Storytelling

"That's why I tell stories: to create readiness."

In The Message paraphrase of the Bible, Jesus tells his disciples that this is the reason why he speaks in parables so often. According to Jesus, the crowd that comes to hear him preach can not yet discern the message he is preaching because their spirits and hearts are not yet ready. By speaking to them in stories, Jesus is hoping to create a new openness and awareness to spiritual things. What Jesus is saying is that people can't hear the true message because they aren't searching for it. By telling stories that connect everyday experiences with spiritual things, Jesus knows that he can help foster a desire for understanding. When the desire to understand is in place, then the message will be heard.

I find this thought helpful today as I consider how I can tell the world around me about Jesus. So often, I think I need to have some well-thought out apologetic in place in order to convince my friends and neighbors of the truth-claims about Christ. In reality, the Bible would suggest that most people aren't interested in all that because they just aren't ready for it.

What are people ready for? Stories. Stories that connect to the kind of life they live and the experiences they are having. I find this encouraging because I love to tell stories and I find that most people love to listen to them. (Not just to mine- stories have some kind of hidden power! Just try saying, "once upon a time" in a crowd and see how many people turn to listen.) As I tell stories of the simple realities of knowing God in my own life, I too can take part in helping people get ready to hear the message of Jesus.

So, be a story-teller today! And if you are one who is seeking after truth and curious about Jesus, listen to the stories he told.

May Jesus journey with you today in the story of your life.

Nick

And We Wait...

When your wife is 8 months pregnant and expecting any day, you begin to end all of your sentences with the phrase, "unless the baby comes." Any plans we make, any ideas we have for how to spend a day, any attempts at putting something on the calendar all go through the grid of "baby or no baby" scenarios. Our first daughter came a month early and caught us by surprise, so this time we're ready. Almost too ready. We wake up everyday and think, "maybe this is the day!" And we go to bed each night talking about what we'll do the next day, "unless the baby comes."

I can't help but think that waiting for the physical birth of a child is a bit like waiting for spiritual birth or renewal to take place in our life, or in the life of a church. New birth, whether physcial or spiritual, is truly miraculous because it's not something you can force or make happen. (Ok, I know that medically speaking, there are things they can do to make a baby come out, but just go with me on this, ok? Besides, everyone agrees that the best possible scenario is always when the baby comes on its own time.) We can't make our baby come. We can't do anything to cause labor to happen. And believe me, we've tried! We would pay a lot of money for an "Easy" button we could push and have the baby come on our schedule.

But instead, all we can do is provide the right environment in which the birth can take place. My wife eats well, stays active, and gets plenty of rest. We've prepared a nursery, bought baby clothes, and pre-registered at the hospital.

We've been talking as a staff at our church about how we feel like we're on the verge of really great things happening. We feel a bit like we're awaiting a miraculous birth of spiritual awakening and renewal. And yet, we also recognize that we can't make this happen! New birth is always the miraculous working of our heavenly Father, as He opens eyes and softens hearts to respond to Him. For us, we are focused on providing the right environment for spiritual birth to take place. We stay focused in our work. We pray and ask God to have His way. We love people and point them to the Savior. And we wait for spiritual breakthrough, which just like human birth, WILL happen!

Have you hit a point in your life where something new needs to happen? Are you in a sense waiting for God to bring you new life? Know this- you can't force it, or make it happen. But you can provide the right envirnoment in which God can and will work. Stay focused. Keep praying. Keep dreaming big, impossible, God-sized dreams. And wait on Him. He will bring new life, and it will be at just the right time.

Enjoying the journey of waiting on God (and babies),

Nick

Some things just go together...

In this life, some things just have to go together. Most people would agree that a plain peanut butter sandwich is lacking. It needs something else to complete the picture. At dinner time, rarely do we pass the salt or the pepper alone- they get dished around as a pair. Mornings and coffee. Hot summer days and ice cream. Weddings and a white dress. The list could on with items that that are made complete by the addition of one other.

Around our house lately, the combination has been "sleep" and "pink blanket" for my two year old daughter. At her birth, she was gifted with literally dozens of wonderfully soft baby blankets. But over the last year, one in particular has become her special favorite. If we even attempt to put her down for the night with an imitation blanket, she can sniff it out a mile away. This can become problematic when the pink blanket is smelly and dirty and sitting in the washing machine, while Alyssa cries for her pink blanket. For her, sleep and her blanket are an inseparable pair.

You may know this already, but Jesus calls us to remember such a dynamic combination. When a religious man came up to him and asked, "Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?", Jesus couldn't help but give two. The ideas were so linked together that Jesus couldn't quote one without tagging on the other. Jesus told him, "to love the Lord your God with all that you have and all that you are," and quickly went on, "and to love people around you as you love yourself."

