Missio Dei Suburbia

Resolutions and Recalibrations

I'm getting ready to load up the car (hopefully there will be enough room to bring home both of the boys) and head home in a couple of hours but I've spent the last 2-3 days thinking through what adjustments I need to make in my life/schedule/routine in 2009.

What's been helpful in planning for this year is that I have a clear goal in mind. I'm not looking to be more effective or efficient - not that there's anything wrong with that but it doesn't take me all the way down to the bottom. I'd still be asking why effectiveness and efficiency matter. So while I want to be more effective and efficient, the reason is because my great desire would be to spend this year knowing God in such a way that it leads to greater trust in Him as I take my place in his mission.

As I've been working through some material we're going to be using to help people walk away from addiction, I was struck by two ridiculously basic ideas: the goal of life is to know God...and knowing God matters because all of life is a battle to believe that God is good, true and all-satisfying. Failure to trust (or live by faith) is the reason I sin - banking my life on lots of good things and a few not-so-good things as God-replacements.

So my life has to be shaped in such a way that I'm moving slowly away from doubt and unbelief to trust and faith. This is pretty basic but I'm rather slow on the draw so I have to be intentional in putting myself in situations and getting around things that will move me towards faith and trust rather than wandering in the opposite direction. Because my life is never hovering in neutral - I'm always moving towards God or away from him. I'm either growing more satisfied with life in his kingdom or I'm straining to build my own little magic kingdom, even as I know that whatever I promise myself will disappoint and eventually destroy  me.

So here are a few things that I've been thinking through for 2009:

• Daily renewal in the gospel through reading the Scriptures and reflection in meditation (prayer and writing). I'll be reading through the ESV Study Bible this year as well as doing some advance work in the books we're teaching through during our 2009 worship gatherings.
• More structure in my schedule. While I enjoy the flexibility that my job allows, I work best when I get into a rhythm. So Lindsey and I are talking through what this looks like at home and then I'll put this in front of our elders and staff. The purpose of my schedule is to help me best serve my family, our leadership at the church, our members, other churches and the surrounding community. I can get by without a schedule but I am far more selfish and far less effective with my time when I just wing it.
• One book a week. I've gotten into the habit of reading many books at once and finishing almost none of them because I can't figure out which one I want to pick up for the five minutes I have while I'm waiting to get my haircut or the thirty seconds my eyes will stay open after I crawl in bed. So I'm going to read one book from cover to cover until I finish or determine that it's not worth reading anymore. I'm pretty sure I'll end up reading more than one book a week but no reason to frustrate myself on the front end.
• Eating and exercise. I'm 33 and I'm planning for 40. That means I can't recover quite as quickly from the heavy weightlifting I've been doing for the past fifteen years and because my already glacieresque metabolism is slowing down even more, I have to continually reassess what I eat (except apparently around the holidays...good grief!). So I'm running four days a week - pushing myself to increase time and distance - and lifting three days a week - alternating reps, amount of weight, time between sets, etc. I take Sundays off so right now, Thursday I'm running and lifting on the same day. That should be fun!
• Long-distance sermon planning. As of right now, we're planning on teaching through Exodus, Philiippians and the Song of Songs this year, with shorter series related to the cross and addiction, worship, community and our advent series through Matthew 1-2. I'm just about finished with a planning schedule that will keep my reading and preparation far enough in advance to write study guides and community group material.

Driscoll Interviews Piper

You absolutely need to take the time to watch this - may the Gospel have this kind of impact on me by the time I hit 60.

It's Really All About Jesus

Mood - mildly agitated.

Reason - I'm in one of those moods when I'd really love to be someplace where religion hasn't corrupted people to the point where we base our relationships and life together on stupid junk and not Jesus. Decisions made on the basis of hearsay and tradition rather than conversation and working through the Scriptures together. Minor issues being more important than Jesus, the Gospel, community and culture.

Christ, help us all....

