Let me be more specific; life is hard if you want to live it. NOT living life is easy. Just grab the remote, game controller, magazine, drink, or whatever other escape device you prefer and… cease. Stop engaging. Stop trying. Just vegetate. You have no idea how attractive that sounds to me at times.
The big lesson I’ve learned over the years is that living, REALLY living, is difficult.
Want a great marriage? WORK for it! Read books, attend conferences, talk to each other.
Want to raise great kids? Put your back into it! Take parenting classes, read, spend time with your kids. For Pete’s sake your hobbies can wait!
Want to be in better shape? Complaining about being fat won’t get you there. Get up earlier and hit the gym. It’s a pain. It’s a struggle. It can be a total drag but it is so worth it!
Almost two years ago I started my own business. I can’t even tell you how many times I wanted to give up. It wasn’t unusual to go for weeks without work. IT WAS SO HARD! But you know what? It was totally worth it! If I would have taken the easy way, I would not be nearly as happy as I am today.
As I move into the next big phase of my life (planting a church) I’m acutely aware that it’s going to be one of the most difficult challenges I’ve ever undertaken, but I also know it’s going to be worth it. Lives are going to be changed, eternities decided, and needs met. I’m confident that it will be worth it and, five years from now, I’ll be glad I decided to do the hard thing.
So what about you? What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done? Was it worth it?
It’s been a year and a half since we began considering our next step. We’ve prayed, thought, been to conferences, taken assessments, sought wise advice, and waited patiently (and sometimes not-so-patiently) for God to speak to us. We’re so excited to finally go public with it! We’re planting a church!
A little history
In August of 2009 the ministry I was working for had to release half of its staff for financial reasons. I loved my job there and continued to travel, speak, and lead prayer events even after I left the prayer center.
When I was faced with the task of deciding what to do next with my life, I thought I’d tackle the process from a different angle. Instead of going into panic mode and getting another church or ministry staff job, I chose to wait. I started a business so that I could have a measure of flexibility and still pay the bills. I also did something I’d never done before when making a major life decision. I sat down with my wife and children and told them that we were all going to pray and make this decision together; that we would let God lead all of us instead of simply moving ahead with my own big ideas and expecting the family to go with it.
I knew it was going to take time and I knew It would be difficult, but I chose to wait until we all heard from God (including my 7 year old).
A Ridiculous Idea
Shortly after our family meeting, I got together with my pastor to ask for prayer for our situation. During our conversation, he asked me how I felt about church planting. I laughed and said something about that being the LAST thing I wanted to do.
I had already been down that road in Ireland and in the U.S.. It was grueling, frustrating, and unfruitful. I didn’t know at the time that there is some really good church planting resources out there and organizations that offer terrific support.
My pastor asked me to pray about it and he sent my wife and me to a conference for those just thinking about church planting (I didn’t know there were conferences like that).
After months of praying, people began making comments to me like, “I sure wish someone would plant a Vineyard Church in our community.” and “I would so be there if a Vineyard started here.” A friend of mine, who had no idea that church planting was even an option for me, had a vision of me starting a church.
Believe it or not, I was still resisting the idea until…
A Powerful Confirmation
My wife came to me and said, “I think we’re suppose to plant that church.”
“I’m not so sure of that.”, I’d say.
This went on for months! Then one day, I was working in my office. It was a small room right off of the play room. I could hear my three boys talking enthusiastically about something and I listened in. They were talking about starting a church! They took turns talking about what kind of childrens’ ministry it would have and what the youth group would be like. They were totally on board and I was following close behind them.
Just a few days later, my wife and I attended another church planters conference. This time, the national church planting director approached us out of the blue and invited us to dinner. He spoke a powerful word into our lives and I was sold. I knew it was what we were supposed to do!
A Bright Future
So here we are! We went public with the plant during Sunday service this week. We have a great pastor who is amazingly supportive (I love the fact that we have a mother church). We’re assembling a launch team and we’ll have our first church service in the fall.
We don’t have a location yet, but we know we’ll be on the west side of Moline or the East side of Rock Island.
We have a long way to go, but we have this AMAZING God who called us to it and is faithful to do His part in this lofty venture!
Please consider partnering with us with your prayers. We need people who will lift us before God’s throne regularly. The task is great, but He is greater still!
Well today is Festivus! Since it’s a time for the airing of grievances, I thought I’d share this with you. I wrote this one a while back on one of my “Christians ruin everything” days. I hope you like it…
Well, Christmas is almost here. Kinda…
Recently, some close relatives of mine decided they weren’t going to be celebrating Christmas any more. Many of the traditions we observe around this holiday were actually borrowed from pagan celebration rituals, such as the tree, the garland, yule log, and so forth. The Mesopotamians worshiped their god Marduk. The Persians had Sacaea. And the Romans celebrated Saturnalia. A few hundred years after the time of Christ, Christians hijacked this time of year to celebrate the birth of Jesus.Quite a strategic move, in my opinion. Everyone’s whooping it up and having a great time. Why not make a major, worldwide cultural shift? Not an easy task and definitely one for the win column if you ask me. Just think, if we didn’t have Christmas, human sacrifices might still be made to Marduk!
