Happy Friday
Tomorrow is September! Mark Twain suggested that the difference between the right word and the “almost right word” is the difference between lightening and lightening bug. Related things could be said about the difference between August 31 and September 1. On the one hand, not that much. On the other, they are miles apart. September is here? September? Are you kidding me?
So Much More Than Sinless: Christians often use the negative, rather chilly and boring word, sinless to describe Jesus. Yes, but hardly! Sinless is lifeless and limiting. It tells us that he was not selfish, cruel or petty. But it does little to describe the one so magnetic that people thronged just to touch his clothes, or so joyful that being with him is compared to hanging out with bridegroom at a wedding.
The State of our Soul: This week I got a glimpse of a survey of 2,000 non-churched Americans. (Non-churched refers to the 150M Americans who have not been to a church in the last six months, other than to attend a wedding or funeral.) Those conducting analysis promise books on what they find. Among their initial insights, several things got my attention: 1) 33% of the unchurched were formerly churched; 2) 54% of them describe themselves as Christians; 3) 50% say they would respond favorably to an invitation back to church – indeed, one-third of them said they expect to be active at church again in the future. As to how they became unchurched in the first place: 1) 1/3 lost trust; 2) 1/3 lost interest; and 3) 1/3 had life-circumstances that made attending harder.
Perspective: It’s not hard to see “the bad”, after all, the dust of death touches everything. The challenge lies first in seeing the good. My decision to actively cultivate gratitude has helped me to see the good. It also draws me back to a journal entry made by Matthew Henry the day after he was mugged. “Let me be thankful, first, because he never robbed me before; second, because although he took my wallet, he did not take my life; third, because although he took all I possessed, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”
Logos: In this three minute video on logos, we learn that they used to represent what companies did, but now they represent “who companies are”. Given that Nike’s swoosh and Apple’s apple are as ubiquitous as the cross, it’s worth pondering that odd statement for a bit. “Who companies are.”
The Class of 2022: Twenty years ago, Beloit College rolled out their first Mindset List, which they developed to remind professors that they were “teaching students not teaching courses” – and the students were changing! Over the years the list has generated lots of buzz. This is the last year with Beloit in charge. They go out as they came in, reminding us of how old we are and how fast the world is changing. Drum roll please: Freshman today… have no memory of 9/11, have never known a time when human beings were not living— not just traveling — in space, and have never known a time when same-sex marriage was not legal somewhere.
Wisdom: The Bible suggests that wisdom is more precious than gold. Pay attention and you realize that it’s also less common! Age, knowledge and experience do not make us wise. Reflection on age, knowledge and experience may lead to wisdom. But reflection is required.
Go Cubs. The only good thing to be said about the fact that it’s September, is that the Cardinals and Brewers are running out of time to catch the Cubbies.
Worth Reading: I whine because my job pulls me in opposite directions. On the one hand I am expected to be thoughtful, prayerful, contemplative and serene – all of which require reflection and quiet. On the other hand, I am also expected to lead a small enterprise – which requires meetings, memos, emails and budgets. I thought my experience was more unique than it is. In this Harvard Business Review article I see that it’s not. I also got some very helpful coaching.
Screens: Several years ago a friend noted that “as soon as a plane lands, everyone under thirty-five starts texting while most over thirty-five start talking on the phone.” Today very few make calls and even those over thirty-five start staring at a screen.
Reading: Speaking of planes and screens, in an article in The Guardian, Maryanne Wolf writes: Skim reading is the new normal, and that’s bad news: “Look around on your next plane trip. The iPad is the new pacifier for babies and toddlers. Younger school-aged children read stories on smartphones; older boys don’t read at all, but hunch over video games. Parents and other passengers read on Kindles or skim a flotilla of email and news feeds. Unbeknownst to most of us, an invisible, game-changing transformation links everyone in this picture: the neuronal circuit that underlies the brain’s ability to read is subtly, rapidly changing—a change with implications for everyone from the pre-reading toddler to the expert adult.”
Prayer Request / Update on REACH: Having done most of the leg work to help our partners plant churches in Istanbul, Chennai and Ghana, we are now focusing on Matthew Homes in North Chicago and a fourth site. Pray for all, in particular, for clarity around the location for site four.
Quotes Worth Requoting:
- How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. Annie Dillard
- It is your character, and your character alone, that will make your life happy or unhappy. John McCain
- One of the results of sin is that everything gets boring. We get tired of everything in life. But God never gets bored by life, he is life. What this means is that there’s no reason to worry that we’ll get bored in eternity. Not because we’ll be tricked or have our wills removed but because we’ll be more alive than ever before. G.K. Chesterton
Closing Prayer: Lord, I seek you with all my heart, with all my strength you have given me. I long to understand that which I believe. You are my only hope; please listen to me. Do not let my weariness lessen my desire to find you, to see your face. You created me in order to find you; you gave me strength to seek you. My strength and my weakness are in your hands: preserve my strength, and help my weakness. Where you have already opened the door, let me come in; where it is shut, open at my knocking. Let me always remember you, love you, meditate upon you, and pray to you, until you restore me to your perfect pattern. Amen. (Augustine)