Ready or Not, Worship!

Worship by far is one of the most powerful things that we do at Horizons.  There is no other setting in which we gather in large numbers, all begin walking down the same path together, and find ourselves, at the end, completely enveloped by God's spirit, God's word, God's redemption, and God's new life for us.  Missing worship is like missing the soul's weekly feast.

Yet, I know, from experience and from visiting with others, that even when we DO attend worship, there are times when we still feel like we missed the worship.  Our minds are still cruising, thinking about work, the mad rush we had to make with the kids under-arm, the last exchange of words we had with our spouse or youth before rushing out of the car, the soccer schedule for the afternoon, the meal schedule, the dog, the neighbor's dog, the funny crease in the pastor's shirt, the overly "amped up" worshipers in front of you...  None of that magically goes away upon entering the building.

Furthermore, there are always those songs, messages, scripture texts, or series that we feel just aren't grabbing us.  Perhaps they don't make sense.  Perhaps we're not too fond of the particular focus or scripture, or we're feeling convicted.

Regardless of what combination of the above, the worship experience can be difficult to get into on Sunday mornings.

Although not one of us immune to worship interference, there are steps we can take to help us get ready for truly life-impacting worship:

1. Know ahead of time what the topic, title, and scripture is.  Every Monday, a preview is available on the website of the week to come including short thoughts and scripture.
2. Know the scripture.  Take time at some point during the week to read the scripture.  You'll know what to expect, and you'll also begin to see your own curiosities grow about what God has to say to you.  You may even want to write some thoughts down that will help you focus.
3. Get up a little before the kids (or simply earlier than what time normally leaves you rushing), and take a moment to wake up to the morning.  A prayer that I always find helpful, even as a pastor, is "God, this is YOUR day.  You know that I feel like I'm drowning in some parts of my life, but let me give all that to you today so that I can see how you wish to pull me out of the water."  
4. Pray as you enter the worship center that you can be fully present and that your worship will honor God.  Ultimately, although we believe that God clearly intended that part of worship be our learning and receiving new life for the day and week, we must remember that our worship is mostly about honoring, exalting, and glorifying God.  If we start there, with God first, we often find that God finds open places in our hearts to respond to our worship.  My prayer before worship is often similar to this, "Lord, let everything else in my life fall away today.  Right now, nothing else matters but who you are.  Let me remember who you are, witness what you have done, and celebrate what you wish to do with and in my life."  

Let these simple steps be the beginning of a whole new experience of worship for you.  Enjoy!

More to come!

Jason <><

An Ominous Title: "The Beard..."

The Pastor went on vacation with a clean-shaven face.  He came back from vacation with a 2-week beard.  What does this mean for the leadership of our ministry?

Ministry is serious stuff.  After all, it is the very battleground where faith, hope, new life, love of neighbor, and salvation are won.  But as serious as we take it, we must also work to find the same amount of joy and ease in our spiritual lives.  So today, rather than delve into the depths of Lent (the season before Easter), I've decided to venture into the discussion of a beard.

This is what we might learn from the beard today (not necessarily even mine, but ANY beard):

1. We don't go out and buy beards.  They grow naturally (to more or lesser degrees) on our faces. Truly, they are gifts from God.  Thus, letting a beard grow can be a model for letting who God created us to be "grow out" so that we can be a full expression of God's love.
2. Beards make everything different.  Pillows feel scratchy, wives squirm again during kisses, others' hair, lint, food, etc. have a new home, and everyone wants to know who the new guy is.  It's good for us to live in seasons of newness.  After all, it is God who ordained the new creation, the new day, the new covenant, the new earth, a new chosen people, a new gospel...  We are not meant simply to drone through our days and routines unchanged and unaffected, and changing one's outward appearance can be an easy way to model the deeper differences we should seek in our lives.
3. Beards take a lot of TLC.  Although it's nice to step away from the daily shaving routine, sooner or later, every beard cultivator ends up putting in some serious work on the fuzz.  Few have walked this earth with perfect facial hair.  The rest of us deal with bare patches, uneven distribution of thickness, inconsistent growth paces, the common calico affect, and  the hairs that prefer to stand out rather than lie down.  So bear owners eventually find themselves back in front of the mirror, inspecting, grooming, tweezing, and trimming--making sure it looks okay.  The same is for a our faith.  We like to think that once we get to a certain place in our faith lives, that we no longer need to do the heavy work and attend to the details.  But we see the truth that our faith is a life's work and journey, not something that just takes care of itself.
4. Jesus had a beard.  Actually, there's no telling whether Jesus actually had a beard or not.  For some reason, we like to assume he did.  It just fits our picture better.  But no where does it say that Jesus stood before the ____________ (name your subject here i.e. blind man, Sanhedrin, crowd...) and stroked his beard before answering.  We know Moses had one, so did John the Baptist, as did many Jewish contemporaries in Jesus' day.  But it brings up a good point:  How often do we assume things about the past and present, especially concerning our faith.  It's a good reminder that we should daily be prepared to be surprised in our faith, rather than continually seeking to be affirmed.  

