The Church as a Transforming Society?

Came across this quote a little while ago as I was doing some reading and continued prep work on my sermon series, "Why Bother with the Church?" It's by Howard A. Snyder from his book, "The Community of the King."

So the Church is not to be understood primarily as a means to the end of transforming society. This would be to trample over the uniqueness and infinite worth to God of the Christian community. Besides, the amazing and profound fact is that the Church most transforms society when it is itself growing and being perfected in the love of Christ. In fact, when the Church is taken merely as a means to transform society, very little is accomplished. For in that case the uniqueness of the Church is denied and we enter the battle on the same terms as secular and godless forces. We assume the battle for right and justice can be won by force, by technique, by doing. It can't. These very clearly are not the weapons of Christian warfare (Ephesians 6:10-20). Truly Christian transformation of culture comes through Christlike (and hence sacrificial) love, community and being.

But this fact by no means cancels out the responsibility to do, to act, to walk in the words of God. Rather, the being and the doing go together. The being is fundamental but the doing is the natural result.

What do you think? Is the only real way to transform culture through Christlike love, community and being? And how do you think that would play itself out, how would it show itself in the life of the church and among Christians? And, as a church/Christian, are there other ways we can and should go about transforming culture? What if how one group of Christians (church) views how that transformation of culture differently than another group? What do we handle that?

Your thoughts, insights and experiences are welcome to be left in the comments.

A little music and a laugh

Just so my blog won't close up on me from lack of use, I submit these videos for your viewing pleasure:

First up, guitarist and singer Bruce Cockburn. Here he just plays guitar:


And now, a little comedy music:

Love Of My Life

Well, I'm in the second week of schooling here at Duke Divinity School and I must admit it's not gotten any easier. Don't worry, I'll spare you all the "there's too much reading, there's too many papers to be written, I can't remember it all" statements. I'll simply say, "ditto."

I've discovered another problem, though, one that has been ever growing over the last several years and I find it harder to work through, and that's missing my wife. Call me a sap, call me a wuss, call me wimp, the fact is, I really miss my wife!

Now, before you roll your eyes and mumble under your breath, let me just say that I am very capable of going away for periods of time from my wife and, though missing her, can get along pretty well without her. That's not what's at issue here. What's at issue is that, in most things, I would rather not "get along" without her because, when I am without her, there is a piece of me missing. I feel incomplete.

As of tomorrow, Wednesday, July 14th, Heather and I will have been married 9 years. I messed up last year's anniversary pretty royally and for this year, here I sit at Duke and she in Lancaster. But I'm not messing this one up, no sirie.

Nine years. It's hard to believe. Not that it's hard to believe that we have been married for 9 years but to realize what we have been through over those last 9 years, with major job changes, health issues, near death experiences (just one that I know of), major moves, living in a new country (seemed like it at first), being away from our family, it's been a journey of curves, pot holes, mountains, valley's, and even floods. But I can't even imagine going through it all without having Heather by my side. In fact, I've made it along this road in large part because of her (the other "part" is due to God, who, by the way, brought Heather into my life, so one could say it was all his doing and leading and helping and that would be true but then, you're missing my point, aren't you?). 

It wasn't my intention to fall in love with her. I just wanted to date her, have a "fine" lady friend I could hang out with when I was down from Nashville visiting family in Birmingham.

Didn't quite work out that way, as you can tell. And I'm very thankful for that.

I am here at Duke to "strengthen my mind and spirit," as they say, but the truth is, my greatest source of strength has come from my wife. I continue to learn, to be taught, through her words and by her love. When all confidence is gone within me, she steps in and covers me with hers.

Ours isn't a perfect love nor do I claim that we have a perfect marriage. I'm not perfect. But we work hard at it. We came together out of and from brokenness and we know how delicate marriage is and that it is, in fact, an unending journey towards a mysterious union of heart, body and mind. Such fragile things must not be taken for granted. So we try to walk carefully, not running but walking. As the song goes (sort of), we are one person (joined), we are two alone (individuals), we are three together (God, her and I), we are for each other.  (Crosby, Still & Nash - Helplessly Hoping)

So, as we begin our 10th year together, I am excited about what lies ahead; and anxious; and uncertain; but I know that I don't walk alone and I know that we walk together with God, always trying to keep our eyes on the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

Heather, thank you for marrying me.
Thank you for staying with me.
Thank you for being my Anam Cara.
Thank you for sharing in this Great Big Love we have been given from God.

