Order Our Days

It has been 10 months since the Sabbatical part of our journey began.  In that time Shandy and I have felt a distinct lack of momentum.  We are both task oriented people who love checking things off lists and feeling accomplished, but we have been in a season where that just hasn't seemed to be part of God's plan.  It has been a season of false starts, new jobs that didn't stick, new ministry opportunities that weren't quite the right fit, and possible church homes that we just couldn't commit to.  Through it we've had this sense of "We feel God wants us to be doing something, but we haven't been able to finger on what it is."

Shandy hasn't been working as much the last few months, and my side jobs have slowed down quite a bit. Silas graduated Kindergarten, and we've had a bit of time to breathe deeply.  Just a bit, because God had plans for that slower season of life as well.  Shandy's Grandmother passed away, and she was able to spend time with her family during Gram's last few days on earth.  She's also been able to make several trips down to help her grandfather during his grief and period of adjustment.  Also recently our 3 year old niece had a severe diabetic episode, and Shandy was able to hop in the car and drive to be with family in the hospital.  Thankfully the precious little one pulled through the worst of it, she is back home now and the family is learning how to manage this disease they didn't know she had.

We've learned, in these last few months, that God really does order our days.  He plans our times and our seasons.  It is teaching us a kind of trust and contentment that has been missing.

There are also a bunch of new things on the horizon for us.

Shandy is about to start a new job as the General Manager of a Pizza Hut.  Being a Restaurant General Manager (or RGM as she puts it) has been on her bucket list since high school, and it is a blessing to see her getting to fulfill a long term ambition.  The new job will give us new challenges and new opportunities, and we feel like it is exactly where God wants us, as we prepare for the future He is calling us to.

Speaking of that future, we have started getting together on a weekly basis with a group of friends who share our long term goals of opening a camp or other kind of ministry where people can step out of the hectic and into a haven.  We are beginning our journey together by building a good foundation. Getting to know each other and each other's families, committing to encouraging each other to read through the Bible in a year, gathering to sit around the table and talk about what we read, and being inspired by reading Radical (by David Platt). After just the a few weeks we are all feeling the urge to take big steps toward realigning ourselves with God's plans for our lives.

Even as we start to dream and build relationships that may one day result in an organized life ministry, 'haven' is happening organically.  Our housemates have provided us with opportunities to use the big house (we are long term house sitting) to widen the circle of people we can bless.  Yesterday was a whirlwind of extra faces as we took in a family in crisis, hung out with a mom and her kids who needed a break, and took a passel of extra kiddos to the lake for some R&R.  I LOVE sharing life with like minded people, and watching the little community we have made bless others.  It is happening organically, the way things should when you join your life with people who truly share your values.  I am so grateful for the blessing that living with the Bookers has been.  And I am blessed and humbled by Mark and Luanna who entrusted us with their house, and gave us their blessing to live out our vision, in continuation of their own love for hospitality.

I could go on, and talk about a new friend and the extremely refreshing conversations we've had about life and ministry, but the bottom line is that there is energy and optimism in the air that has been missing.  It is as if the wind is returning to a ship that has been adrift at sea.  I don't doubt that there will be rocks and storms ahead, but for now it is good to feel just a bit of momentum.

Radical by David Platt - Book Review

I have often wondered if Peter or Paul would be able to walk into our churches and recognize us as Christians.  I wonder if our religion has become so cultural, that we would be aberrant to our spiritual ancestors.  Usually when I pose these questions the conversation ends quickly and awkwardly.  Even if I find kindred spirits who are pondering these same questions, we end our discussions feeling overwhelmed, with no idea how to begin taking our faith back from the religious institutional mentality that has become so pervasive.  Even "be the change you want to see" is difficult, because when you have looked at the world through a certain pair of eyes for so long, it is hard to even see the problem, let alone articulate it.

I've been praying about this a lot lately.  Wondering just what to do.  Turns out I have a lot of growing up to do before I can be a part of the solution.  I just finished reading a book called “Radical” by David Platt.  The tag line is, “Taking back your faith from the American dream”.  The basic premise is that our culture has infiltrated our faith, to the point that we now want God to help us accomplish our goals, rather than desperately seeking to be saved from our own desires, and transformed into a new creature, and most of us don't even know the difference.

Platt, a pastor himself, compares his experiences with the church in countries where Christians are persecuted, to what we see in the pews here in the States, as he begs us to ask which would be more pleasing to the one we call Lord.  He challenges us with the stories of missionary heroes of the past and the unsung heroes of today, who are living out their faith in ‘radical’ ways.  More than that, he sites scripture after scripture each of which sharply contrasts our cultural religion with Biblical Christianity.  I love looking at the Bibliography at the end and seeing that it is 80% Scripture references.

In many ways I think this book should be required reading for new believers, as it gives a beautiful description of the heart of God, the role of the Christian, the history of the faith, and practical steps to becoming who God commands us to be.  While I believe the book would be great for new believers, after 30 years as a christian and 10 years in ministry, I was extremely challenged, because Platt's goal is to challenge our basic understanding of what it means to be a Christian. In what feels like a modern retelling of Hebrews 11, Platt connects us to modern examples of the same faith found in that beautiful chapter.  The effect is one that brings the faith out of history and into our present reality, making it accessible to every believer, not just those who have been through formal training.  Because of this, the book is idea for aligning your focus with what it really means to be a Christian.

The book ends with 5 specific challenges to help you shift from cultural Christianity, to Biblical Christianity.  While some of them are very basic on the surface, the combined result of all 5 is nothing short of Radical.

I'd tell you what they are, but you need Platt's build up, he step by step, logical, Biblical outline of what it means to be a Christian, and why some of our most basic assumptions about scripture are just plain unscriptural.  Don't read this book unless you are willing to finish it, willing to be offended, and willing to move outside your comfort zone into a faith that will really transform you and the world around you.

After reading the book I realize that I have been arrogant.  I have bestowed upon myself a level of maturity, that I am far from grasping.  I finished the book broken, and in need of serious change.  I am desperately hoping that some of my friends will read this book and commit to the same steps, hold me accountable, and journey with me.  If you've read the book or want a copy, let me know.  I'd gladly buy you the book if you promise to read it and tell me how it challenges you.