New Era

Just so you all know - my son John Erik graduated from High School this month. 20 days ago, actually. We're entering into a new phase of life. He somehow seems older. Maybe it's just the suit. Maybe it is because he is older (turned 17 four days before graduation). Maybe it's because I feel old having a high school graduate. Maybe it's because life is marching on a little fast these days.

He's heading to Saskatchewan for 6 weeks. To work for my friend, Dale, the farmer. Then what? Hmmm. He'll figure it out. He's gonna be fine.

Calm

Calm.

What does that look, sound, feel, taste, like? Is it inside or outside?

Is it the absence of busyness? The emptiness of my to-do list? Is it the quiet, inner confidence of circumstance? Is it the trust in forces invisibly at work or a resigned "giving in" because of an inability to control those same forces? is it the result of finding the perfect career? The perfect marriage? The perfect family? Do those invoke a calm?

I have always struggled with calm, because I desperately want it. But it can be so elusive and fragile.

There are people who just seem to exude calm. Uber coach Tom Osborne (Nebraska Cornhusker football coach of 70's, 80's and 90's) was a rock. I have memories of Osborne, chewing gum, intently watching the game with this super human calmness that defied explanation. Not smiling, but not scowling like a Paterno or screaming and carrying on like any score of lousy coaches today. Just calm. Whether winning or losing (which, by the way, he did a whole lot more winning.) he was calm.

Geez, I wanna be like that.

There have been times in my life where calm should have prevailed - those times of good circumstances when the town crier could have yelled, "It's 10 o'clock and all is well!" but inside and outside, all was not well. All was not calm. All was not bright.

There have been other times when there was a calm in the midst of struggle - kinda like Jesus being able to sleep soundly in the boat when chaos is all around him. Never have those times been because all my circumstances are under control. Never have those times been because my to-do list were empty. Never have these moments been because sin is gone from my life. But there was a calm. Frankly, these times seem a bit less common in my life.

Then there is the faith question.

Our Christian faith names calm in different terms: peace, contentment, blessed assurance. I love those terms. I love to read scripture and listen to Jesus' commanding the lake to be still. I love reading Paul and his exhortation of contentment in all circumstances. I love reading the Psalms and David's wrestling with crisis, crying out to God to save him, yet at the end of the day his assurance in God's power and control is secure.

Certainly, there are things that I have peace with, have contentment in and am blessedly assured about. So if I am at peace, have contentment and am blessedly assured, then there should always be calm, right?

I also have a "career" dilemma. I'm the pastor. There's the expectation of calm - the reflective indicator of that inner contentment and peace. I'm trying my hardest. And I can already hear some of you say, "Stop trying and let God!". "Just trust in Him." Yes, I know. I've preached it. Some will say then, "practice what you preach".

Maybe I'm just a little too high strung. Could be that.

But -

Calm comes unexpectedly to me. It comes at times I don't expect it. This morning I've been able to write this during the early morning hours while tracing the mountain shadows as they move across the lake and peaks. And a great calm has prevailed.

It can come while walking the dog. It can come in the middle of a sermon. It can come while cleaning the garage. A long drive. A cup of coffee. Even in the middle of a difficult, trying situation, whether a tough conversation or the slowest moving line at Walmart.

Weird timing.

But it can also leave just as quickly. A brief encounter with someone with an agenda. A disturbing news story. A letter to the editor. An email. A memory. A disconnect between my expectations and my reality. The dog barfs on the floor. The kids yell (or more likely, I yell at the kids...).

Calm can easily be shattered for me. I wish I was stronger in the midst of all of it.

How about you?

Is "calm" simply an outside appearance? Or is "calm" the reflective of inner peace and contentment? Are some people just calm by nature but hiding inner conflict? Are "uncalm" people, those high-strung, nervous ones among us, struggling with inner "issues" or might they be peaceful inside?

Jesus appeared calm before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate, but you certainly couldn't call his demeanor calm when he prayed earlier in the Garden.

Elijah calmly prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to rain down fire onto the water soaked alter. But afterwards he ran away, afraid for his life, his calm broken by a toothless threat from the embarrassed Jezebel and by his own inner self-doubts.

Peter is the poster child for uncalm, yet was a rock - the rock on which Jesus said he would build his church. Peter later in life wrote to the believers telling them to think clearly and exercise self-control. Peter? Clear thinking? Self-control? Seriously?

So, calm; an outer expression or inner quiet pond?

I'm going back to tracing the mountain shadows.

Words that make me go "ouch"

Last weekend I presented 4 words that are critical for us to understand as the world understands.

