God Wants You To Rest

This is something I wrote this week for Preacher's Corner, but I thought it would be a great message to parents of high school students - especially as we near the end of the school year.

God Wants You To Rest

Have you noticed how busy we all seem to be these days? Most of the people I interact with on a regular basis are living extremely busy lives. They are always on their way to do something, coming back from doing something, or on the phone or computer scheduling a new “something” to do in the future. In fact, I can’t think of a single person in my circle of friends who I could consider to be living a life that models the rest that God outlines for us in His Word. (That broad statement includes my own disobedience in this area).

Many of the people I ‘m thinking about could be best categorized as workaholics; they have busy jobs with high demand that, on the surface, might seem to justify the constant activity that makes up their lives. Certainly such a pace must be worthy, right? I mean, come on, God wants us to take pride in and execute our work with His excellence and zeal, right? Of course He does! But doing so requires that we approach life and work with the balance He outlines in His Word. After all, when He finished creating the heavens, the planets, the stars, the earth and everything that walks, breathes, crawls, swims, flies, laughs, cries, bites, stings, and nests upon it - He took a break. He modeled rest for us right from the beginning...and not because He was tired.

So how might we add rest to schedules that are already overbooked with meeting the demands of bosses, friends, co-workers, spouses, family members, and the laundry list of other people we so greatly value in our lives? It won’t be easy, but it can be done.

First, we have to be intentional. We have to begin scheduling rest, on purpose, onto our calendars with the same, or higher, priority as the other things that dominate our time currently. If we have proven anything thus far, it’s that rest is not going to just happen for us by accident. There are WAY too many people and “opportunities” chasing and scratching for our time and attention to just leave our time to rest to chance. We have to be intentional.

Second, we have to learn to say no to things that are important in order to say yes to other things that are more important; one of those more important things is rest. There is absolutely no end to the causes that other people will allow you to care about on their behalf…things that are admirable, God-honoring and worthy of quality time being spent on them. But if your focus on those extra things takes over the time you have set aside to honor God by resting, you are stating to God that you have figured out a better plan than the one He modeled from the beginning.

Lastly, it has to be guilt-free. If rest is not a regular part of your schedule right now, practicing it might make you feel guilty at first. It might even make you feel like something is missing or that you are weak for needing good rest. Nothing could be further from the truth. A life that includes rest is balanced; it is healthier physically, emotionally and spiritually. Taking time to rest means you’re not just obeying something that God commanded, it means you are practicing something that He modeled. 

High School Missions - A New Chapter

Most of you know by now that we have completed our work in the New Orleans area. This summer we will turn our focus to New York City and the victims of Hurricane Sandy. We will be working on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens.

Robert and I visited there this week to get an idea of the work we will be doing; what we saw was something VERY familiar to us. We will be working with a group called “Friends of Rockaway” which is a companion group of Saint Bernard Project. We are familiar with their work as we have partnered with them before while working in New Orleans.

We were allowed to tour a couple of the work sites and, again, found some very familiar things happening. The homes we visited had been under about 4 feet of water and  were buzzing with volunteers working on drywall, flooring, and painting - all the things we learned to do while working in New Orleans! It seems like a great opportunity for us to use in another part of the country the skills we have developed while helping Katrina victims.

We are very excited about the work God is calling us to do in New York. Please be praying that we will find ways to honor God’s Kingdom as we serve those in need, and that we will be able to forge new relationships that will allow us to speak His message of Truth to individuals and families there.

- Michael 

Taking The High Road

A friend this week commended me regarding a situation where he had observed me “taking the high road.” We typically consider “the high road” to be the one more difficult to take. It’s the path less traveled by because it doesn’t really get glory or realize personal satisfaction. It’s usually the one that puts you in the second seat and others ahead of you. And to be quite candid - it’s a road that is usually more difficult to take. In fact, I would say that I’m not accustomed to the scenery of the high road because I feel that I take it too infrequently.

