We live marginless lives. No time. No space. No room for God or anyone else. This month we are talking about finding margins in our time, finances, relationships and health.
January 8 Time
January 15 Finances (with guest Chris Cook)
January 22 Relationships (with guests David & Christina Smith)
January 29 Health
The audio from January 29 was recorded improperly. If you would like a copy, please email us at info@thegatheringmuncie.org.
Please take some time to read through our site. Below you will find thoughts and ramblings from the staff and guests. Occasionally we add important announcements to the front page. Find our more about us in our User’s Guide.
Worship is Sunday mornings at 9 & 11 a.m.
Contact us:
765.287.9745
info@thegatheringmuncie.org
9512 North Walnut Street
Muncie, Indiana 47303
On Sunday, December 4 we continued our Advent Series -Generous Living- by asking ourselves if our love for God and others is more than words. We looked at 2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5.
If you missed it, you can listen here…
I am learning I need things in my life that slow me down. It is so easy for me to fall in the trap of thinking I am accomplishing just because I am moving at a frenetic pace. Some of the rings that slow me down:
Some people think that Jerry and I are an unlikely pair -or so I have been told… by Jerry. He is more than twice my age. He moves slower than I do (and than he used to). And most people think he is a bit cranky. The thing is I think “most people” are wrong.
Every time I get together with Jerry there is a moment. A turn in the conversation for me. An idea or a sentence that I will be chewing on for quite a while.
A few months back he said something that has changed the way I view things. Jerry said, “Most people worry about things that go bump in the night. The real problem is things that go bump in the day.”
Everywhere we go we are surrounded by reminders. The place we first met. The school we attended. The restaurant where that argument got heated. Some reminders are great. Others cause a “bump” in our soul.
I am praying for all of us today. Praying that we will face the hurts and losses we are reminded of today. Hoping we will take a step toward healing.
I wonder… must stillness be learned? or rather, relearned?
I am not sure. Our whole lives are marked by accomplishments (or losses) in movement:
Yet, our God says, “Be still.” (Psalm 46:10) And elsewhere, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” (Isaiah 30:15)
So how de we learn to be still, to accomplish nothing on our own, to cease moving?
It feels like my life is a perpetual motion machine. And my misinformed fear is if it stops moving it will never start again.
I cried while watching The Dog Whisperer the other day. Someone brought their dog all the way from Boston to California. The dog was scheduled to be euthanized up until this trip was planned. His owner was a single woman who had tried everything else available to her, but every effort had failed.
Her dog was overly aggressive. Images of his reaction to other dogs was shown. Despite the best efforts at holding onto the leash she was pulled toward a fight at every turn.
“There is no hope,” every dog trainer said. ”You should put him to sleep or keep him locked up in a crate.”
Yet, there was hope.
Arriving at the Dog Psychology Center in California changed everything. This dog who was aggressive to other Dogs was playing- yes, playing with other dogs within 5 minutes.
Oh, to be that good at what we do. When all other means fail- they come to us because we deliver.
Do we deliver? Do I? What would that look like?
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV 2011)
We are the works of his hands…
I am not a carpenter. Or an artisan. Or any of the amazing vocations who create beauty with their hands.
However, I have made some simple projects:
I made a headboard for our bed.
I am the designated painter in our family.
I am the best guy to have in your corner when you are working on a science project.
What happens when someone does not appreciate my handiwork? I take it personally. I know the hard work that went in to the project. I understand the care and thought I gave. Am I unique? Do you understand what I am saying?
I wonder… does God take it personally when we deny that we are his handiwork?
We need to accept
acknowledge
understand
who we are.
Let us go
Let us grow
Let us move
Deeper together.
We talk about going deeper. Deeper in our faith. Deeper in my relationships. Deeper as a church. I have realized there is a problem though. Although I have said this over and over, this has only hit me just recently: Deep is scary.
For me, as a kid, the deep end of the pool was a scary place made more terrifying by the prospect of jumping off the diving board…
into the deep
alone.
Sure as moms and dads and lifeguards we promise children we will be right there. The truth is -for the safety of all involved- we can’t be.
As a community we are not talking about the deep end of the pool. We are not even talking about a depth comparable to the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean.
No. Much deeper.
But you are not alone.
Do not fear.
We are in this together.
8 weeks. So long. So short.
Last fall several key people in my life began to have crucial conversations with me…
“Something seems off…”
“Where is your passion?”
“What do you see happening at church in the next 6-12 months?”
“Are you ‘burnt out’?”
It was hard to hear. I worked hard over the last several years on myself and being a husband/dad. I spent hours thinking, praying, talking, reading, etc. During that time people said to me, “Your church may have to adjust to the new you.” It never happened. I never had someone say, “You have changed, what is going on.”
I should have noticed, but I was smack dab in the middle of it.
There was something off, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I tried working remotely (coffee shops, Taylor University, home). I prayed more. I read different books and then nothing at all. I even tried to change the clothes I was wearing. Yes, I was desperate.
All the “doing” only made things worse.
Speaking for God the prophet Isaiah tells us:
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15
and later:
“Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!” Isaiah 30:18
Salvation through rest? Come on! I was raised, you were raised, to believe the harder we push the more we will achieve, the happier we will all be.
Except in God’s Economy things don’t work that way. I needed to slow way down. I needed to find that low gear. I did.
This is just a piece of what I heard when I got quiet enough to listen. For those of you interested, I will share a bit more this Sunday (July 31). And as I open my journal I am sure I will share more here.
First, though a question: What have you heard or learned in the past 8 weeks? It should not be possible for us to go two months without drawing closer to God, without being silent long enough to hear him.
In case anyone asks, I wore a purple tie.
Yesterday I had the privilege to pray at the Indiana House of Representatives. Representative Kevin Mahan attends our church and he extended the gracious invitation. It was a unique experience for me. It was like stepping into a different world. One filled with rules and conventions which are alien to me. In the midst of conversations was a deep sense of anxiety.
Many of you know our Representatives are at a stand still. Without a quorum they are unable to do business. Both sides have faced long days away from families, jobs and friends. And that is where I got stuck.
Sometimes I think we forget that our representatives (at the local, state and national level) are human beings. They are stressed. They face long hours. And most of them take their jobs very seriously. They feel the weight of their convictions and decisions.
That is why I wore purple. It is not my job to choose sides. Red or blue. The moment I do, I lose my voice as a pastor. I get co-opted into the fray. I am supposed to be a voice outside of it.
I ask that you join me in praying for our elected leaders. And let’s try something different. Let’s stop praying for them to change their minds or lose elections. For just a little while, let’s pray for them as people. People who have spouses, children and stress. Perhaps then we will all become better.
