our blog
Apr
LETTING YOUR WORD INTERRUPT
Last week was especially difficult. I had to write a funeral service for a young mother of two.
The honor of preaching a funeral in such tragic circumstances is among the most precious of pastoral tasks. It’s also among the most difficult to prepare for.
I look at the picture of the family as I prepare. I’m seeking to immerse myself in their pain. I want to feel the emotion of what I am entering into. This enables me to unite myself and my funeral message with the mourners who will be in that room. It also helps me to manage the emotion that will surface during the service.
I rarely write out manuscripts for my sermons. Instead I jot down phrases and transition statements that only make sense to me. I was preparing my message for this funeral in the same way when my one word interrupted me.
While praying through the message and writing my transition statements, I looked up and saw my one word written on a 3 x 5″ note card above my desk: INVEST.
Seeing the word, I suddenly saw an opportunity. Looking through the lens of My One Word forced me to ask the question: Who needs the opportunity to learn to do what I am about to do?
This wasn’t a question of arrogance, but of stewardship. One of the reasons I chose the one word INVEST this year was to remind me that God has granted me the opportunity to invest in and develop other staff members at my church. To help them learn to deal well with circumstances like the one I was facing.
So I called several of our pastors and suggested they attend the funeral. Then I spent the next three hours writing out the entire funeral service message. I didn’t write it out to aid me during the service; I wrote it out to aid my staff. Next week, I’ll sit down with these young pastors and walk them through the manuscript - and the process of addressing tragedy in a way that helps people grapple with mortality, while calling them to faithfulness in spite of their pain.
Had I not looked at this situation through the lens of my one word, I would’ve missed this opportunity to invest in my staff. Hopefully my investment of time with them will help them to some day invest well in others who grieve.
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Your one word will interrupt your day if you let it. It will redirect you mid-task - helping you see important stuff you might otherwise have missed.
How has your one word interrupted you recently? What change in course did you make because of it?
Nov
Stop and Give Thanks
It would be an understatement to say I love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday. What did you expect? After all, the holiday is centered on my two biggest interests: food and football. Growing up as a kid, I could think of no better treat then sitting on my grandparent’s couch with an overflowing plate watching the Cowboys lose (the Redskins fan in me is finally exposed). Yet, my family had a tradition which often put a kink in my plans. Before saying grace, each person gathered around the table had to share what they were thankful for. It always baffled me why my family didn’t understand that I wanted to show my thankfulness for football and food by digging into the grub and getting back to the pigskin.
Now, as I grow older, I am beginning to realize why we have a holiday dedicated to the act of thankfulness. Gratitude isn’t a natural act. In the midst of our busyness, we rarely pause and give thanks for what we’ve been given. While faced with a difficult circumstance, the last thing on our mind is remembering to rejoice over God working everything out for good. Our thoughts tend to gravitate towards what we don’t have rather than counting our blessings. Even in the process of our growth, we are quick to point out our shortcomings rather than looking behind us and being grateful for the many ways God has formed our character.
So, the focus for today’s blog entry is very simple: to pause and give thanks. Below you’ll find scriptures along with a few reflective exercises designed to help you express gratitude over the growth that has occurred through your One Word. If you are in the habit of journaling, mark this moment by taking some time to write out your thoughts. My hope is that you’ll use this as an opportunity to rejoice over God’s faithfulness to you.
Psalm 118:28-29 (NIV)
28 You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. 29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Take a moment and reflect on how God’s love is consistent even in the midst of our inadequacies and failures with living out your One Word.
Romans 6:16-18 (NIV)
16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Take a moment and thank God you are no longer a slave to sin.
1 Corinthians 15:56-58 (NIV)
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Take a moment and thank God for the victories you’ve seen in your character over the past year.
Ephesians 1:15-17 (NIV)
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Take a moment and thank God for the people who have come alongside you in your journey to reflect God’s heart.
Philippians 4:5-7 (NIV)
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Take a moment and reflect on the areas in your life where you are currently struggling to experience peace. Thank God that He is using this event to bring you closer to His side.
Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Take a moment and thank God for how your One Word is beginning to take root in your character.
Nov
A Growing Soul
Another lazy Sunday afternoon in the fall finds me camped out on the couch with a belly full of appetizers watching a football game. With the kids quietly playing up in their room and my ‘honey do’ list complete, all is right with my world. This contentment is short-lived when flipping through the channels during halftime the remote dies. While contemplating whether to get up and manually switch back to the big game a service announcement for a non-profit organization that helps starving children in Africa starts to play.
A range of emotions comes over me. I feel guilty for wanting to ignore their plight because I am more concerned over the Redskins mounting a comeback. Yet, there is part of me that feels a sense of sadness over the injustices taking place all over the world. Even though we know there are huge problems in the world, we believe there is nothing we can do to make any difference. After all, we are just one person.
It is hard not to feel completely overwhelmed when you hear stories about oppression, war and poverty. Our hearts break realizing the amount of work that needs to be done in this world. Without the Gospel, despair runs rampant. Yet, when our heart breaks with the compassion of our God seen in the Gospel, our soul expands to match this growing concern.
Unfortunately, many of us take the easy route by devoting a large portion of our energy towards taking care of ourselves. With an individualistic mindset, our greatest concern will always remains inward. Just as long as our personal kingdom does not crumble, we ignore the fact that there is chaos taking place down the street and around the globe. This reveals a darker part of us all. The truth is we are willing to tolerate these horrors as long as they remain down the street and do not affect us.
Sadly, we don’t understand the devastating effect this causes to our heart. Our soul shrinks or expands to the size of our greatest concern. We desperately need a growing soul so we are energized to pray for a growing concern taking place in a growing world. Over time you begin to develop a fundamental understanding that we are all connected to one another and we cannot afford, or survive, being obsessively concerned about ourselves.
The call is not for us to feel bad or wish we could do more. The charge is merely to do something and realize that God has equipped you with gifts and passions that He wants you to use to make His name known. Go and put your heart and soul on the line before God by asking: Lord, what would you have me do in light of my growing concern and expanding heart?
The Church that is built on Christ is the only organization on the face of the earth that has been entrusted with what every human heart longs for and in fact needs. We must not shirk our responsibility and make excuses for why we are not more effective. The power lies in our ability to follow Christ and demonstrate this by our love for one another. It requires trusting God will be faithful to lead us and put us in places where we will be useful to fulfilling those purposes.
- It has been said that our soul shrinks or expands to the size of our greatest concern. How have you seen this statement to be true in your own life?
- In what areas do you see your soul expanding recently? What has caused your heart to gravitate towards this concern?
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2011. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!