To take seasons of quiet and silence are important.
Simply, observe the world around you. Try to set aside your ego and be present.
This is hard.
Really hard.
Over the last week or so, I have been trying to do this. What’s been beautiful about it is that I am seeing more of my tribe and what it is that is broke. I am seeing other tribes and their beauty. I am noticing my neighbor and the love I have for them.
In this too, I’m seeing my own selfishness, greed, and unloving actions.
I am also becoming aware of an inner rage that needs to be dealt with.
The ugly isn’t everything though, I’m seeing in myself some growth toward empathy, compassion, and the ability to let things go.
In the silence, I’m coming to grips with the absolute fact that Growth = Grace + Truth + Time.
The “Time” piece is the hardest. I want growth completed yesterday. I don’t want to wait or be patient. I am reminded that time needs to be given to all, including myself.
Fear is powerful. It generates strong emotions for fight or flight. Fear brings about not just emotional responses but physical as well. For the most part we work very hard at mitigating the fear that we feel and experience on a regular basis.
The time within which we live is filled with people telling us everything that we are afraid of or should be afraid of. Fear and promotion of fear is everywhere. It seems to be the currency by which those in power trade.
The story of the Scriptures opens by grounding people in their fundamental identity: human, the divine image bearer.
Thomas Browne in Religio Medici writes, “Let there be no doubt at the end of your life that you have been human. You are entitled to a Divine particle and to union with the invisible.”
“Beauty is the soul’s birthright.” – Bernard of Clairvaux
There is something that Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)”
Have you ever thought about it?
When was the last time that you changed something about yourself? Perhaps it was a diet or workout regimen. Maybe you limited the amount of screen time you were consuming to read more.
What was it?
Have you ever been to a place where you expected hospitality and received none? How did it make you feel?
- Frustrated?
- Angry?
- Annoyed?
- Disappointed?
- Unwelcome?
Each day we rise and choose. Nobody else chooses for us. It is our choice and our choice alone.
We choose joyfulness.
We choose hopefulness.
We choose gratefulness.
We choose happiness.
We choose love.
We choose anger.
We choose rage.
We choose frustration.
We choose irritation.
We choose hate.
It is our choice. Nobody can make us do anything.
In this week’s installment of #LoveWell Dan discusses the discipline of reconciliation. He’s riffing off David Fitch’s text, “A Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines That Shape The Church For Mission.”
Continue the conversation with Dan on Twitter: @danielmrose or Telegram: t.me/danielmrose
Every so often there is what I call, “The Pastor’s Lament.” This is when pastors take to the social media and explain how hard it is to be a pastor. They share memes of how pastoral ministry is so hard that they age like the President of the United States. They complain about the people they serve (not in public, but in private forums).
Basically, they whine.
I too am a pastor. Are there difficult things that go with being a pastor? Absolutely.
However, let us not lament, whine, or complain for we get to be cared for by the people of God to pray, serve, study, write, preach, and lead.
When we started the Antioch Movement, what is now becoming the Acts 13 Network, we made a decision about families. We decided that we wanted families to be together in all that we did. Our hope was that families would not be separated during their times of worship.
We believe that for children to grow and see what it means to be God worshipers, they need to be with their parents. Not only that, we think that they need to see other adults worshiping God too. Also, they need to be witnesses to the worship of their peers.