In earlier Updates I have mentioned Michael Reeves’s book, Rejoicing in Christ. I have found this paragraph – from the chapter, Christianity is Christ – worth returning to:
We naturally gravitate, it seems, to anything but Jesus – and Christians almost as much as anyone. Whether it’s “the Christian worldview,” “grace,” “the Bible,” or “the gospel,” as if they were things in themselves that could save us. Even “the cross” can get abstracted from Jesus, as if the wood had some power of its own. Other things, wonderful things, vital concepts, beautiful discoveries so easily edge Jesus aside. Precious theological concepts meant to describe him and his work get treated as things in their own right. He becomes just another brick in the wall. But the center, the cornerstone, the jewel in the crown of Christianity is not an idea, a system or a thing; it is not even “the gospel” as such. It is Jesus Christ.
Insights for the Long Haul: This past week, I interviewed a long-time friend, Dr. Donald Guthrie, for a training event we hosted for staff and local clergy. Don, who was Dean at Covenant Seminary and who now holds several positions at Trinity, was one of the lead researchers in the longitudinal study of pastoral health funded by the Lilly Foundation.
By way of context, Lilly invested $84M to find out how to help pastors survive and thrive. Their motivation was based on three assumptions: 1) the well-being of church staff is important; 2) at the moment, pastors are quitting at a higher rate than before; 3) we do not know why. You can listen to myinterview with Don here. Below are a few of the things he said that stood out for me.
- Pastors are seldom fired because they cannot do the work. They are let go because they cannot manage interpersonal relationships.
- There is a significant difference between an ally and a confidant. An ally, who typically lives and works inside your organization (or church) is on your side, but if you share “heavy information” with them, they are likely to pass it along – especially if they value the organization more than they value you. A confidant – who almost always resides outside your organization – values you more than the organization and will never pass along what you share. Over the course of our life, most of us will have hundreds of allies and two or three confidants.
- The goal of life isn’t balance, it’s shalom.
- We need to ask ourselves, “Who flourishes when I steward power well?”
- Our life is shaped as much by the patterns we adopt as it is by the significant events we experience.
Quotes Worth Requoting:
- All gods who are not the true God become hungry. Annie – a commenter on Rod Dreher’s blog.
- As religion declines in secular societies, the eschatological yearnings for eternal hope, transcendent justice, and cosmic redemption must be heaped upon a temporal nation-state, creating an ever-increasing disillusionment as earthly structures struggle to cope with this overload. Mark Sayers
- Optimism is a force multiplier. Colin Powell
- God sees everything. And we are freaking out over a Facebook data breach? Mike Tanner
Ripped from the Headlines: More than 2 million Americans are now hooked on some kind of opioid, and related drug overdoses claimed more American lives last year than were lost in the entire Vietnam War or during the peak year of the AIDS crisis. Many more people die from opioids than from car crashes. In fact, so many people are dying from opioids that life expectancy in the United States has declined for two years in a row. (Andrew Sullivan, The Poison We Pick, NY Magazine, Feb. 20, 2018)
Praise: Last week was week one (of three) during which Christ Church was receiving pledges towards the REACH campaign. I am not aware of how much money has been pledged / collected, but I am excited about two things: the number of people – who have never given before, but who have made a pledge, and the developmentally disabled adults (who are part of our Special Friends program) who have made pledges. It is very encouraging to see people take steps of faith like this.
Prayer Requests:
- As I write this, I am reeling from the news surrounding Willow Creek, which is hardly isolated from other depressing stories. My prayer is that those who have been hurt in any way turn to Christ and his church and not away.
- Next week is Holy Week, which comes with various services – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Sunrise – and many visitors. My prayer for Easter always includes the prayer that the Good News becomes clear to people, and that those who have dismissed Christianity as the stuff of fairy tales, take a grown up look at Jesus.