Never Grumble the Rumble!

It's Monday, the first after a beautiful Christmas celebration and holiday, and I'm at my office, welcoming some bits of routine.  Getting here wasn't the easiest, however, as Sarah and I stayed one more night in Broken Bow to help cheer her dad on during his birthday dinner.  We woke this morning to see that our 20% chance of snow was 100% falling on the ground.  Nevertheless, we decided to forge ahead and try the roads.

As we carefully made our way over snow-covered roads in the dark, snowy expanse of highway 2, I realized on any other day, the sound of the rumble bar under my tires would be a reason to grumble.  On a dry, well-defined road, rumble bars, now in place on both the sides and the median, present themselves as mere annoyances.  For me the rumble bars usually serve as announcement to my passengers that, yes, once again, Jason has decided to pass a vehicle.  Sleepy eyes open wide and spines straighten as if I had just committed to ramping over the next bridge with our vehicle.  The rumble bars also serve as an announcement to my passengers that, yes, Jason has once again taken his eyes off the road to search for a more engaging station.  The bars mostly seem to serve as the first scolding announcement and a handy prompt for more scolds.

I have often thought to myself, why do we keep doing this to our roads?  Is this really a fix to inebriated driving and snow-covered highways?  I haven't really been a fan of the bars in the past.

But this morning, my allegiances changed.  Without any traffic to help light the road and the addition of a moderate snow cover, at times the road lanes were nearly impossible to distinguish from the shoulders during our drive.  The occasional sound of an under-tire rumble and the constant flare of a road-side marker became welcomed (even desired) signs of guidance, protection, and comfort.  I wouldn't have felt nearly as safe or confident without them.

How many times in life when we're cruising along, wanting to get where we are headed, on our own time, in our own fashion, by whatever means we choose, do we begin to grumble when the "rumble bars" of life hum their announcements and warnings.  We want to tell them to mind their own business and quit pointing out all our choices to others.  We want to fly under the radar, insisting we're doing this just fine.

But just like the state of Nebraska felt it was worth the added expense to lay endless miles of studded tracks down the sides and middles of our roads, God also knows the deeper value of the warnings, revealing truths, and gift of accountability He has put alongside our ways.  When we swear we're doing just fine, God seems unfair and a little too controlling or condemning.  But in all honesty, whether the "weather" is fair or not, God's annoying rumble bars and road markers are often the very things that save our lives and guide our ways to safety and good outcomes.  They are there, in the sun and the snow, to guide and care for us.

And so, even when we do grumble, let's remember to give thanks for the rumble bars of life and the roads.

More to come!

Jason <><

Denying God's Gifts

Who would ever, in their right heart or mind, deny God's gifts or blessings?  It seems when God responds to our needs and petitions, it's often after a long wait and a strenuous haul.  That moment of reception is often a sigh of relief and release of pressure that shows itself as the light of a new dawn in our lives.

So who would deny a gift from God?  Why?

Just yesterday I found myself walking down the very road of wanting to hide what God has been doing in my life.  Since coming to Horizons, our lives have been pretty intense, and 60 to 80 hours weekly is a typical week for me.

Yet, as we approach this Christmas season, a.k.a. the "busy" season, I'm finding a clear path before me minus much of the typical seasonal debris.  It's a tremendous gift from God, a moment of rest, of restoration, of building up for a new season.  Amen!

Holiday lights with my parents!

Yet, as I've considered the extra time I have, decisions have come up about how to spend it the most wisely.  My gut reaction is to fill these open hours with new tasks and future work.  My gut responses when choosing NOT to fill my time with those activities are guilt and fear.  Nevertheless, instead of simply filling my free time with other tasks and greater details in the areas I'm already working, Sarah and I have taken some time to be together.  We took any opportunity last Friday to visit my parents and celebrate my father's birthday.  We are anticipating having the chance to spend a little more time with family over Christmas and New Years.  We're genuinely excited and thankful.

