The Novel Reader’s Error

You know a few things… you know that the end will be good.

You can see how things are being put in place – just exactly so – so that SOMETHING is going to be reaped.   Stones in the river ahead of you that you’re crossing.   A step, then another… but you can’t see very far.  What lies ahead?  How far is the other side?

The temptation is to see those bits as pieces of a puzzle, and to try to figure out what is missing.  What is to be seen.   To figure out the next thing that will happen, the next step, so as to prepare oneself.

You want.  Oh, you want.  You want the things you tell everyone about, and the things that you don’t.  (The things that you tell, less so).

And you forget.

You’re not just piecing your puzzle.  In fact, you’re not just crossing your river a stone at a time.

You’re in a dance.  A dance with every other person in the universe, and you’re not the star of the show.  Or the not-star, for that matter.

You want to know, so that you can see where to put your foot next – but you’re not competent to have that information.  You would stop before you performed the grande’ jete’ – not thinking yourself able to leap so far.   Only your Creator knows your abilities and your limitations, how the wind of someone else’s passing will lift you higher or when to bow your head so that you will slip out of the way.

It’s not just that faith is a virtue, it’s that you can’t give yourself fully to the dance without it… and don’t you want to dance?

Being Out as a Christian

Are you out as a Christian?

We’re in a weird, weird place in America.   We have total freedom of religion, most of the people in our country are nominally Christian – and yet we feel uncomfortable being out as serious in our faith.

There are reasons for that.   There’s a public relations campaign going on to cast serious Christians of whatever stripe as ugly, bigoted, ignorant, or all of the above.   I mean, I get you.  Who wants to be tarred with that mess?  Who wants to have to explain the actions of someone you don’t actually agree with?   Who wants to be held accountable for some member of the family who was a total doof?  It’s not fun.

But if we hide quietly in the corners, then the only Christians that the world will know are ones who put their feet in their mouths.  (And let’s not even talk about the intentional way this is being manipulated, it gives me sadness).

If we want our neighbors to think of Christianity as good, we have to be good.  We have to be on our A game – and we have to be OUT.  We have to be representing.   We have to take a little of that flak, and be ready to explain our beliefs in a calm and rational manner.

Social media re-posts won’t do.  Memes?  No.   You have to live it.   No yelling, folks.

1 Peter 2:12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

You have to live it, so that when your friends and neighbors hear about “those ugly Christians” they’re challenged by the fact that they know you.   And you’re not ugly.   In fact, you’re loving.   You love the brethren, you love outsiders.   Yeah, you have weird rules, but you actually live them out.   And if they ask you about those weird rules, you can explain the why.  Politely.

1 Peter 3:¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, ¹⁵ but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; ¹⁶ and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

Probably it’s getting to be lions time again.   Okay.  Whatever.  If so, we’ve fought and won that battle before.   How?   By standing firm.   By identifying ourselves with Jesus, and not letting anyone or anything take us away from Him.

Don’t be afraid for others to know who you are.

 

New Pastor, New Emphasis

It was prophetic that the last book that Pastor Mike lead us through was Joshua.   Even as we got well into the book, his Caleb and Joshua (pastors Dan and Abel) had to hold up his arms by preaching for him as his health began to fail.   Pastor Mike was a Moses.  Not someone you could believe was up to leading a flock – but he did, and brought it health and increase.

It’s been a month since he died.   A good man.  A good life.   But … the sheep need a shepherd.

And now we have Pastor Dan as our new head pastor.  https://www.calvaryoceanside.org/dan-leitz

And things will change.   And people will leave.  And people will come in.  And the church will change.

And that’s okay.

Our city is blessed with several excellent churches.  I don’t begrudge them a few congregants as things settle out.   When you get a new pastor, you get new priorities, new ways of doing things.  And that annoys folks.  Whatever.  As long as you’re in a Bible believing, Bible living church that pushes you to grow in the faith?  I don’t care where you go.

Pastor Ralph (before Mike) had an emphasis on Loving the Lost – we had numerous  recovery ministries when he was the pastor, and we brought in a lot of folks that “didn’t look like” they’d be your typical Christians.    You want sold out for Christ?  “She was forgiven much, so she loves much” is applicable to those folks.

Pastor Mike worked hard to equip the saints.   We were trained up right.  And the love in our church?  Seriously.  I think you can get a love high by touching the walls.  He was steeped in the love of God, and he taught us how that was done, in action.

Pastor Dan is in love with the gospel, and with evangelism.  I can feel the altar calls getting more frequent as I sit here… and HOORAY.  I was raised with regular altar calls.   And yelling.  He exhorts pretty hard.  So?  I was raised Baptist.  If you don’t yell, do you even care?

I was rooting for Pastor Dan just as hard as I was rooting for Pastor Mike back in the day.   He’s going to be an amazing pastor, and I’m so happy that we have a good man to lead us as we take territory for our Lord.

Oh, and YES.  I know how much I’m blessed with my church.   😉

Boundaries, a book review

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of this book… “Boundaries” by Henry Cloud.

Now raise your hand if you’ve not been bothered to read it, because you figured it was the standard bit of Christian self-help puff.

Yeah.  Okay, the latter was me.  And then after the third person I knew talked about how awesome it was, I figured, well… let’s have a read.

Will it change my life?  No.  Because I’m already all about boundaries.  It helped me with my ongoing project of communicating more clearly, so that’s good.  But OY.  I want to get this book in the hands of as many people as possible.

Why?  Because the lack of boundaries is a major problem for about 70% of the people I know, in one direction or the other.  I have *been* that person, and it took some nastiness to get that rooted out of my psyche.   Now I’m more “let your yes be yes and your no be no” even while I inwardly writhe because I’d really rather say “yes” all the time.

What it is:  300 pages of dissection of problem/instructions on change.  Brutally honest.

What it is not:  Fluffy and short and easy.

If you want guilt to stop working on you?  Get this book.

If you want to know why people in your life act the way they do?  Get this book.

It’s a good read.  Very Christian, but useful for non-Christians too.

Recommend.