Wish you were here, hon. I sure do miss you.
Happy anniversary!

Pete and Repeat

You know the old joke. Pete and Repeat were sitting in a boat and Pete fell out. Who was left? It's been told in various variations (on a fence and Pete fell off, walking in the street and Pete got run over, on a wall and Pete jumped down). In each variation the correct answer is "Repeat" and you're off again retelling the joke until your unsuspecting listener gets the joke. 

I have a teacher who has, in essence, been repeating a variation of that joke but it's not the joke and it isn't meant to be funny. Every day so far, in class and by email, he has made it clear that if we aren't rereading the books for this class three or four times, we don't "have a chance in passing the class."

"Student 1 and Repeat are attending my class and Student 1 doesn't do the rereading of his books. Who passes my class. Repeat. Student 1 and Repeat are attending this class and Student 1 doesn't do the rereading...."

So, filled with fear and anxiety, I sit down to read a book that I skimmed through last month and I discovered something that I never noticed before. It's missing 32 pages. 32! How did I miss that? Even more, in their place is a repeat of pages 97-128. I never caught it, never noticed it, and when I read it again last night, it made perfect sense to me. That's when you know you have been reading too long and too much.

Now, the real kicker is that it is specifically 20 some pages in those missing 32 that I need to do a paper for next week. One or two pages you can probably do with out and still do a paper, but not 20.

No spiritual insight do I have about this. No worldly wise observation. No words of encouragement. Just a simple "oh, well" because sometimes, that is all we are left with - "oh, well."

And a book missing 32 important pages.

Now, for you visual folk, here are some phone/camera pictures of Duke so you will know where I am hanging my hat for the month.

Duke Chapel

Goodson Chapel 

(We meet here every day for worship)

Duke Garden

(Just a wee bit of it)

And, just for laughs...

I'm in one of those three.

Duke, Desperation, and the Divine

So, if you read Facebook you will know that for the month of July I will be at Duke Divinity School taking four courses to move me along the United Methodist track of course of study. You also know full well how I have come with both feet dragging and daily desperation as I have tackled, and not tackled early enough, the pre-work required before I got here. I'll spare you all of that agony again but let me just say, I am here now and there will be a whole new source of anguish rising from my soul during the next four weeks. I will try to keep that to a minimum, however (no promises, though).

Day one began yesterday (Sunday, July 4) with a three hour drive that turned into over four and a half. You know those gadgets that you use when you drive that help you get to your destination? Don't trust them!!! I ended up at three different locations, none of them Duke Divinity School. By the time I arrived, I was late, I was ticked, I was in an even sourer mood than I was when I left home. My thought was, "this does not bode well for me and my time here, dear God. I told you I didn't want to come and this testifies to that fact!"

God smiled and pushed me along.

Well, I got registered, had dinner with the newbies (which I was and let me tell you, I hate being a newbie because you're just not cool cos you don't know anything about where you are - like being lost for over an hour), and then took a tour of the inside of the Divinity School.

Let me stop here and tell you that the building that we are having our classes in and houses the course of study office and the Divinity School library and our mailboxes and the chapel and.... well, it's a little confusing. You know you're into something precarious when they refer to the building as the Bermuda Triangle. Actually, I'm not sure that's what they called it but the word "triangle" was in their description and I found that to be true because I walked the same "triangle" of halls twice before I found someone who pointed me down the stairs to the next triangle level. Today I dropped M&M's to find my way back to where I started.

I found my dorm without much trouble, unloaded and partially unpacked my room. I drove to a local grocery store (no problem - GPS got me there and I got myself back), parked in the right parking lot but the wrong level, loaded up my hands with ten bags of groceries and walked the short trek back to my dorm.

Well, short according to the map. For me, my self-GPS-mind got me lost and I wandered to three dorms before I stumbled upon some people to get directions. They pointed to "over there" and then said, and I quote: "I think." Now, when someone adds the words "I think" to the end of directions it is a very wise man who decids to ask someone else for confirmation of those directions.

I'm not so smart, I have learned.

Thirty minutes later, hands and fingers having lost all feeling, I arrived at my dorm but with no feelings in my hands and fingers and, holding all thses bags, I couldn't get my key to get in. It reminded me of a story about how some game wardens would capture monkeys by putting peanuts in a jar with a small opening and the monkeys would reach in, get the peanuts but then couldn't get their hands out because their clutch of nuts in their hand had formed a fist which couldn't get out of the jar, so the monkeys would get so upset that they were easily captured.

