Happy Friday,
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Paul, 2 Corinthians 4
Given that little has felt light or fleeting about recent events, it’s imperative that we remind ourselves of God’s love and our promised future. A Gospel perspective not only empowers us to love and care for others, it brings a sense of peace. Remember, eternity changes everything.
Reign Down Holy Spirit: College pastors are reporting an unexpected spike in student participation in campus fellowships this fall. Given all the buzz about dechurching, deconstructing, the rise of “nones,” and Gen Z being “the least religious ever,” this has been a surprise. Some tie it to the Asbury Revival, some to the loneliness epidemic. Whatever the cause, apparently, “Gen Z is hungry for the very things the empty, desiccated temples of secularism, consumerism, and global digital media cannot provide but which Jesus can.”
How Dare They!: I’ve taken some pleasure in the reports about ethics professors at Harvard and Duke falsifying their data. The irony of people cheating in their reports about people cheating is too rich not to highlight. Thankfully, as a pastor, I can mock them from my privileged perch of perfection. No one in the church has ever been a hypocrite. Certainly not pastors. Certainly not me.
I Was Unlikely to Win: While I am being humble and transparent, I should admit that I probably would not have beaten Kelvin Kiptum in last weekend’s Chicago Marathon even if I had raced. Because the organizers continue to hold the event on Sunday morning — during the two hours a week that I work — the hoped-for head-to-head between Kiptum and me did not happen. However, given that he shaved thirty seconds off the world record — averaging 4:36 per mile — I’m willing to admit that Kiptum probably would have won even if I did compete. (I do continue my appeal to the organizers of the marathon to hold it on a Saturday.)
WOTW: I am not recognizing accidental nonsense or holiday from history as Word of the Week nominees, dismissing the first because I believe some of today’s chaos is “willingly and knowingly” irrational and the second because it’s been quite a while since we were on a geopolitical holiday. I am acknowledging the nomination of VUCA, the Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus coined acronym that stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. After all, this has been a very VUCA week. But given that I selected it three years ago, this week’s honors go to self-censor. High School students should note self-censoring is now a prerequisite for many students at many schools.
Nominations Being Accepted: BTW, so much was unraveling this week that I started collecting metaphors for our broken world. If you are also having one of those weeks, feel free to use any of the following: East of Eden. The Kingdom of Noise. Our Culture of Chaos. Our Anxious Age. This Mad Max Dystopia. (And if you have others, please send them my way. Thanks.)
IS2M: 1) That it’s been a long time since RR said, “It’s morning again in America,” Bush 41 wanted us to be a “kinder, gentler nation,” Bill Clinton “felt our pain,” and Bush 43 ran as a “compassionate conservative;” 2) The anecdote to cynicism is found in Matthew 18:2; we need to become like children; 3) More people need to realize that the call to “believe in God” is not a call to agree He exists but a call to act as if He does; 4) In a world where people check their smartphones 25x a day, they could check their Bibles at least once or twice; and 5) The Hungarian scientist who recently won the Nobel prize for bucking settled science should remind us that “trusting the science” means trusting the scientific method not walking lock-step with conventional wisdom.
Disruptive: When asked what a pastor’s primary assignments are, the late Eugene Peterson said: to teach people to prayand toprepare them to die. I suspect I am failing at both.
Think Local: Since 2005, 2,200 local newspapers have folded. Among the deleterious effects this is having — i.e., less transparency in local government and more focus on national and international events — it has led to a loss of community awareness and identity. Let me suggest you fight back: host a block party, attend a HS football game, or write a thank you to a local official. If you know the names of more world leaders than you do neighbors, you’re doing something wrong.
Without Comment: 1) Given growing interest, the University of Exeter will begin offering a postgraduate degree in witchcraft and the occult; 2) In September the US economy added 336K jobs, nearly double the number expected; 3) Since 2012, 35 million people — i.e., 10% of the US population — has moved, more from blue states to red than the other way around; 4) According to Nicolas Eberstadt, 50% of Americans now get some sort of government subsidy.
Resources: Click here to listen to last week’s sermon on Exodus 6, which explores the two big misunderstandings people hold about freedom. Click here for the podcast where I field questions about the Book of Exodus.
Closing Prayer: My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen (Thomas Merton, 1915-1968)