This week we started a new series in our high school ministry called “Entourage.” We talked about the friends around us, the kinds of friends they are, and the kinds of friends we are to them. We looked at the story of David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18, 19). Jonathan was a completely biased friend to David, but he was biased in DAVID’S favor! He moved out of the way to put David ahead of him, and only got “in the way” when it was time to protect David.

As adults, our relationships are not much different than those of students we love. We have to navigate situations all the time that define the nature of the friendships we claim to cherish. Our behavior in those crucial times will reveal our true hearts about those people, though, and show who we really love more - ourselves or others.

Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Then He modeled this love by dying on the cross for us. 

What kind of friends do you have? What kind of friend are you to others? Is your mindset “me,” or is your mindset “we?”

Let me know what I can pray about for your family.

- Michael

A Different Kind of Freedom

In a few months we’ll be gearing up to celebrate our nation’s birthday. Independence Day is not just about back yard burgers with the neighbors or an excuse to set off mini explosives attached to popsicle sticks - it really is a time where we can pause to celebrate that we live in the greatest nation on the planet.

It is also a time to give thanks for those who provide that freedom for us. Those who take up a weapon. Who stand a post. Who step into harm’s way. And some who even give what we call: The Ultimate Sacrifice. I believe it is appropriate to give thanks both for the nation in which we live and to the scores of young men and women who ensure the freedoms we enjoy as a result.

There is a different kind of freedom that we enjoy, though, that doesn’t always receive the same degree of pomp and circumstance as the land of the free and the home of the brave. It’s the freedom that we enjoy as citizens of the Kingdom of God. And that freedom, too, came with a sacrifice - The Ultimate Sacrifice. And the stakes were much higher than the temporal freedom of one nation; the eternal fate of humanity was in the balance.

When Christ staggered up Calvary, His footsteps were not unsteady solely due to the weight of the cross He was carrying - the weight of your sin and mine was infinitely heavier than those wooden beams. And as He completed His task of bearing our sin and shame, there were no medals to be given or parades in His honor. Rather, the One who sent Him on the mission to begin with actually turned His back on Him just as He needed Him most.

This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday. It’s the day we remember Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He came into the city on a donkey and the crowd paved the street before Him with palm branches. And it seems almost impossible when reading those words that some of the same people who shouted, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”  in those moments would just a few days later be shouting, “Let Him be crucified!!”

On Palm Sunday at the Glade Church you will have an opportunity to hear clear teaching on The Ultimate Sacrifice that Christ made. You will have the opportunity to sing praises to Him. You will have the opportunity to receive communion. But most of all, you will have the opportunity to honor the One who gives life…and gives it abundantly. You can give thanks for a different kind of freedom.

I Doubt You'll Read This

I doubt it. 

No doubt about it.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

We’ve all likely used these phrases at some point in our lives. But when we start thinking about doubt as it relates to our faith, it can feel “wrong” to many of us. I think that’s because although we know the basic tenets of our faith, it can be challenging for us to be “okay” with questioning the foundation on which they are built. It’s almost like questioning our faith lessens our belief. 

I experienced this the other day in my truck while listening (on YouVersion) to the book of Romans. In chapter four there is a reference to Abraham and the law. Well, I got to thinking about Abraham and his wife having a child, a promised child, so late in life. Then I got to thinking about how long he lived (175 years). That made me think of how long other people in the Bible lived. Adam - 930 years. Noah - 950 years. Methuselah - 969 years. Somewhere along this bunny trail I was chasing my faith collided with my sense of reason.

Could these men have REALLY lived that long? Was a “day” in Genesis the same as a 24 hour day today? If they did live that long, what was different then? Could the impact of sin be SO profound that it lessened the length of human life? If sin had not entered the world, was human life EVER supposed to end in the first place? 

As I asked these questions to myself mentally, they came with a certain degree of guilt. Yet as I reviewed them over and over, they seemed (to me) to be completely FAIR questions…questions that actually drive my faith AND my sense of reason to a common ground. They are helpful questions that deepen my understanding of those tenets of faith I mentioned earlier.

