Horizons Learning to Fly

Many of us remember learning to ride a bike.  For me at least, it wasn't a pretty journey; I still have scars on my knees from those falls.  But eventually my wobbly jaunts down the sidewalk and into the neighbor's fence turned into hoping curbs and races with the neighbor kids.  It just took some time and practice.

Just yesterday (June 29th), Horizons had its 2nd annual "Love Lincoln" day.  We essentially cancelled our worship services, took only as long in the worship center as it took us to get centered and instructed, and then we went out into the community to love people.  Some went downtown to talk with those currently without housing.  Some went and handed out water and small gestures of kindness at the farmers market.  Some visited residents and staff at a retirement living community.  The list goes on.  But regardless of what we did, the point was to love as Jesus loved--to get beyond the church walls and experience worship on the ground instead of in the stadium seats.

It was an AWESOME Sunday.  Guests at Horizons for the first time joined groups and went out to love on Lincoln.  Many of us who are a little out of practice or the habit had a chance to see God work through us once again in bold and subtle ways.  Smiles were given and received, seed money was spent, neighbors were greeted, hands were held, and in most all cases, Jesus was present or shared through our hearts and words.  Praise God!

But getting a church into the practice of loving on others isn't easy.  It's a lot like learning to ride a bike.  We're still a little wobbly.  I'm pretty sure we have a couple skinned knees (possibly even literally).  Several people stayed away for one reason or another or walked out of church once they learned of the day's activities.  But it's worth it.  Nothing grows the heart, the soul, or the nearness to Jesus the way sharing his love with others will.

And some day soon, Love Lincoln at Horizons will be hoping curbs, racing neighbors, and making the community even more awesome than now!


More to come!

Jason <><

2 Days for 2 Years

It is official today Sarah and I have made it through the first two years of our married life together!

Without sounding overly sentimental or glossy, I have to admit and profess how great a gift our relationship and life have been to me.  God knew what He was doing, and knows still.  Sarah and I have only just begun our life together in comparison to all that yet lies ahead, but we've already experienced and successfully navigated through many situations and circumstances that have grown, shaped, and unified us. We've also had countless moments of laughter, joy, gratitude, adventure, and enjoyment, which are either part of the gift of our marriage and faith or the result of our hard work.

So, to celebrate our two-year anniversary this last weekend, what did we do?  We chose another adventure of mishaps, fun, and relaxation at Blue Stem Lake, southwest of Lincoln.  We have a trusty tent and all the necessary gear for a wonderful outing like this.  But of course, along with swimming, grilling, walking, napping, Frisbee throwing, etc. also came the heat, the humidity, the nightly and morning storms, melted ice, sunburns, and similar "miseries".  But as we weathered and encouraged each other through these things, we now have yet one more story to tell about the growing, shaping, and unifying, not only of our hearts, but also of God's heart (metaphorically speaking) to ours.  We had a blast, got sufficiently soaked, burned, and bitten, and came out laughing as we recalled all the things we loved about the weekend and our life!

Here's to two days of continued adventure and gratitude for two years of life together.  And here's to encouraging each of us to continue living our adventures and to continuing valuing all the things God gives us and puts into our lives!

More to come!


Jason <><

New Job Description

We tell each other as pastors that our priorities should be as follows:

1. God
2. Self
3. Family
4. Church
5. Friends
6. Recreation

For those who aren't pastors, "work" could go in fourth place.  Also, although we all should pour more into family/others than our selves, when it comes to care, if we aren't healthy, it's very difficult to care for anyone else.

We tell each other this because it doesn't resemble how most pastors and church staff tend to order their lives.  Often it looks more like:

1. CHURCH/WORK
2. [family self faith friends recreation and everything else fighting for a piece of what's left]

As we can imagine, this doesn't work so well in the end.  We burn out, wonder where God is, and sink into the defeat of feeling as though we're not good at even one single aspect of our life.

As staff and other pastors in my covenant groups, we've been talking about rewriting our "job" descriptions, where the top outcome of our work is a deep and robust relationship with a living God.  

While it feels liberating and powerful, the challenge is in the follow through.  Even in this new order, we put all the important stuff first (just like the first list suggests), but in the secret hopes that doing so will ultimately bless and benefit number 4.  When this is the case, number 4 is ultimately still number 1.  

