14You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:14–17 (NASB95)
Jodi and I, Christmas 2020 with our grandson
Happy New Year! On this first day of 2021 we are reminded that life is a gift. None of us deserve today, or any day for that matter; yet, God has entrusted it to us. The idea of “entrusted” means that God has exercised trust in us that we will manage the gift of the day well. One thing is certain…today will be what we make it.
As we begin a new year, we also begin a new Bible reading plan together as a church family. What a PRIVILEGE to have access to the Word of God. We pray often as a gathered church for entire people groups around the world that do not know of Jesus, have no Scriptures in their language, and have no churches in their cities…while you and I have easy access to numerous resources. We can read the Scriptures in dozens of English translations and even in the original language with some training. What will you do with what has been entrusted to you?
The verses above appear in a certain context. They were written as an instruction to Timothy (and all of us by extension) in light of the fact that his world was becoming increasingly self-centered and God-averse. Against the backdrop of this ever-darkening outlook of humanity, Paul instructed Timothy to continue in the teachings that had been entrusted to him from childhood. The word “continue” is the Greek word meno, meaning remain or abide. It is familiar to us as it is the instruction of the Lord to us in John 15:5 (NASB95), “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (emphasis added).
In the same way that our fruitful living (John 15:5) is tied to our abiding in Christ, our ability to stand firm in godliness in the world where we live is tied to abiding in the Scriptures.
Let me add two more caveats:
I have never met a person who grew in faithfulness and blessing in Christ that did not have a disciplined approach to Bible reading.
Second, if our God saw fit to reveal Himself to us through Holy Scripture, what exactly was it He desired and designed for us to know in His Word?
Perhaps you’ve read through the Bible before. If so, you’ve likely already committed to doing it again with us this year. However, if you have never undertaken the discipline (or haven’t yet completed a plan that you started), let me invite you to join me as we read through the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs together this year. WHAT IF God had a word for you and me this year and wanted to reveal it to us through our corporate reading plan? Would we allow Him to speak to us? Would we chase after Him together?
If you prefer (as I often do) to read from a traditional paper copy of the Scriptures, there are reading plan reminders and (wait for it) memory verse cards for every month available throughout the campus. You can also access these as well as a number of tools for those who prefer to use the EBC App or the Bible App. You can access them easily at this link: https://englewoodbaptist.com/everyday/
If you want to be part of a group that reads together on the Bible App, I am starting a group there as well. Simply click on these links to join my group (limited to the first 150 people).
The other pastors will likely start groups as well. You can start your own group! What if you started a group and invited your Connect Group, your soccer team, or your Facebook friends to join you?
Church, I LOVE YOU…and I am excited about all the Lord has in store for us TOGETHER in the coming year.
I enjoy feeding birds. Jodi and I have installed several feeders in the backyard and get the opportunity to watch many birds drop by for a snack. It is enjoyable and interesting to watch them.
Along with the birds, I have a number of uninvited guests. These tree rodents (you may call them squirrels) live in the woods near our home. They seem to think that if I put food out, it is fair game.
Now I will admit, though it may be only me, that I have given an inordinate amount of attention to these uninvited guests. In our last home, I kept a pellet rifle by the door and would sneak up on them (picture Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny) and shoot them off the feeder. My efforts typically resulted in a stunned squirrel breaking into a sprint once he hit the ground and scurrying away until I went back inside. I’ve since given up on this line of attack. Now, it is not terribly unusual to catch me raising a window or stepping onto the porch to clap my hands and tell them to leave. Yes, I actually talk to the squirrels! The problem is, as I make this ridiculous commotion, the birds also head for the hills!
I have noticed that, if I am not careful, I will spend more time considering the squirrels than enjoying the birds. I think about their habits, their lack of manners, the money they cost me in feed, the fact that they are not wearing masks or social distancing (ok, maybe not so much on the last part). I think about all of the starving birds in the world and the piles of wasted grain on the ground once a squirrel hits the feeder. But…rarely do I remember the birds.
I find that many people do the same thing, only in matters far more significant. They think about the vacation they cannot enjoy this year and lose sight of the dozens of vacations in the past. They think of the lost enjoyment of sports and lose sight of the many great times experiences they’ve had in years past. They think of the seemingly endless barrage of restrictions and lose sight of the immeasurable freedoms we all enjoy. They count the numbers of sick in the state and forget the countless numbers of healthy.