The Strange Kindness of God

Most weeks, 9:00 on a Sunday morning would have me wrapping up preparations for our Sunday morning worship gathering at Christ Church. I'm usually skimming over my sermon manuscript and praying for God to make something of the mess on paper.

This morning I'm not preaching. And neither is anyone else. At least not at Christ Church because our leadership made a decision last night to cancel our worship gathering this morning because of the probability of icy conditions on the roads following yesterday's outbreak of wintry weather. The only problem is that there doesn't seem to be much ice on the roads...and it's bugging me.

So here's my brain - on the one hand I know that our decision was made based on the information we received and due to the fact that a couple other churches around town had already made the same decision or were very much considering doing the same. On the other hand, we're all sitting at home on a cold but relatively dry day. I don't like how that looks...does it mean we don't take God seriously? Does it mean that we don't value worshiping God together? Were we looking for an excuse to take a Sunday off?

These are the grenades getting launched at my head and heart - and at times I've felt like a coward and the very thing I don't want us to be...willing to set God aside at the first sign of trouble. But in the midst of that comes the strange kindness of God that reminds me that while he certainly could work in and through the fact that a nasty head cold has left me with almost no voice and a hacking cough, maybe this morning was his way of sparing all of us the adventure of me trying to preach through that. My wife gets a rare Sunday to sleep in and I get to have breakfast and play with Jonathan. Spending a morning away from everyone at Christ Church has reminded me how much I love being with these friends every week.

So while it is good and normal to gather with people to be made new once again by God's covenant love, sometimes he loves us in ways that aren't normal. To those of you who are able to gather in worship this morning, enjoy it and don't take the privilege for granted. For those of you at Christ Church this morning or in other places where gathered worship isn't going to happen, would you rest in the love of your Father who provides all we need even when we doubt ourselves and the place our decisions have left us.

Ugh

Within a span of seven minutes, I received emails from two friends - one to let me know that his mother-in-law passed away earlier this evening and the other from a woman in our church who hadn't told anyone she was pregnant but had a miscarriage today.

Living in a broken world sucks. And yet somehow we're not without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Jonathan Has Something to Say

Roll Tide

'Never Say Goodbye' - Life Ain't a Flippin' Bon Jovi Song

When we moved to Watkinsville, alot of the immediate appeal was the opportunity to connect with students at the University of Georgia. In the three years I've been here, we've established some great friendships with close to a hundred undergraduate and graduate students who have been part of our lives and what we're doing at Christ Church. Because of our size and vibe, students don't really function as consumers but are plugged in and help us pull off what we do as a church.

Here's the downside - unlike Birmingham which is large enough to have employment available for most students who want to stay in town, the Watkinsville/Athens area simply doesn't have jobs available. That means that every spring and summer, we have to say goodbye to some very good friends.

Within the past month or so, we find ourselves having to say goodbye to friends who have stuck around for a few years after graduation. I'm rather excited for the opportunities God has opened up for them but I'm not going to lie to you - this part of the gig sucks. I have no doubt that God will provide great churches for them and that he'll bring along other people to help us carry on with what we do. But the reality is that these people aren't just 'plug-and-play' cogs in the big machine of Christ Church - their giftedness and who they are as unique individuals simply can't be replaced.

We're on a quirky little journey as a church. This summer has been a tremendous blessing as our vision and values take on greater clarity. We know what we want to do and where we want to go. We've had a pretty steady stream of visitors show up on Sundays and people are beginning to really get the whole missional thing - at least in theory! Our six weeks of prayer and fasting together were tremendously rich as we saw God do some rather unexpected things.

But just when things start to rock along, we get knocked back on our heels a bit. People move out of town and others decide that they're better off hooking up with another church. The gospel continues to take root but that means that our messiness rises to the top and we're left with the option to fight or flee. Discouragement teeters on despair or resignation.

We don't have categories for joy mingled with sorrow, do we? I think I posted something like this at some point in the past, but if you want to know how we're doing - better than a pessimist might think and not as hot as an optimist might be.

33 Years

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad...

Super J

How cool is this kid?

(Thanks for the picture, Aaron)