This passage is reference over and over in churches and gathering of Christ-followers. It's what we base our faith on- loving God and loving others. Yet while we value this combination as a statement, we don't always live it out as a reality. You see, most people are convinced that if they simply grow in their love for God, they are doing alright. But I would contend that it is impossible to grow in our love for God without also growing in our love for people.

We may say, "My relationship with God is as deep as it has ever been!", but if we don't also find ourselves more compassionate and gracious towards other people, than I would question if we were closer to God at all, or merely enjoying religious sentiment and emotion. It is a false notion that we can grow closer to God without also growing closer to other people. Why? Because God is that way, and because God designed us that way. I have often heard people say something to the effect of, "I don't need church or other believers to help me grow in my faith. I am fine on my own." But God in his very nature shows us that growth towards him will always result in growth towards other people.

I'm not saying that the only way we know God is through other people, but I have been reminded that the greatest barometer of my love for God always has been and always will be my love for other people. The person who says in his heart, "I love God" but at the same time refuses to love another person proves that their love for God is selfish, shallow, and artificial.

As you grow close to the heart of the Father, may you find His love being directed through you to other people. Become a conduit of his love as you journey on. Together.

Nick

Cravings

I've always known that my obsession with good coffee held some spiritual significance. Erwin McManus recently confirmed my belief in his book, "Soul Cravings."

"Science is only now discovering the medicinal value of the sacred bean. If all goes well, it will soon be its own food group. I've never been pregnant (my wife volunteered both times), but I do know the power of cravings. Is my relationship to java a problem? No, espresso is a guilty pleasure, and I am grateful for my dealer...um...barista...
There are cravings within me, though, that pull on me like an addiction...
My soul craves, but for what I don't know...
And there I tell you is at least half of my problem. I've tried so many things and done so many things, certain they would satisfy my soul, but they never did."

I identified with this quote, because I know the craving, the restlessness I feel when I deprive my brain of caffeine. I find myself obsessed with fulfilling my desire for a good cup of espresso.

On other days, I know the restlessness that resides in my own soul, and it has nothing to do with coffee. I deprive myself of a real connection to God, and I can feel the longing in a tangible way. But unlike my addiction, er, craving, for coffee, I don't always know where to go to fill up my soul. I can always find a Starbucks around the corner to meet my espresso demands (thanks to their aggressive global marketing), but for some reason my soul gets lost in seeking God. It's as if God isn't interested in flooding the market with his label so that he's available at every corner store and market. It's as if God hides a bit, wanting to be found.

And so I, like McManus says, find myself craving the love and significance that only God can bring, but seeking it everywhere else. It is when I allow my soul to "come home" and rest in God that my craving can finally be satisfied.

"For Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee." St. Augustine

When you find yourself craving, may your journey take you to Him.

Nick

Reflections...

I spent some time recently visiting our county jail to do pastoral care with inmates who ask to speak with a minister. Now, before you congratulate me for being servant-minded, you should know that this activity scares me to death. Not because I'm worried that a prisoner will try and hurt me, but because I feel incredibly inadequate and separated from the experiences they are having.

And yet I have a sense of feeling called to do this, and so every month I go and pray that God will give me the words to say. It's an incredible way to build my faith!

The last time I visited, I believe God reminded me of something. I spent several hours sitting in a small 6x6 room, separated from the inmate by a very thick piece of glass, as they sit in their 6x6 room and share their story. As one young man poured out his heart and his need for God (which was very cool in and of itself), I noticed that I could see my reflection in the glass. As the young man would look up at me, not only could I see his face, but my own distinct image staring back at me.

"We are not so different, you and I," I thought to myself. As I saw my reflection, I was prompted to consider how similar I truly am to the person on the other side. Sure, I am free and on the right side of the law, but our hearts our similar. As the prisoner shared his story, I could hear bits and pieces of my own. The only difference was that at certain critical junctures, his story went one direction and mine another. The kind of friends we chose in high school, the jobs we chose to pursue, the way we began spending our free time- where I had gone right, he had gone left.

I was reminded in this that I am here by God's grace. Within everyone single one of us lies the capability to be something we never want to be. I am more and more aware of God's hand on my life and his direction even when I couldn't see him. And this also fills me with compassion for the man on the other side of the glass, who, even though he has become what he never wanted to be, still has incredible potential to be who God is calling him to be.

I hope he finds that person within himself. I pray that God gives me the grace and strength to continue pursuing that in my own life. And I pray that you will, too.

Blessings on your journey-

Nick