I didn't want to be captured so I put down one hand of bags and got my key. I was safe.

Day two. I won't go into all the details of this day but let me share just a couple of things. First, this place is beautiful. I'll post some pictures later but the campus is... inspiring. The church is breathtaking. Cathedral looking at it's best. When I bring my camera I'll get some really good pictures and show you.

Second, worship/chapel was inspirational and moving. The chapel where we meet, Goodson Chapel, is also very lovely but it was the service and especially the message that touched me. There was a lifting in my soul, a levitating of my mood (even after my classes I feel a little better...just a little). And it also was a little weird.

Here's what I mean by that, and I admit that you probably won't think it's weird and, well, it's not in the sense of being weird as far as feeling something weird goes. It was a visual weird. The speaker, as he talked, would stand at the very edge of the stage with half of his feet/shoes hanging over the edge. He would move around, most of the time with his half of each of his feet hanging over the edge of the stage. And from my angle, it made him look like he was floating just above the step that ran along the edge of the stage. I kept thinking of an episode of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" where these "demons' would float just above the ground as they moved about. Well, this just gave the whole thing this sort of mystical, divine quality.

And then I realized, that's what I'm here for. I'm ultimately here for the mystical and the divine.

In fact, isn't that what we all are here for, on this earth, going about our tasks of work, family, church, vacation, learning, and so on? Aren't we surrounded by the mystical and the Divine, and our task is to have eyes to see, hearts to feel, faith to receive? So often we miss that "glimpse" of Jesus because we're so busy looking at other things, worrying about other things, complaining about other things, living for other things. We miss the Diving Presence and the Holy and the Mystical. Why? The prophet Isaiah put it this way:

For the hearts of these people are hardened,
      and their ears cannot hear,
   and they have closed their eyes—
      so their eyes cannot see,
   and their ears cannot hear,
      and their hearts cannot understand,
   and they cannot turn to me
      and let me heal them.’ (Isaiah 6:9-10)

Christ wants to do to us what he did to the blind man:

Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:25)

Here is one of my favorite worship songs. It's my prayer for me and it's my prayer for you. May we see the Divine, Mystical, Holy God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDt0p_Rw1yg

Now, I must get back to reading and paper writing. "Have mercy on me, O God!"

A Decrease in the Increase

I have been thinking about church life and church growth lately. I've been wondering about where my church is in the scheme of these two areas - church life and church growth. It would be safe to say that these two areas are on every pastor's mind when they think about their churches. We pastors take these two areas very seriously, even if we are at a loss on what that should look like at our church or how it should be developed, cultivated and practiced. Church life and growth is, in may ways, an enigma, an ever evolving and fluid process. With all my reading about such I come away, more often than not, with more ideas to add to my coffer but no less unsure on how to go about the process. 

I don't believe the church is to be static, and what I mean by that is that I don't believe that we are to reach a certain level and then stable off. If we are doing what we are called to be doing, if we, as a church and as individual Christians, and are actively reaching out to others, sharing the Gospel and having them become a part of out lives (and we a part of theirs), then the natural expectation is that the church will grow. Maybe not in leaps and bounds but it will see growth non-the-less. Right?

And yet, so many churches have become static, if not in fact decreasing in their numbers. There are a lot of reasons that explain the decreases and I have not the time, space or the expertise to go into those but they do include such things as cultural change, structural (church facilities and use of space), generational styles (worship, music, experiential), and, of course, relevancy (what the church is offering as ministry outreach and growth). But we must also add to that not by any means exhaustive list the church's complacency. Sometimes, quite simply, the church likes they way it is, the size it is, they way it has been doing things, etc, and has very little desire or motivation to adjust and change. The problem with that is that attitude will ultimately lead to, first, spiritual death and, second, physical death (numbers). It may take years but it will come.

I pastored a church that suffered from that attitude. It used to be a large church, several services, active programs but after a series of issues (pastoral appointments and disagreement over ministry purpose) they began to decline. When I arrived they were averaging in the 30's (a long way from over 700). The community has changed but the church was too slow to adjust to that change. Young families that were raised in the church moved away from the area, in part because of school issues and community changes, and left their parents and grandparents at the church. It was literally a dying church. But church life has a unique way of pushing itself up through the growing darkness and these older folks began to adjust their way of thinking. They began to look at their community differently, a community that was changing again, and they took the initiative to change and reach out. Unfortunately, it was too late and the church was closed down but not before it doubled in its attendance in the five months that I was there.