As a minister to students, I want teenagers to have a sense of awe and a sense of wonder when interpreting God’s love letter to us, the Bible. To do so, I want them to feel free to ask tough questions. I want them to have a healthy doubt that drives them to ask critical faith questions. Why? Because I believe there are answers to be given. I believe we serve a God who doesn’t fear these questions. In fact, I think He knows those questions can drive a closer relationship with Him. He knows that these questions reveal a grace and love that can come from no other source but Him. So, yeah…I think He’s good with that.

I hope you will be open to sharing your doubts with your teenagers. I hope they can feel permission to share theirs with you. And I hope you will be able to explore the answers to your faith questions together. 

Please let me know what I can pray about for you or your family.

- Michael

Take In Some Teen Culture This Week...And Next Week, Too

One of the expected blockbusters of 2014 started in theaters this week - Divergent. Actress Shailene Woodley plays “Tris” who has to learn quickly that being “divergent” carries with it uncertainty and danger. To be remain safe from that danger, she must continually hide, even lie, about who and what she really is.

The heart of this book (and movie) revolves around a prominent narrative in teen culture right now: survival. Tris is constantly facing new discoveries and new battles that challenge both who she is and who she is going to be. If you read the book you will find yourself cheering for this young girl as she pushes through these obstacles. But you’ll also find yourself quickly relating to her struggle and finding parallels of them in your own life.

Stepping into the false reality of this book, and many others like it, can give you a very real sense of the teenage spirit and mindset. The world in which students live is much different than the one in which most adults live. In fact, I would guess that most parents would be surprised at the everyday goings on in the world their teenagers live in day after day…things that would utterly astonish them. 

A student asked me this past week why I was going with a group of students to see Divergent and not promoting the popular Christian movie release, Son of God. Well…it’s not an “either/or” issue for me. Divergent has my attention simply because it has THEIR attention. I would encourage you to step into their world, listen to their language, and understand their values. One of the best ways to do this is by engaging the media that they consume. 

Let me know if there is something I can pray about for your family.

Sometimes Following God Is Painful

Many of you have heard me speak about bringing our work in the New Orleans area to a close this year. Although New Orleans holds a very, very special place in our hearts and is certainly a key part of our ministry to and with high school students, there have been some signs that it is time to move on. And those signs have been affirmed in our current trip to New Orleans.

But having been down here so long (8 years now) and on so many trips (right at 30 just for high school ministry), we are now faced with saying good-bye to good friends who have become…well - family. We love these people. We love this city. And we love the work we’ve been blessed to do here. It’s difficult to walk through the process of knowing we will be leaving something that means so much to us. And the pain of that separation has, as well, been affirmed with our current trip to New Orleans.

The interesting thing is that as we have shared with people in this area that we are shifting our focus to the many people up north who remain homeless or affected in other ways by Hurricane Sandy - no one understands that better than people here. Many of the people we serve in St. Bernard Parish lost everything in Katrina….and lost it all again in Isaac. They “get” that we need to move to the places where we can be most effective both for God’s Kingdom and for those who still need assistance with the most basic needs of life.

I hope you will join me in praying for peace and direction as we prepare to enter a new season of ministry with our high school students. There’s not much about this that will be easy, but it will most certainly be familiar. We watched God forge strong relationships in a crucible of pain and suffering in this area. We witnessed and participated in His name being lifted high among the chaos, and we were blessed to bring Him glory for everything He has done and continues to do through us in this place. I can say with the utmost integrity that HE has been the star of our work in New Orleans - not us. 

As sad as it makes me to leave a place that has monopolized the last 8 years of ministry for me - I’m invigorated about the possibilities that God has not yet even revealed that await us in New Jersey and New York. I’m excited about making Him famous there…and beyond. It is for His Name and His glory that we are privileged to serve. Please pray that He leads us to do nothing less.

- Michael