Much of life is informed by our focus. If our focus is on the blessings and benefits of the lives we enjoy…our perspective is relatively sunny. If we rehearse the things we have temporarily lost, we will wait on the proverbial “other shoe” to drop. If we obsess with the squirrels, we will miss the birds.
I. Miss. You. That truly is the sentiment of my heart. Someone once said that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” In many respects that is true. In these days of intentional distancing for a gazillion good reasons, my heart has grown weary in longing for face-to-face community. HOW ABOUT YOU?
While we are so very grateful for the Lord’s grace through technology, how He has provided a way for the church scattered to be gathered through online worship experiences, Zoom groups, and social media, we also know that there is something special about gathering together physically. While the Old Testament rehearses allowances for worship, prayer, even instructions about giving offerings for those scattered and unable to join together, these instructions were an accommodation rather than ideal. Both Old and New Testament…the biblical ideal was for the church to physically worship together.
Does any of this inform us in the midst of COVID-19? I would argue that it does. The people of God are meant to gather. All over the world, believers go to great lengths to gather even in the face of governmental persecution. Others travel hours by foot, bicycle, automobile, rickshaw, bus, train, or trolley to gather in Christian community. The gathered church is instrumental in evangelizing those separated from God through proclamation as well as equipping, encouraging, and even exhorting one another to good works like proclaiming and applying the gospel to the lives of those around us.
With innumerable reasons to gather…and a deep desire to gather…are there reasons to remain scattered physically and gathered online? Yes…both good and bad.
A bad reason to remain scattered is fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that God is not the One who gives us a spirit of fear; rather, He provides us with power, love, and discipline (a word speaking of self-discipline based on wisdom and understanding).
Another bad reason to remain scattered is governmental mandate. Even as I write this article, California state government has inserted itself into worship practices by outlawing corporate singing to God or gathering in groups the state deems too large. While the government cites health concerns, this rationale can become a very convenient vehicle for stifling the practices of our faith. These same governments even go as far as to point to virtual gathering as an acceptable faith alternative. Of course, determining what is “acceptable” worship is a bit above their paygrade. While we as believers are called to obey lawful authorities, we are never called to obey unlawful directives in opposition to God.
A good reason to remain scattered is meekness. Remember that Jesus identified “meekness” as a beatitude. Meekness is power under control. While we have power (the right and the ability to act) we choose to restrain the exercise of that power. If choosing to remain at home is an advantage to others, choosing to defer to the interests of others…meekness…is a good reason.
Another good reason is love. Love for one another and love of neighbor. If I have the flu, it would be an act of love not to place myself in a crowd of people. Doing so could cause them to be infected as well. Consequently, this is why I wear a mask. I want to mitigate my activity of moving about the community by wearing a mask (in case I have something and do not know it) and because doing so demonstrates my care and concern (insert love) toward my neighbors.
Another good reason is wisdom or self-discipline. That was the last of the graces that Paul listed in the verse above. For some who are immune-compromised or at higher risk, it would be crazy to expose themselves to risk unnecessarily. I say unnecessarily because if God directs them otherwise, then it would be crazier NOT to obey His leading. We can rely on information and judgment and self-discipline in being good stewards of our health.
In the days ahead, we as a church family will be making plans to reconnect in small groups, bible studies and other appropriate activities. We will choose to be meek, loving, and wise in how we do it, but we must seek a sustainable and edifying rhythm of worship, community, and mission. We NEED to be together. That’s not an idea of man, or men in church leadership…it is a design from God.
A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a citadel. Proverbs 18:19 (NASB)
John had enough! “I am sick and tired of these people telling me how to think and what to do,” he said. Then it happened. He wrote a lengthy but scathing post on his Facebook page ripping apart the very foundations of his “friend’s” argument. Now he did not name any names…but it was clear what he was talking about. When the post came across his friend’s newsfeed…he was hurt. Deeply. Hurt.
