12.19.2020 - week 84
believing something when nothing is anything
for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.
1 corinthians 3:11
my brother + i spend a good chunk of time on the phone trying to figure out the world. almost anytime one of us is in the car, we will call the other one talking about sports, music, politics, the church world, our bazillion common friends … whatever.
a couple years ago i started saying this one phrase that really drives landon nuts. i started saying, ‘of course, nothing is anything anymore.’ and he would also say, ‘what does that mean? why do you say that?’ it’s my way of conveying the (to my experience) wild changes to the culture in the last decade where seemingly all societal norms and agreed upon standards no longer apply.
for me, i think it started when bruce jenner told the world he was now caitlyn jenner. it continued into a famous reality star become president and now a normalizing of a significant % of our population thinking our elections aren’t fair or honest. or athletes not playing games because they want to make political statements. it shows up in small things too, like wearing sweats in public becoming acceptable and my morning coffee costing more than my lunch at mcdonalds. perhaps the hardest one for me is realizing how many conservative people i thought i shared a burden for unborn with actually see the issue as a political football useful for scoring points with. the most bonkers to me was abraham lincoln getting ‘canceled’ for not being anti-racist enough
‘nothing is anything anymore’
my friend john mark comer see this in saying
‘there is a core human temptation to redefine good + evil on your own terms rather than to trust god’s definition of human flourishing’
you can’t accurately predict where society’s mindset(s) will be in the days ahead, and the speed of change and weirdness seems only to be speeding up. maybe you have felt this as well. the ground shifting. the dynamics changing. your ability to totally understand or predict or navigate the days ahead damaged by the world changing or setbacks you have had.
it may sound tremendously simple, but when we feel out of control in the broadest sense … we can and should turn our attention to things we absolutely know. if you think of your ability to understand or trust as a pie, we should give the biggest possible piece to the god who never changes + the people we know who share our values. we can still think and learn and grow in the ways culture pushes us that are good without falling into a hole of misery about the stuff we wish wasn’t happening.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
hebrews 13:8
that’s the something when nothing is anything.
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
1 Corinthians 3:6-9
These verses have been swirling in my mind lately. We, as Christians have an opportunity to ‘water’ and ‘to plant’ things for the kingdom but the words that keep tossing around in my mind are that GOD GIVES THE GROWTH. Interestingly enough these verses follow a confrontation where there was a ‘who taught who’ argument going on in the church. At this point in the chapter Paul is saying, “ok, ok, ok, let’s stop dropping names!” Paul wanted the church to remember that as Christians you and I can have a role in the kingdom and God wants us to use our gifts and he wants you to serve him with all your heart. But, God is always and will always be the fertilizer that makes the ministry grow.
Earlier this year I had planned on starting a small group which felt like an answer to prayer to use my gifts but then the pandemic hit and the only option was to be on Zoom. For about a week I wrestled with God about it, knowing I needed it for personal growth although I could always back out because of covid homeschool. But that small group with people that I met mostly on Zoom turned out to be a bright spot in my week. The truth is it started really small and as people got excited about it they told other people about it and it grew. God brought the growth, but had I chosen not to obey the call I wouldn’t have been able to experience the joy in seeing him bring the fruit from seeds I planted.
I’ve shared before that my gardening skills are at best poor; but planting counts for more than physical seeds. So often we only think of growth in terms of numerical growth or financial gain and accomplishment. But, growth in God’s economy can certainly look like that but it can also seem invisible because it’s in you.
Most of you know that we recently sold our home in LA and we moved back to where we grew up to start a church. As we pulled away from our home in LA for the last time my eyes welled up with all the tears. There was a lot that Luke and I dreamed about that would happen in our time there that didn’t necessarily come to fruition but what God did in our hearts and our minds in that home included soul work that was hard fought. Luke was pulling the car around and rolled down the window only to see my ugly cry and he said, “Kristen, I believe that what God did in us here was more than what God did through us.” GOD GIVES THE GROWTH. It may not be as we think it should or how we think best.
As you reflect on this year and what you hope for the next, may God show you the seeds he has grown this year and where he wants you to water next. 2020 has had its share of frustration but maybe it has given you more time to invest somewhere that you would have otherwise been spending in traffic. Maybe you feel discouraged about the amount of growth, we’ve been there. Give to God your hopes for the potential harvest, and do your best to persevere in obedience. Remember, GOD GIVES THE GROWTH.
leadership thought
faith takes more faith than cynicism
cynicism is hot. nothing is more in style these days than believing the worst is ahead. the church is flailing. leaders are failing. the government is … struggling. and somehow the smartest among us have positioned their not so subtle rhetoric at the doorway to 2021 blocking the idea that next year might be better.
their vibe is that of course the virus will last til 2023 at least and of course colleges will never be the same and of course malls are all closing and of course churches will never be full again and of course this time the cubs will go 200 years without winning and of course the political toxicity will never shift and of course it will always be as bad as it feel and never not this way. it’s like there is a medal somewhere to be handed out for who can be the most certain of our mutual demise.
but what if those who see all the potholes in the road ahead and the carnage on the road behind and still look forward with a smile aren’t naive or deserving of derision?
what if in re-loading and setting out with enthusiasm again they are exhibiting even more brains + faith than those who stand back with elitist negative certainty?
what if trying again is braver than critiquing those who do … that’s good news in the neighborhood.
book review
i recently met addison bevere at a pastors event and we really hit it off. in addition to having well known christian parents in common, we also have a deep desire to help the church be better without being a jerk about it. maybe reconstruct instead of deconstruct. he has done this well in ‘saints.’ the book (like the little paragraph above) does an excellent job of challenging some common patterns of thinking in a way that builds up rather than tears down. this book is gently prophetic, and if you have been in church your whole life, i think you will really find it useful.
super christian guy
stuff for you to click on
1. new midweek service this week … i think you will find it really useful. watch it here!
2. this week i shared a playlist of my favorite christmas songs which included this one, not totally sure its a christmas song, but WOAH … an incredible 11 min none-the-less. listen here.
3. i love cal newport’s work on to be more productive and less distracted. i find this article about slack particularly thoughtful …