads to fifty year vow renewals.
Quotes Worth ReQuoting:
- Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter. Charles Spurgeon
- Eaglets do not learn how to fly by flying, they learn how to fly by falling. T.D. Jakes.
Prayer Requests:
- One of the REACH initiatives at Christ Church is helping three of our global partners plant churches. At the moment: 1) those mobilizing to plant a church in Sogakope, Ghana (a suburb of Ackra) are selecting the church planter to lead this effort; 2) the leaders of the initiative in Chennai, India are training the team that will launch this fall.
- A second REACH initiative is donating 100,000 volunteer hours into the community. We are on the way of meeting this goal. And we are hoping to take steps forward this Sunday during Serve Your City. The hope is that over 1,000 people will be serving at one of 40 different work sites in Lake County. Please pray for good weather.
- Pray for Willow.
Closing Prayer: Holy Spirit dwell in me, that I may become prayer. Whether I sleep or wake, eat or drink, labour or rest, may the fragrance of prayer rise, without effort, in my heart. Purify my soul and never leave me, so that the movements of my heart and mind may, with voices full of sweetness, sing in secret to God. Amen.
St. Isaac the Syrian (7th Century)