“It was true,” John declared. “Every word.” He continued, “if people are so sensitive that they can’t handle a little truth, then they should just get off of Facebook or stop following me.” Mary (John’s wife) pressed him to call and apologize. John did and his friend said it was ok…but their relationship was a little icy from that point forward. It was just not the same. What’s worse, John’s friend hit a rough patch in his marriage a few months later and because his connection with John had been damaged, John didn’t find out until the papers were filed.
While the story is fictitious, it really does represent a “mash up” of similar tales that are all too real. I am afraid that in our “speak truth” culture, we do damage to relational bridges far more often than we realize.
“I’m not wearing a mask! They don’t help anything and it is all a conspiracy anyway.”
“People who won’t wear a mask are ignorant and haven’t seen the research. It’s a small thing to ask, if you really care about people around you!”
Suddenly, good friends can find themselves no longer “good friends” or “friends at all” over some snappy retort or emotionally charged allegation. And to what end?
Jesus created all of us for relationships. We are to love “one another” in the body. That’s a command. We are to engage our culture and seek to bring everyone we meet into a “growing, reproducing relationship with Jesus Christ.” Yet, we set fire to relational bridges with the kindling of opinions and fuel of hubris. That is often not our intention. We don’t want to offend a brother or damage our gospel bridge…but we often do. Proverbs reminds us over and over of the danger of unchecked words. Here in today’s proverb, we find another truth…that once the relationship is damaged, it is harder to be recovered than breaking into the gates around Fort Knox.
Some years ago, I found myself working without the structure of an institutional environment. As a work-from-home salesperson, I had almost autonomous control over my schedule. As long as I made my required meetings and hit my assigned production levels, I was “pretty much” my own boss.
Recently, much of America has come to experience this reality for themselves. Many find themselves struggling with pretty common issues that this newfound autonomy brings. There are, though, a few tips…what I would call habits that I found to be helpful. The list is certainly not comprehensive and may not work for everyone; however, some form of these disciplines is essential to flourish in this season.
Habits:
Become your own boss. Most of us do not function well without accountability. We need some structure in our lives to function well. In essence, you have to put yourself in your boss’ (teacher/professor/employer’s) position and set out some measurables (boundaries) if you are to thrive. Examples include: What time do you begin each day? How long will you work? What must you accomplish that day?
Set your Alarm. Just because you don’t have to drive to the office is no reason to slumber on. Get up. Make the most of the time no longer spent commuting. Invest it in something meaningful.
Make your bed. Admiral McRaven gives a phenomenal talk on this subject. I’ve heard the talk many times and read the book by the same title. Listen/watch HERE.
Get dressed. Yep, it is novel to work in your PJs for a week or so but psychologically, something changes when we put on work clothes. Maybe not a coat and tie, but put the PJs away. Shave. Brush your teeth. Fix your hair.
Work a schedule. Some employers monitor this with software. They look to see if you’re logged in and if you are active at your remote workstation. Don’t wait on an employer or teacher to check. Implement your own schedule. Start at 8. Work 2 hours. Grab coffee. Work til lunch. Take a real lunch break. Work til afternoon break. Drink more coffee. Work til 5. Rinse and repeat. Your schedule may vary a little but use a calendar as a tool and schedule the time as if your employer were watching over your shoulder.
Stop working. This boundary is essential. If you answer mail and requests all through the night, you will feel as if you never stop working…even if you are only marginally effective during these times. Set a boundary on your clock.
Turn off the Alerts. Speaking of boundaries, give your full attention to the task ahead of you. That may mean closing your email app, shutting down notifications on social media or even putting your device on silent or night-mode. Every interruption reduces productivity.
If you’re distracted, take a break. Sometimes it doesn’t work. You’re as invested as you can be but your mind is wandering. Stop. Go for a 30-minute walk. Then go back to work.
Exercise. In a work from home environment, it is tempting to never leave home. To never leave your desk. Don’t fall for that trick. Schedule exercise every day. Walk. Ride a bike. Pick up heavy stuff. Do something that gets your heart rate up. Believe it or not, this will sharpen your focus at the office (even if that is in the corner of the dining room table).
Eat away from your desk. Sure, you could catch up on the news, multitask your email or catch up on Facebook while eating. When you do, you will cheat your mind out of needed rest. Honestly, you are not improving productivity; You are hurting it. Let your desk be the place where you work and the dining table be the place of food, fellowship, and relaxation.