So today I remind each of us, whether pastors, staff, or working people in the world, put your living God first, and build that relationship for NO OTHER purpose than to build that relationship.  Let God grow into the rest of your life.  After all, it's truly amazing what happens when we fall into Jesus' arms.  

More to come!

Jason <><

Having Any Fun?

I wonder what moments, that aren't recorded in scripture, the disciples and Jesus had together that were simply fun and full of joy.  We mostly hear about the big stuff in the gospels because each is an intentional document written to make a serious point.  But I trust there were tons of moments when deep laughter and silliness overcame that group of 13 as they poured their hearts into a world and history changing movement.

My reasons for wondering come from my reflection over this last Sunday (6/8/14), as we celebrated our 2nd annual Volunteer Sunday.  One of the best parts of the day is that it's simply a bunch of fun!  We (literally) roll out the red carpet for our volunteers, cheer them on, take pictures of them, recognize them, and bless them during the day.  But in every aspect of it, we go over the top.  In some ways, way over the top.

This year I continued my station at the microphone outside, announcing across the parking lot the arrival of our next volunteers to the tunes of Super Man, Star Wars, etc.  We continued the tradition of playing little rock riffs as we congratulated and blessed our volunteers during worship.  We continued to be appreciative and thankful.  But new for this year, we also decided to spell "Thank You" with our staff t-shirts, and our decorations were everywhere!

There was tons of laughter about the event's magnanimity, slight embarrassment and big smiles as I forced people to walk down the red carpet, and chuckles as we worshiped, sang, and reflected.

But the best part was not just in the particular moments of our event.  The best part was that for a whole Sunday we remembered how to laugh at church and simply enjoy the day.  We remembered that church is not only about setting our hearts fervently toward our Savior, but also letting our hearts be free--free enough not to care or worry, free enough to fall into God's hands, free enough to spell "honk" with our letters and enjoy having the idea.

Isaiah 30:20-21 reminds us there will be times when we have adversity and affliction in our lives, but we are also being taught to have joy.  Today I ask all of us, are we remembering to have any fun?  Our lives are about that as well!




More to come!

Jason <><

God Can't be My Hot Rod

Last week's post was fun to write--I had a moment of creativity I believe came from being off an extra day.  It was about wishing and believing God could be a muscle car I could drive around town, showing off, making others wish they had God too.  Just in case you'd like to read it: "Something to Brag About"

While I still want to affirm the analogy and encourage us to reconsider our perceptions of God, I realized I had done something our culture is fond of doing, that yet can be quite destructive.

I was telling Sarah (my wife) how excited I was about my post and the idea of it.  She was also enthused.  But as she walked into the other room and I sat thinking further, my hot-rod analogy sparked other conversations I've had over the years, primarily with men, but with some women as well.

It was the conversation of one spouse wishing the other looked differently or better.  It was the reminder of studies reporting how our magazines, movies, models, and pinterest are all portraying the "correct" look and behavior of both women and men to the point that we no longer see people, but images of things we should be.  It was the study reporting that after viewing pornography, the same parts of the male brain that are most active when seeing images of hammers, saws, and trucks become the most active parts when images of women were shown.

It was at that moment, while I was still thankful for my post idea, I realized I was running the risk of objectifying God as well, and that I needed to take the analogy a little further.  While I still encourage all of us to change our perspectives and see, believe, and know that God IS powerful, fast, capable of anything, glorious, unbeatable, and worth showing off to our friends, God IS ALSO we not reduce Him to an object.

I believe God's resistance to being put in a box is what deepens our faith and makes who God is, in all parts and as a whole, infinitely more dynamic than the superficiality of an ultra-utility vehicle.  And so, just as we are called to look past the object our culture encourages us to see in our spouses, friends, and people of the opposite sex, so are we called to look past the object we might wish God to be as well.

Instead, let us see a God who is mysterious, full of character, unpredictable, yet completely reliable, manipulation-resistant, yet extremely collaborative-prone, always moving, never changing, always working with us, never failing, full of love, full of understanding, full of desire for our hearts, and far more beautiful than our eyes could ever dream to see.

And let us see those around us through similar lenses as well.  They'll become far more beautiful as well when we do.  Praise God!


More to come!

Jason <><