By point to that account is this: why must the church wait to find itself dying before it comes to the realization that it must approach ministry differently? Why does the onslaught of dying serve (sometimes) as the motivator to members to change from thinking "what's in it for me?" to "what's in it for them?"

I've asked these questions before in other blog posts. And I will probably ask them again in the future. But to stop asking these questions, to stop having discussions on such issues, would basically mean that we in the church have accepted the status quo and impending complacency and growing lukewarmness and ultimate death. The church, it's members, attenders, committees, and councils must keep asking these questions and discussing and looking for answers. The church is to be growing and if we are not, then the question should be ask, loud and clear, "Why aren't we?"

I close with the following from Ed Stetzer, church growth and missional guru, from a recent blog post.

Seems to be that churches must be on some powerful birth control. They are not reproducing. And I don't get why.

It's natural. It's normal. It's essential. And we all know how to do it. But somewhere along the way, church reproduction and multiplication became unusual or strange in North America. And I am not happy about it.

The Church is the most powerful institution in the world. Where no electricity and running water exist, you will still find a church that is planting churches. When governments grow corrupt and economies crash, the Church still stands and plants more churches. Nothing in the world and nothing in the last two millennia of history can compare to the Church. It advances best by exponential and explosive multiplying. But not here.

The Church matters. It is God's agent of change for the hopeless. It is how He delivers transformation to a hurting world. Through the Church, God unfurls the banner of mercy and announces the kingdom of grace. He has assembled the Church to tell and model the most important issue in life--how to spend all of eternity with God Himself.

God has chosen the Church to make known His multifaceted wisdom to all in authority (Eph. 3:10). Whether a power in the heavenly realm or an authority on the earth, the Church is where God rolls out His message. It is used by God to speak to the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich, the hopeful and the hopeless.

We believe in the Church not only because of what we have seen, but because of what Christ can do next. He constantly amazes us at how lives are changed through the Church.

 Well said, Ed. What do you think? What should we be doing? Why aren't we doing it? Why aren't you?

I need your help!

I need your help and it is help that I will be need over a period of time. I am bouncing around a message series in my head that I want to call "Bumpersticker Christianity" or something like that. It's probably not an original idea but it's something I have been thinking about for a while, taking note of little sayings on billboards, bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc., and I've often wondered what was in the message. I have often found the little trite sayings that are "Christian" and wonder what the people who read these are stirred to think. I also wonder if, by taking the Gospel, or philosophical ideas or religious concepts, we actually do more harm than good, but especially with the Gospel.

I want to see what I can pull together. Would you keep an eye open for such things and send them my way. If you are able to take a picture and send it to me, that would be great, sort of the "hard evidence" thing. You can send it through this blog comments section, by way of my FB message or to me through my email. If you have any thoughts on what you are sending my way, questions that it stirred up with you or someone else, or your reactions to it, include them as well. 

One of the signs that I always see and it makes me wonder is the signs often along the road stuck on a tree or in someones yard, that says, "Jesus Saves." I've even seen it painted in big red letters on the top of a barn rough! When I see these "signs" I always ask myself, "Jesus saves what?" Food stamps? Coupons? Trading cards? And I wonder what the people think who don't believe in Christ think. What do these signs do to them? I'm not award of anyone who, as they pass by this sign all of a sudden get this overwhelming conviction to pull over to the side of the road and ask Jesus into their hearts. I mean, what do these sayings like the above say to you and, more importantly, what do you think they say to those who don't have a faith in Christ?

And as I said at the beginning, it doesn't necessarily have to be "Christian" in nature. It can be "religious" or philosophical or even thought provoking. Here's another example, on a t-shirt that I have. It's a saying from the great TV show "Firefly" - 

If you can't run... You crawl. And if you can't do that... Find someone to carry you.

Now, there's a saying you can preach on! So, can you help me out? Keep you eyes open, have those camera's handy, and send my your discoveries and thoughts. Thanks!