Adopt efficient tools. I know many people hate lists and calendars. Use them anyway. These tools help you see what you have accomplished during the day. They keep you on task. Here’s a hack that will help you. Put your daily schedule on your calendar as appointments. When an interruption occurs, you can tell the person who texted you that you were in an appointment. Just because you can do it at your desk via Zoom, or it is an appointment for reading or praying doesn’t make it less of an appointment. By the way…it is your tool. If something you deem as priority arises, simply change your calendar. You own it.
Use the last 15 minutes (or 30 minutes if you need it) of your day to plan the next day. A mentor once taught me this in respect to writing. He said to always end a day’s writing by beginning the next paragraph, section, or chapter. It is far easier to regain momentum the next morning if you have a starting point. He called this starting on a downhill slope. Everyone who ever rode a bicycle can relate to this.
Major on effectiveness, not efficiency. It may be inefficient to interrupt your day to go for a lunchtime run, but if it makes you more effective then I might argue that the effectiveness actually makes you more efficient. Two observations on this: I study better in the mornings. As a pastor, I find that my mind is sharper in the morning so when I am preparing for sermons, I like to do so before lunch. I try to schedule accordingly. Second, I find that a 20-minute nap (or resting my brain) in the afternoon improves my productivity. Don’t steal time from your employer or your teacher for this. Invest the last 15-20 minutes of your lunch break for it.
Build next week’s calendar on Friday. Take the needed time on Friday before you quit work to put the major milestones on the next week’s schedule. Put in the appointments for exercise, reading/studying/praying/meditating. Mark off time for correspondence (written and phone) and any teleconference meetings. Treat these like hard appointments so when new requests come in on Monday, you have already plugged in the big milestones as priorities.
These habits will need to be personalized a bit for you, of course. That’s ok. All of them have been inspired by others in my life through the years. What I have learned though, is that when I honor these habits, I am actually more effective and more efficient. I find that my anxiousness is reduced, and I am not crunched as badly on deadlines. Plus…I feel like I get to “shut it off” without guilt when I want to close the laptop and put my phone on silent.
If you have some favorites…pass them along in the comments below. I love learning what works for others.
Happy Valentine’s Day! To many, this is a Hallmark holiday…a great opportunity to sell greeting cards and to clear out inventories of stuffed animals, flowers, and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. For others, it is a day of pressure…pressure to get everything right. Face it…dating can involve a certain degree of pressure. Still, for others, Valentine’s Day is one more opportunity to simply express our undying devotion to the love of our lives.
Reflecting a bit on the occasion, I began to reminisce on
how Valentine’s Day has shifted for me over the years and then consider the
implication of that shift on the greatest of all love relationships.
In elementary school, Valentine’s Day was a class party day. Prior to the mid-February observance, teachers would distribute a list of names for all of the children in the class. Then mom would run to the store, purchase a box of colorful cards and we would write down names on each card and each envelope so that everyone received a gift.
As I got older, the list shrunk…significantly. While I don’t
recall ever doing so, it is possible that the list of Valentine’s greetings
dropped to only a couple of closer friends…in hopes that maybe one of them
would be my valentine for the day. (I imagine this to be the era of passing
notes that said, “Do you like me? Check YES or NO.”)
Once I found my Valentine (who has been so for more than thirty-five years now) the audience shrunk to one. She is it. Period. It even feels weird to wish others a happy Valentine’s day. I only have one…and while I have many names for her, Jodi is the one and only love for me.
Thinking of this today, I realized that there is an analogy as well for the Lord and His church. When we are “dating” God…He is a good option for the object of our faith. Still, though, there are other kids in the class. There is self-effort. There is personal commitment. There is that god that my neighbor relates to. We are familiar with all of these, perhaps like one better than the other, but we want to keep our options open; so, we give valentine cards to all of them. As we come to mature a bit, it becomes clear that a God is not an option for a prom date or a Valentine’s dinner. We either lock in on our devotion, or He simply moves aside. He never shares the throne room of our hearts with anyone else.
Often, this approach reveals itself in our relationship with our church community as well. We like to date several communities. We have one community for worship, another community for bible-study down the street, and a third community where our kids’ friends go. Each of these communities offers us something, and we like them, but none of them possess our whole heart.
