Everyday Journey

So life as I know it has changed drastically in the past few weeks--well, months, really. It started with a morning in which I was very sleepy. I had been working to discipline myself to get up early and start each day in the Word and Quiet Time with God. Some days are more successful than others. On November 30, 2011, I was not having much luck, as I was sleepy and couldn't stay awake while trying to read the Bible.

I put on a jacket and went outside to pray. I figured the cold morning air would do wonders to keep me awake. As I prayed, I felt like God was prompting me to just clear my mind and focus on hearing Him. So I did. I got still and did all I could to quit the storm in my head. I tried not to hear the birds chirping and the crickets...whatever you would call their sounds. My eyes were drawn to a couple of squirrels chasing each other through the trees, and I couldn't help but enjoy watching. I was afraid if I closed my eyes, I would fall asleep, so with these few distractions, I did my best to listen for a Word from God.

Funny how God's promptings can open your heart to multiple lessons. The first that I learned is that all the things I was trying to NOT see was part of what God wanted me to see. I was in the presence of HIS creation, and was blessed to witness some of the things I usually ignore or take for granted, and don't experience. It was in that moment of realization that I heard God speak to my heart as clearly as I ever have. "I want you to start a new church."

What? Did I just have an aneurism? What did I just "hear?" Surely this wasn't right. I was a youth minister who never had any aspirations to become a Pastor, much less a church planter. I was pretty convinced I'd fallen asleep anyway. However, I began to pray for confirmation and telling God that if He was really calling me to this new journey, I would be willing to follow. But I had my hesitations!

First, I put out my "fleece," sort of half-heartedly asking God to have someone mention the same thing to me that did not already know I was praying about it. He did that through a good friend. Then, I got "practical" about needing experience first and put out resumes to try and get a new job as a Pastor, and God closed those doors. The more I prayed and tried to reason out of this, God made it more clear that He wanted obedience, and nothing less would settle.

So now, here we are. I have finished my tenure, and even career as a Youth Pastor, which is kind of surreal. I am technically the Pastor and Church Planter for "Everyday Church," as we have named it. (More on that in a moment.) Finally, and the most "in your face" part of this whole thing is that we are pressing on with a drastic change on the income scale. If ever there was a time when my family's faith in God was put to the test, this is it. We are totally out of our comfort zone, totally dependent on God to provide, and completely sure that somehow, some way, God will provide for all of our needs, and for the needs of Everyday Church.

You see, the vision of Everyday Church is to lead people to become faithful, everyday followers of Christ. That simply means that for believers in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord,  in every aspect of our lives, we represent Christ. Being a true believer does not mean we give God an hour or two on Sunday, and maybe an hour on Wednesday night, but every hour of every day. You may be a veteranarian. If you are a believer, you wake up each day as a follower of Christ, who cares for His creation by treating animals. If you are a banker who is also a Christian, you wake up each day as a follower of Christ who works hard to be a good example of steward of other people's trust and their earnings. No matter what your job is, if you are a born-again, Holy Spirit-lives-in-your-heart, trusting, committed, believer of Jesus Christ, you are always His, even when life changes.

I believe that if we can reclaim this everyday surrender to Christ in the lives of His followers, and then make more disciples that learn to do the same (pretty sure Jesus said something about that at least once), then we will begin to see a more obvious change in the culture and communities in which we live.

So here I am, committed to this vision, this calling, this dream, this roller-coaster ride of planting a new church, and it is what I lovingly call a "bi-polar experience." I jump back and forth between apparent opposites: I am scared. But, I'm also excited. I have some big ideas, and I'm totally overwhelmed. I am looking for a job, even though I technically have a job. I trust God, but worry about my abilities. But regardless of all these things,  I am committed to this journey every single day, even on days when I fail. On what Journey has God placed you? Are you a faithful follower of His each day? Do you begin the day as a believer in Christ and THEN whatever else? As brothers and sisters in Christ, let us commit to living everyday to the honor and glory of God the father, and shine the light of Jesus to the world around us.

(Ever since God laid this vision on my heart, this particular song keeps coming to mind. Enjoy!)

Life's Ups and Downs

I love roller-coasters. I didn’t always, but that was only because I had been too scared to try. When I was pretty young, my dad, of all people, talked me into riding one called “The Shockwave” at Six Flags in Arlington, TX. It was a double-loop, which back then was about as scary as they came. Nowadays, a double-loop is mild compared to some that twist you around and upside down as many as sixteen times. However, my dad’s argument for having me try it was this: “If you try this one and like it, you’ll probably like all of the other roller-coasters here!” Sure enough, after what seemed like waiting for hours, we made our way onto the car, and strapped in.

As the coaster train began to move out, I remember very clearly having some major second-guessing going on in my head, but I figured since my dad talked me into it, and he was right there with me, I was probably going to be okay. We slowly made the first climb towards the sky, and I promise you, I passed a few angels sitting on clouds just shaking their heads. The train dipped forward and we began to plummet towards our impending death. Just when I knew I was surely going to meet my Maker, an amazing thing happened: the train began to climb up into the loop. The track held us, and my world was suddenly, and literally turned upside down.

While I was being tossed about and lifted and dropped, I began to experience the exhilaration that comes with and adrenaline-boosting ride. I was very quickly transformed into a roller-coaster junkie, and now my mantra is that I will try it once, no matter how high, how upside-down, or how fast the thing goes. So far, I haven’t chickened out once.

Many people relate life with a roller-coaster ride. With the ups and downs we face, and sometimes the blind dips and dives we go through, it’s not a bad comparison. Some people love the unknown and really enjoy the challenges that life throws at them. For those, it’s exhilarating. For others, it’s very rattling, jarring, and even painful. The stress that it puts them under can leave them wishing for the very gentle and predictable kiddy train ride.

In either situation, I think back to my first ride. I was very apprehensive, but I was riding with my dad. Our Heavenly Father doesn’t leave us to take this ride by ourselves. He’s right there with us, and never leaves us alone. (Joshua 1:5, Matthew 28:20) The other thing about roller-coasters is that there is always a track. Even if you don’t see it, and the twists and turns seem to come out of nowhere, there is a design. Engineers spent a great deal of time and energy designing every detail of that track. Similarly, there is a God who knows every drop-off and climb that our life will take. Even when our track takes us to dark places, God has already been working to move that track to higher ground.

Life is not always the thrilling ride that we like at Six Flags. Sometimes it is terrifying and leaves us looking forward to the end of the ride. We must remember that we are not riding alone, and we are not free-falling at random. There is a track for us, and God will continue working to bring us closer to Him. It is our job to trust Him and follow where He leads so that we may experience all that this life has to offer, until we reach the eternal life that is promised to His Followers.

Until that day, strap in, take a deep breath, and look at your Father next to you to gain comfort and peace in the unknown.