Organ- ...ism vs ...ization

I find church to be a very baffling and frustrating place. Despite all the books and articles I have read on the subject (and I've read many); despite all the church seminars and training sessions I have attended (and I've been to a lot); and despite all the advice I have been given by church leaders and "experienced" pastors (and I've received a lot); church remains an enigma to me. Of all those things just mentioned, the ones that resonate the most and make sense to me are those writers, speakers and advisers who see the church as an organism rather than an organization. When the church is presented to me as an organization and if you do these 8 things or take the following 4 steps, you can change the church's direction, experience has shown me that it "ain't gonna work."

I don't profess to be a theologian. My educational training wasn't in theology, doctrine and polity (government) of "church," though I have certainly taken classes and attended conferences/seminars on such. My educational training has been in the area of psychology/counseling and education. What I have discovered, after coming back into pastoral ministry, is that church, and pastoral ministry, is mostly about counseling (healing/wholeness/holiness) and educating (discipleship). Yes, theology, doctrine and polity do factor into this equation but I have found that it comes after the former has begun. And the reason, I believe, is because the church is made up of "organisms" - people, who think, feel, have opinions, and change those opinions, and grow/transform mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

So, because the church is an organism, it has the unruly and uncontrollable personality to be fluid. That's why at one church meeting everything is up, positive, hopeful, full of excitement and the next meeting it can be just the opposite; why a service can be charged with expectancy and celebration and the next be down and lethargic; why people speak highly and favorably about their church one week and the next complain and criticize. It's an organism, fluid, evolving, de-evolving, moving forward, stepping backward, responding to feelings and current situations and surroundings.

If the church were, in fact, simply an organization, then the leader/pastor could step in and say, "we're doing this" or "we're changing that" or "if you can't get with the program, change ships." Typically, pastors don't dare do that because, if they did, the church board would say, "we're the crew of this ship and we're throwing you overboard. You're out of here!" Of course, I am aware that many churches DO infact see themselves as an Organization, not as an Organism, even though their language includes phrases like, "we are part of the Body of Christ," "one part is not more important or better than another part of the Body," "we are one in the Spirit," "our purpose is to glorify Christ," etc. Saying so does not make it so. And when a church thinks of itself as an organization, then its emphasis is on maintaining itself so that it will survive, no matter what. "Maintenance" is about keeping the status quo, it's about what makes "me" comfortable and meets "my" needs. Maintenance resists change and risk because that involves developing different perspectives, thinking outside the box, letting go of some, if not many, of the things that we hold dear about "our" church.

Jesus calls us to "go and make disciples," which is about missions and outreach. Missions, the opposite of maintenance, pushes us outward; it's about change and "others" and reaching "their needs." The church suffers from what I call the "MUT" syndrome (or is it "sin"drome?) - maintenance churches are about Me (first, then) Us, (then) Them. However, a church that is stretching and working in fulfilling God's call is a "TUM"s church - Them (first, then) Us, (and, last) Me. There are far too many MUT churches out there and not enough TUM churches. Maybe that's why the world, and especially the USA, is suffering from such intense indigestion towards the church!

I say all this because, well, I don't know, really. I've been doing a lot of reading lately that has been stirring my thoughts and thinking about the church (books like "The Forgotten Ways" and "What Bothers Me Most About Christianity" and "Angry Conversations With God, to name a few). Of course, being that my "vocation" involves the church, I live it first hand. I'm not sure how I go about changing the way "church" people think about themselves as the Church, or about themselves as being a part of the Church, for that matter, but I do believe that that is one of the important things that I, as a pastor, am called to do. I can't help but wonder, and am compelled to believe, that there is greater power to change the world through an organism (the Body of Christ) than there is through an organization (the church with its polity and hierarchy).

While sitting at my table at Penera Bread I noticed a great banner hanging in the window. I want to steal the banner. (OK, not steal, just borrow). If I didn't know where I was, I'd almost think I was at a place of worship where followers of Christ gather. The banner says, "Refresh, Restart, Renew." Isn't that what Church, the Organism, is all about? Isn't it to be a place where people can come to refresh, then restart and renew their lives - with Christ and in the world?

I would make two additions to the banner, I think. I would have it say:

The Church: A Place To -

Refresh, Rethink, Restart, Renew.

Life Stories: For Further Discussion

I was checking out some of the blogs that I like to read (see side bar) and was pleased to read Donald Miller's blog, written yesterday (1/5) on "Living a Meaningful Story - Creating Memorable Scenes." In light of what I wrote on New Year's Day and what I preached on last Sunday, I think you might get something out of what he had to say. Check it out. And be sure to read Part 1.