Should they? Does God really expect that we would be
committed to One God, one church, and one person for our lives?
I would argue…YES. I would do so because there is an inherent benefit to both parties in a relationship. Yes, I may really like my group of friends that I meet for weekly bible study, but I don’t really do life with them. I do bible-study. For my corporate worship, I am dating another church. I support another church financially and, when I want to chill out in shorts and flops during the summer, I have a relationship with the online church or the group that meets nearby. In each of these cases, my good intentions seem helpful to me…but they still fall a bit short of the design of relationship…where there is a strong MUTUAL benefit.
Time will tell but the trends are already tipping this
direction: Our “dating” practice is actually shaping an eroding foundation of
commitment in the generation we are discipling. Yep. Our kids are learning that
dating is superior to devotion. Why have one committed relationship when we can
pick and choose the elements from several communities and form what we think is
best for us?
If our daughter announced to us this approach as her new
plan for personal relationships, we would be appalled. If our spouse exercised
this approach for emotional and physical intimacy, we would be destroyed; yet,
this is what we model for our most intimate of relationships…the eternal one!
Perhaps the erosion of faith convictions that we readily
point out around us has less to do with external pressures and far more to do
with loosely held commitments to spiritual monogamy.
Certainly, some hold in their heart a sense of wander. (Yes, wander, not wonder). There is a nagging sense that they may be missing out on the BEST by settling for what they presently POSSESS. Personally, I understand. I have seen this a lot through the years; however, the sense of wander has far less to do with what we might be missing and far more with what we are investing. See, spiritual monogamy (what I will prefer to call DEVOTION) is not boring or lacking. It is, at times, however, uncultivated. My satisfaction in relationships with my wife, my church, and my God have only grown exponentially since becoming EXCLUSIVE with them. That satisfaction has as much to do with what I bring to the relationship as it does with what I experience from the relationship.
How can we cultivate devotion in these three spheres?
Three words express the HOW To that is common with all three
spheres: our mate, our church, and our God.
COMMUNION. There is no substitute for intimacy and there is no pathway to intimacy apart from investing time. There must be vulnerability and transparency, and these only come as we learn to trust over time. Over the years I have seen this in my marriage, in the marriages that Jodi and I have invested in helping others, with church relationships, and with God. There is something that grows sweeter and deeper as we determine to get real, stay long, and risk hurt.
CONFESSION. In marriage, in church community, and with God…no one is perfect. We are failed creatures. We will say the wrong thing, neglect the important things, react wrongly, attack maliciously, and, at times, seek self preeminently. WHEN (not if) we do, the only cure is confession. Such occasions require our admission of failure, acknowledgment of the costs borne by others, and the pursuit of restoration. What NEVER WORKS, is to simply forget or to choose to start over. If the grass is greener somewhere else, there is simply a septic drain field underground nearby.
COMMITMENT. Neither of the previous two observations are possible without this final and all-important one. My wife would never have had the resolve to stick with my foolishness through the years without the commitment of June 25, 1988. On that day two kids pledged to actively love one another until death. We did not fully know the implications but we were committed to it and determined to figure it out as we went. The same is true with our relationship with God. He proposed…not with a ring but with a bloody cross (Romans 5:8). He invited us to commit and discover all that this new commitment implied in the context of an eternal relationship. Finally, the same is true of the church. Yep…the church. The Christian faith is a communal faith. We commit to community before we realize all of the faults and failures of everyone in the community. (Consequently, we do so before we disclose all of our stuff too). The commitment is made to one another and then we work out the implications together.
Well, Chris, I think I need to know more before I can make a commitment like that. Sure, I hear you. However, except for the finished work of Christ, there are no guarantees that you can perfectly “weigh out” the decision on. You won’t know who your spouse is until long after you marry him or her. In fact, if truth be told, you and your spouse won’t become who you are to be apart from the mutual influence and benefit of one another in your lives. Same with the church. And in some respects, the same with God. Yes, He is unchanging but you will change and in so doing, will come to recognize, appreciate, and love Him more deeply, passionately, intentionally, willfully, and fully as the years progress. None of this is even remotely possible in the dating zone.
So, stop dating and get devoted. Lock-in. Put a ring on it. Go exclusive and build something amazing…together.
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