It’s unfortunate that, out of something I can only describe as theological exclusivism, so many believers seek to destroy excellent things by trying to dig up what was before. “Celebrating the birth of our Savior and the hope of mankind? PAGAN! Don’t you know that the Romans worshiped Saturn?!!” In the 1600s, the Puritans actually had Christmas banned for a few years. Apparently people were partying too hard and it was time to put the kibosh on all that tomfoolery. One person I spoke to actually used the Puritan ban as a reason for not celebrating this year. What I want to know is, what does this constant probing and criticizing do for a person? Does it make them feel like they’ve one-upped the rest of the Body of Christ? Does it make them feel closer to God? I was listening to one woman rant about how she can’t stand to listen to modern worship music because the words “I” and “me” were used too often and it wasn’t “God-centered” enough. I thought to myself, “Hmmmm…Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see.” You’re right lady. The older songs don’t use “I and me” at all… Let’s just say, I find it hard to see the life abundantly Jesus spoke about in a brand of Christianity that spends so much energy on “exposing the wrong” in everyone elses faith practices.
Maybe I just tend to cling too tightly to Philippians 4:8, “…Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Aren’t those things true of Christmas? Families come together, we bless each other with gifts, we feast together, we reflect on the birth of Christ and how he’s changed our lives. Those sound like some pretty lovely and excellent things to me! After all, it was God who invented holidays. He even made it mandatory for the children of Israel to take time out to feast and celebrate to help them always remember what He had done for them. Isn’t that what Christmas is about? Always remembering the awesome gift that is Jesus?
I wasn’t there in the 300’s when the Pope established December 25th as the day to remember Christ’s birth. I’ve never been to a Winter Solstice, and I’ve never yelled “Jo, Saturnalia”. All that I’ve ever known is the Jesus’ birthday Christmas. It doesn’t matter to me whether he was born in December, March, or February for that matter. All that I know is that a great appreciation swells up in me, this time of year, for the one who shed his deity, laid down his rights, and came to earth as a baby. Luke chapter 2 still moves me to tears, and I love to see the look in my sons eyes as I read it to them on Christmas morning.
As for me, I choose to celebrate. If your special insight and elevated ability to decode the history of this holiday keeps you from being with family members, exchanging gifts, and singing songs of celebration, then…happy Festivus. Enjoy the airing of grievances.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Christmas is almost here and my kids are exploding with anticipation!
I totally love their enthusiasm! They go around the house singing Christmas carols, talking about what Christmas day is going to be like, even dancing! It’s powerfully cute and it reminds me of myself at 7 years old.
The other day one of my boys came up to me and gave me a hug. While he was hugging me, I felt something wet on my face. I looked up to see that he was crying.
“Why are you crying?” I asked
“I just love you so much at Christmas time.” He said. I’m not sure why the fact that it’s Christmas time moved him to tears when he loved on me but I almost wept myself.
I have to admit, I’ve been thinking an awful lot how I wish I felt the same way. Instead of anticipation, I tend to just go through the motions. Christmas can feel like so many additions to my task list, instead of a wonderful celebration.
All of this eager expectation that my children are experiencing reminds me of a very important time in my life.
I was in my late teens and I was soaking up God like a sponge. I was reading through the Bible for the first time, attending church every time the doors were open, and serving in the youth ministry.
I remember the anticipation I would feel as I pulled into the parking lot of our fellowship. I could hear the music coming from inside as I walked through the parking lot. My pace would quicken and my heart would beat harder while I stepped through the doors. I just knew I was going to encounter God there, and I did!
I spent many nights crying out to God for his touch on my life. I prayed so hard for Him to use me. I also shed countless tears as I thought about how much He loved me and I did my best to express how much I loved Him in return.
Much like Christmas, I tend to lose my faith anticipation a lot these days. I don’t run from the car to the church doors expecting a touch from Jesus, I often see many of my faith practices as things to check off a task list, and I can’t remember the last time I wept at the thought of His amazing love.
It’s no wonder I pray the words of Keith Green’s song “My Eyes are Dry” so often.
My eyes are dry. My faith is old.
My heart is hard. Prayers are cold.
What can be done for an old heart like mine?
Soften it up with oil and wine.
The oil is you; your Spirit of love.
Please wash me anew in the wine of your blood.
Just as my kids anticipate Christmas, I long to anticipate intimacy with the Father in my life. THAT’S what I want for Christmas! Anticipation. Expectancy! A hunger for Jesus that supersedes regimen, fatigue, and whatever else the miles have left encrusted on the wheel wells of this aging hot rod.
That’s my prayer for you and for me; that we would be granted the gift of anticipation. That we would approach our faith like kids on Christmas eve. That we would get our hopes up, that our pulses would quicken when we walk into a prayer meeting, and that we would cry tears of gratitude when we worship.
In my last post I issued a challenge to get rid of some of the “stuff” that clutters our homes and our lives; to travel lite so that, when God calls, we can be available and not be weighed down by possessions we don’t need.
I called the challenge “Down to One” (D21) and the idea is to take things you have several boxes of, and narrow those things down to only one box.
My first self-challenge is an unusual one. I have several boxes of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). I started stocking up on them a while back because they make great camping food. They’re also convenient when the power goes out for more than a day. All you have to do is add water, wait for them to warm up, and eat them. They’re not too bad either.
Well, I haven’t camped in forever and it’s been three years since we’ve lost power for more than a day so they’re outta here! The director of a local homeless shelter told me they would be massively appreciated there so I’m hauling them over on Friday. So long MREs!
Life is hard.