And so, the beard continues to grow and teach.  We'll see how long it stays on my face.  I suppose it's safe to say that only God knows...  

More to come!

Jason <><

Practicing Lent

This week we participate in an ancient tradition of placing ashes on our foreheads--Ash Wednesday.  Some would say this is a tradition only for "high-church" settings.  Others would say it's an outdated practice.  WE say, this is rich, let us embrace these ashes.

Below is a practice for the season of Lent that begins this Wednesday the 13th and lasts through Saturday before Easter, March 30th, for all of Horizons and any others invited or interested.  Share it with a friend if you'd like!

The season of Lent, in a general sense, is a period of preparation and mindfulness of God's extraordinary gifts--like Advent in that sense.  It begins with receiving ashes, which serve as a reminder of our frailty and ultimate roots, continues from there as a season to be mindful of Jesus' sacrifice and the beauty of his suffering for us, and culminates in the occurrence of the impossible:  Jesus triumphing over sin and death to set us free.

The season of Lent, therefore, while meaningful, is often filled with the contemplation of our ashes and our need to be lifted out of them.  Some will enter into deeper prayer, others will temporarily give up behaviors or habits, while some will adopt other practices that help engage the heart in Jesus' gift.  No matter what we do, however, let our sacrifices or our practices ultimately lead us closer to realizing in our hearts, minds, and lives the gift, freedom, and life given to us through Jesus' love.

FOR LENT THIS YEAR:  "Embracing Our Ashes"

We are God's creation and are reminded that we once came from ashes and that we'll return to ashes in our death.  We are also reminded that during our lifetime, our hearts and lives are filled with ashes--of deceit, greed, idolatry, hate, and selfishness.  There is pain in this acknowledgement, but there is joy and freedom knowing that our life with God and our belief in Jesus will breathe redemption into us who are otherwise just ashes.  This is the event of transformation in our daily ashes that leads to life beyond darkness and loss.

Here's a way to acknowledge this in our lives this year:

1. READ:  Starting with John 16:4, read 5 verses each day but Sunday.
2. JOURNAL:  Consider and write down your "ash of the day" that most needs to be replaced with life.
3. PRAY:  Ask Jesus to let new life flourish in the midst of your "ash of the day."
4. PRACTICE:  Develop a weekly fasting routine of drinking only water for 1 up to 3 scheduled meals.
5. RECORD:  Take note of changes and observations you witness along the way.

Let this season and these practices shape your life and your faith.  Share with a friend.  Enjoy.


More to come!


Jason <><

4 Things the Youth Just Taught Me

This last weekend, I had an unusual and much-needed opportunity to join the youth from Horizons on their annual mid-winter retreat:  Planet Wisdom, in Tulsa, OK.  I went for three reasons--to refresh my own faith and learning, to get to know the youth, and to be an "adult" sponsor.  Our time together was awesome!  We all learned quite a bit from the speakers, but here are the things I learned that only the youth could teach me (all which is reflected in 1 Thessalonians 1:3-12):

1. Laughter is essential:  if you're not laughing at some point, it may not be worth hearing, learning, or experiencing.  God is in that laughter, which brings joy, bonding, and care.
2. It doesn't matter if you smell bad:  let's be honest, teen hygiene is a work in progress.  But I was astonished and thrilled to know that no matter how peculiar our guys room smelled or where the dirty socks fell, everyone was still more than willing to crowd in, eat pizza, share, and pray together.  Simply put, no one, not even the girls, cared.  They knew there were far more important things to pay attention to, as we joined our hearts and spent time with Jesus.
3. To desire is often times better than to succeed:  as adults we pride ourselves on how mature and quick we are to "get it" in comparison to teens who seem slow to learn.  But perhaps that's because we're better at dressing up the outside.  We have learned the art better of looking like we're all put together. In contrast, I learned a powerful lesson from the youth of having that desire be more important than simply completing another "growth" task.
4. Looking at others should start with the heart:  of course, whether we're teens or adults, we're all caught in the whirlwind of the visual age.  But I was reminded by the youth this weekend to look just as much with my heart as I do my eyes.  Every time I was feeling crabby, tired, excited, curious, mischievous, spiritually charged, or otherwise, the youth knew it.  Often, they knew it before I did, and it wasn't because it showed in my face.  My young friends saw it with their hearts.  I need to do some more viewing with my heart as well.

If you EVER have a chance to join the youth, fusion, confirmation, or DZ students on retreat, mission, or summer camp, please assure me you'll consider it.  It's life-changing, without doubt!

More to come!

Jason <><