What If?
This is Pastor Don's letter in the October newsletter
As you probably know, things have been really hectic around the Long household lately. Since the last newsletter, I've been in the Netherlands for 10 days getting Zac settled in for the next two years while he pursues his Master's Degree in Archeology at Leiden University; I spent the better part of two weeks at my dad's bedside in the hospital as he recovered from a grand mal seizures from a meningioma (non-cancerous tumor) on the frontal lobe of his brain, prepared for a week-long mission trip to Guatemala that I will be leading, starting today, and before coming to the office, Becky and I laid-to-rest one of our cats (Gracie) that we've had for the last 10 years, not to mention the many important ministries of Wesley, including all the paperwork for Charge Conference.
I have to say THANK YOU to Pastor Melly and the amazing staff here at Wesley! They have done amazing ministry and work!
Given the hectic schedule, this month's article is the one I submitted to the "Community News Briefs" for next week. In case you didn't know, Becky and I contribute an article every three weeks to the paper, and this article will appear next week. (You may recognize the theme from a recent sermon).
What if?
Security is one of our basic needs. We crave a sense of financial security, physical security, emotional security and the security that comes from being a part of a community. Occasionally that security is threatened when we start thinking about all of the “what if’s” like “What if I lose my job?” “What if I am a bad parent?” “What if I can’t find a place to belong?”
Thinking about all the “what ifs” can cause panic and despair. Our anxiety rises when we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But “what if” we stop focusing on the fear and start focusing on the possibility? “What if I make a difference doing my job?” “What if I learn ways to become a better parent?” “What if I put myself out there and find a place in the community?”
What if I take a chance?
In the book of Ecclesiastes (11:4 NIV) it says, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” What the author means is if we spend too much time worrying about what could go wrong, we won’t step out in faith and find out what could go right. If we constantly measure the risks, we may not do what our faith calls us to do.“
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1The troubles of the everyday get overwhelming sometimes. The purposeful chaos that is occurring day after day is exhausting. The barrage of anger and fear and violence and malice are disheartening, and it all makes my soul weary. There are days when I feel that I can’t handle one more thing and I can’t find a way to make any of it improve.
This is where we find God. God grows in the gap.
God meets us where we are and takes us to something better, not easier, better.
Contemporary, cultural Christianity has become more about cushioning our comfort than calling us out into the gaps where God sized hopes are forged, Christlike dreams are pursued, and Spirit filled power is experienced. We don’t like the unknown, uncomfortable, unpredictable places that trusting God sends us.
When Jesus called the disciples, he asked them to leave their home, their occupation, their families, and all that was familiar. Jesus didn’t call the disciples to prosperity and comfort; He called them to sacrifice and discomfort. By contrast, the religious leaders of the day were those who most opposed the teachings of Jesus, and they ridiculed and reprimanded Jesus for breaking the established man-made rules to keep order, maintain control, and protect the power of the institutions. Jesus asked the disciples to leave what was known, stand up to authority, and start something new that would transform the lives of millions of people all around the world.
What if… what if we take a chance to be radically different, like Jesus was, and recklessly trust God to become a better community of faith with our hands, our words, and our ways?
What if… what if we take a chance and speak lovingly like Jesus did to those who are not like us: the outcast and marginalized, the hopeless and hurting, the people who don’t look like us, think like us, or live like us?
What if… what if we risk it all, embrace the unknown, and attempt to let God grow in the gap between our comfort and the uncomfortable?
What if… what if we let God grow in the gap between what is and what could be?
What if we take a chance?
Be blessed my friends,
Pastor Don and Becky Long
As you probably know, things have been really hectic around the Long household lately. Since the last newsletter, I've been in the Netherlands for 10 days getting Zac settled in for the next two years while he pursues his Master's Degree in Archeology at Leiden University; I spent the better part of two weeks at my dad's bedside in the hospital as he recovered from a grand mal seizures from a meningioma (non-cancerous tumor) on the frontal lobe of his brain, prepared for a week-long mission trip to Guatemala that I will be leading, starting today, and before coming to the office, Becky and I laid-to-rest one of our cats (Gracie) that we've had for the last 10 years, not to mention the many important ministries of Wesley, including all the paperwork for Charge Conference.
I have to say THANK YOU to Pastor Melly and the amazing staff here at Wesley! They have done amazing ministry and work!
Given the hectic schedule, this month's article is the one I submitted to the "Community News Briefs" for next week. In case you didn't know, Becky and I contribute an article every three weeks to the paper, and this article will appear next week. (You may recognize the theme from a recent sermon).
What if?
Security is one of our basic needs. We crave a sense of financial security, physical security, emotional security and the security that comes from being a part of a community. Occasionally that security is threatened when we start thinking about all of the “what if’s” like “What if I lose my job?” “What if I am a bad parent?” “What if I can’t find a place to belong?”
Thinking about all the “what ifs” can cause panic and despair. Our anxiety rises when we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But “what if” we stop focusing on the fear and start focusing on the possibility? “What if I make a difference doing my job?” “What if I learn ways to become a better parent?” “What if I put myself out there and find a place in the community?”
What if I take a chance?
In the book of Ecclesiastes (11:4 NIV) it says, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” What the author means is if we spend too much time worrying about what could go wrong, we won’t step out in faith and find out what could go right. If we constantly measure the risks, we may not do what our faith calls us to do.“
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1The troubles of the everyday get overwhelming sometimes. The purposeful chaos that is occurring day after day is exhausting. The barrage of anger and fear and violence and malice are disheartening, and it all makes my soul weary. There are days when I feel that I can’t handle one more thing and I can’t find a way to make any of it improve.
This is where we find God. God grows in the gap.
God meets us where we are and takes us to something better, not easier, better.
Contemporary, cultural Christianity has become more about cushioning our comfort than calling us out into the gaps where God sized hopes are forged, Christlike dreams are pursued, and Spirit filled power is experienced. We don’t like the unknown, uncomfortable, unpredictable places that trusting God sends us.
When Jesus called the disciples, he asked them to leave their home, their occupation, their families, and all that was familiar. Jesus didn’t call the disciples to prosperity and comfort; He called them to sacrifice and discomfort. By contrast, the religious leaders of the day were those who most opposed the teachings of Jesus, and they ridiculed and reprimanded Jesus for breaking the established man-made rules to keep order, maintain control, and protect the power of the institutions. Jesus asked the disciples to leave what was known, stand up to authority, and start something new that would transform the lives of millions of people all around the world.
What if… what if we take a chance to be radically different, like Jesus was, and recklessly trust God to become a better community of faith with our hands, our words, and our ways?
What if… what if we take a chance and speak lovingly like Jesus did to those who are not like us: the outcast and marginalized, the hopeless and hurting, the people who don’t look like us, think like us, or live like us?
What if… what if we risk it all, embrace the unknown, and attempt to let God grow in the gap between our comfort and the uncomfortable?
What if… what if we let God grow in the gap between what is and what could be?
What if we take a chance?
Be blessed my friends,
Pastor Don and Becky Long
Posted in Letters From Pastor Don
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