Trust
Truth
Tolerance
Brokenness

All of these words are connected. For instance, how can I trust you if I don't believe you are telling me the truth? How can I know you will tolerate me or my lifestyle if I tell you the truth about myself? Can I trust you with the truth about me? How can you possibly understand my brokenness if you don't know me? Can I trust you with my hurt and believe you will hear my heart? Are you willing to love me rather than judge me?

All of these words and questions are critical for us to wrestle through both individually and together. How can we ever hope to reach any level of healthy, missional community unless we're also allowing some uncomfortable self examination?

Here's another quote that keeps rattling around in my brain:

From Pate and Wilkes, "Evangelism Where You Live"

"When a local fellowship of Christ-followers turns inward to perpetuate programs rather than serve in the name of Jesus, it has lost its raison d'etre (reason for being) and is no longer of use for the reason Christ created it. (and a couple of sentences later) Just as the human persona is, it also does, and, so, the church is the "body of Christ," but it also does what Christ has co-missioned with it to accomplish as His Presence in the community."

Have we become so blind? Has our "reason for being" been co-opted by self-service, self-preservation and a selfish permission to both be in and of the world so that we no longer see the church as the body of Christ fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission?

So what does it look like if we are seeking to be "His Presence" in our community? Is it a change of heart or attitude? Will it require us to significantly alter the way we live life? Will we need to eschew the epidemic of busyness in order to truly enter into the lives of others?

I don't know about you, but this is beginning to get messy. Cool.

Let me have it.

Arden

Leaving a Comment

For those of you who wanted to comment on this blog but were unable, I've finally figured out that I had inadvertently restricted comments. Those restrictions have been lifted, so comment away. Sorry if it was frustrating.

Also, what kind of comments should you leave?

I would like dialogue. For instance, when I talk about the church, especially when I posted the list of what we would like the church to "be" I want to know if that connects with you in any way or if you thought the list needed clarification, additions, subtractions or whatever.

I'm going to be blogging with an open-ended pathway. Let's walk and talk about stuff.

The church - "Are we there yet?"

We had our SLT (Spiritual Life Team) meeting last night and I asked these great people what they wanted our church to look and feel like. This is just the first go around but I thought you'd like to see the list. We'll be adding and clarifying as we progress.

• Worship alive and relevant
• An open and inviting environment
  
• Welcoming (sincere and friendly)
  
• Youth are welcome and are in a safe place - seeking a healthy environment
• The pastor is real (authentic) preaching the word in a relevant way
• Growth in maturity as Christians
• Lives are changing
• A place where Christians are caring for each other and those coming in and those around us in the world
  
• Emotionally and spiritually healthy
• People surrendering their lives to Christ and his Lordship

A complete list? Not yet. What do you want the church to look, feel, taste, smell, sound like? Give me your thoughts, clarifications and additions.

Peace,
Arden

Hey there. I've been wanting to start a blog to help in the dialogue of what it means to live life to the fullest (John 10:10) and to continue the conversation started this past weekend at Nelson Covenant Church. Apparently my conversation with you struck a chord - so many have talked to me about the message and their own wrestling with what it means to be church - to live in community, to seek to be a disciple or, as we say in the "church" to offer "discipleship".

I don't know all the answers. But I want to talk to you about this. So here goes;

I want you to give me your thoughts about church and community and discipleship. I'm reading a book called "Evangelism Where You Live" by Stephen Pate and Gene Wilkes. It's a lousy title for a book (didn't exactly grab my attention) but it is probably the best book about doing life in the church that I've read in a long time. Here is a sample quote from the book.

"Ron Lewis, our mentor and longtime church consultant, observed, "Process precedes product. What you are doing, and how you are doing it, determines the results." Church outreach programs, age-grouped Bible studies, church-wide evangelistic emphases and events have produced the current results. If churches desire a different end result, the process must change!
Some churches plateau or decline simply because they have become comfortable. They like things the way they are. They have forgotten that the Christian church is not simply to be a safe house for members, where we are to withdraw, keeping any possibility of evil and danger away at all cost. As William Shedd, the nineteenth-century theologian, noted, "A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." A study of Paul's ministry illustrates a life on mission is anything other than channel surfing from a recliner. Ron Martoia quipped, "If the church isn't living on the edge, it's taking up too much space!"" (page 8)

My book is about half underlined. I'll share many more quotes in future blogs. So here are some questions for us to ask:

• Are we taking up too much space?

• How close to the edge are we?

• Have we valued comfort and safety (for ourselves, our kids, our families) rather than mission and passion, and responsibility to fulfill the great commandment and great commission?

If you want to hear the sermon again (Gee, that sounds like fun, Arden!) you can connect here to our website (did you know we had one?) and look for my sermon titled "Community".

www.ecov.org

I want to hear your comments.

Peace,
Arden