Living a Meaningful Story (Pt. 2)- Creating Memorable Scenes.

Living a Good Story (Pt. 1) - An Alternative to New Years Resolutions

Funny how much we think alike, Miller and I. I'm glad I didn't read these before I wrote my last blog entry (1/1/10), I probably wouldn't have wrote it!

Kissing Yesterday Goodbye

2010.

As the clock clicked to zero at the First Night Festival in Charlotte last night, I looked up and wondered where Arthur C. Clarke's "Monolith" might be floating at that moment. I wondered what weirdness and blackness might be awaiting us all this new year. But as I watched my wife and daughter dancing and singing and enjoying the fireworks explode over head, I realized I was looking towards the wrong thing.

I've never really bought into this idea that, when a new year arrives, we somehow can leave the last year behind and all of sudden get a new reprieve in life, but only at this magical moment on the calendar. We make our resolutions during the eve of the new year, place them in a balloon - literally or figuratively, and we release them with the belief that making them will somehow make life changing differences for us in the new year. I can't speak for you but, at least for me, and the many people that I know, not much difference is made...except maybe for a few days or a few weeks into January. I've always wonder why, by the time a get half way into January most of my resolutions are still in the balloons but now on the floor, deflated. It can be rather frustrating. And messy. One can get rather irritated tripping over failed resolutions.

But maybe this year can be different. It's not that I think I will keep all my resolutions this year, it's that I have decided not to make resolutions at all! Seriously. If you don't make any, you don't break any, right? Works for me.

But before anyone thinks that I am failing as a human being in some way or being unspiritual, let me tell what I am doing.

I am going to take a more active role in writing my story.

Many years ago, before I was aware of this thing called "blogging" - and I'm not even sure it existed yet, I wrote a piece that I emailed around to a number of family and friends. It was about telling our stories to other people; about how, as Christians, we are to share with others what God has and is doing in our lives; it was about building relationships through listening to other people tell their stories; about creating environments so that stories can be shared; about helping and encouraging people so they can more easily develop their stories. That's the nutshell of it, and trust me, I was far more articulate in that emial than I am in this paragraph. I eventually developed it into a message as part of a broader series of messages where I took it further and talked about how we can take a part in the "development" of our life story, become a co-author, so-to-speak.

As much as I believe this, I haven't been a very active co-author and, as a result, I'm wondering what/who might have stepped into that role without me realizing it.

I read a book a few weeks ago that brought this all back to the forefront in my thinking, disturbing and challenging it. My thinking, that is. I usually take several weeks to read a book - I'm a slow reader and I read several books at once - but this book I read in two days. The book is "A Million Miles in a Thousands Years" by Donald Miller. Miller was writing about what I had been struggling to articulate over the years about this idea of our lives and story writing. He does a much better job of it!

Resolutions typically are statements of "I will do" or "I won't do" for the new year, or come about as a result of a specific situation that comes into our lives. Miller challenges us (maybe I should say God through Miller) to take a look at our lives (evaluation - not usually a fun thing to do) and see what needs to be rewritten - changed or corrected - and take a role in rewriting it, as you understand God leading you (the primary author of your life).

We all have patterns in our lives, the way we think, the way we behave, the way we go about living. It's almost as if we are on auto pilot - we don't think much about it, until a crises arises or we screw up or fail. Rewriting is to actively participate in changing those things that keep us repeating the old and failed patterns in our lives. Whether it be our attitudes, our finances, our sins that trip us up, our relationships, our church, and, certainly, our spiritual lives (our relationship with Christ), I believe God wants us to be involved in the process of change that is needed in our lives. Paul talks about the importance of testing our faith. I think he'd say that we need to be more active in writing our stories.

I don't know if any of this makes sense. It does to me, more now that ever before, in large part because of reading Miller's book. But I also think it's because of where I am in life that I have realized that my life, in many ways and in many areas, has become routine. I don't want to be routine. I don't want my relationship with Christ to continue the same way it has over the past years. I don't want my marriage or relationships with others to "plod" along as it has. I want more. God wants me to experience more.

And I think I would be safe to say that God wants the same for you, whether it be 2010 or not.

Grace and Peace

Special note: I have just started reading a book that is pretty funny and thought provoking. The author is Susan Isaacs and the book is: "Angry Conversations with God - A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir." The premise is this: she takes God to marriage counseling! This is worth reading!