Yet, yesterday at church (12/22), as people asked me how I am and how the season is going so far, my first response was to assure my inquirers I am doing well and, yes, keeping very busy in this season--to the point of being slightly, and typically overwhelmed.

But God's voice came very clearly to me in the midst of my responses:  "Really?  I'm giving you this tremendous gift, the one you've been praying for over a year now, and now that it's hear you're hiding it?"  I quickly had to change my tune and tell the truth:  God has been so good to us so far this Christmas.  I have had some extra time to be with family, to care for my wife, to ponder some deep-heart questions about the future of my ministry.  This is good, and I can't feel guilty about it.

BUT in that moment, I saw how easy it is to hide or deny the gifts God gives us.  We do this for many of the following (inappropriate) reasons:

• We feel guilty or undeserving.  It doesn't feel right to be blessed when others aren't, even though God never promised life would be fair.
• We grow afraid others will be upset we aren't using our extra time on them, and that we are being selfish, even though Jesus reminds us we can't be healthy for others if we aren't healthy for ourselves first.
• We get really used to being the victim of overwhelming situations and over-stuffed schedules, to the point it becomes our identity and our reason for needing others' constant sympathy.  It feels quite discomforting to step away from that role, even though Paul reminds us Jesus set us free for freedom, not so we can just pick up our chains again.  

So today, and for however long this season is, I'm going to share about God's work in my life and live as fully into God's gift as I possibly can.  No guilt, no fear, no need to return to my chains.  Amen!

More to come!

Jason <><

Incompetent and Blessed!

It's a rainy Monday morning just 10 days from Christmas day.  Many people I spoke to yesterday were elated to have the "beautiful" weather.  I honestly think gray and soggy isn't too pretty, even if the temperature registers 50+.  But that's just me.  It might snow this afternoon.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to spend some time with two successful church leaders in our denomination.  Between several of the conversations and questions my peers and I asked Adam Hamilton and Mike Slaughter regarding some of their keys to success, both responded with similar, deflating, and surprising recommendations:  as a leader of a growing church, the quicker you can admit and publicize your incompetence, the quicker you'll be able to grow.

Serious?  It sounds impossible.  Aren't leaders good at what they do?  Isn't that what sets high-capacity leaders apart?  How then can it be good in any situation to parade about in my inadequacies?
Perhaps it's different in the corporate world, but at church, where Christ is truly the head, this kingdom work isn't about weeding out the greats and putting the most powerful on top.  It's about becoming a stronger, deeper, more diversified community of tightly-knit disciples working together as a mass movement, heading in one direction.

That's when the church truly takes shape as an inextinguishable force for life, light, faith, and good.

I was most recently reminded of this yesterday afternoon as I drove out (behind schedule) to guy's home who is part of a great church family and two HOME groups.  Several men assembled yesterday to help him put up Christmas lights on his house in time for his children, grandchildren, and most importantly, his wife, who has been in the hospital with significant health challenges, arrived at the house.

While I was late to the light-hanging party and was feeling sad I hadn't seen the family since Tuesday, I knew it was going to be okay.  Where my incompetence and inadequacies in my time and availability have cropped up, a sea of loving, competent, church family members and staff have come pouring in.

As I pulled up in front of the house, I saw men everywhere, crawling like ants, working like elves, putting lights up everywhere.  I've seen a ton of these moments lately.  It's beautiful.  It's the church, the body of Christ.  It didn't get to this by my special abilities, but rather my single ability to admit and publicize my shortcomings!

Praise God for being inadequate.  That's when God is the strongest!


More to come!

Jason <><

If a Beard Could Speak

When I first started wearing a beard that looked like a real beard a year ago, several asked me "what does Sarah think about that?"

The truth is, my so-called beard grew out of my pursuit for laziness during our 2013 Thanksgiving break.  It's good for my soul to live drastically distant, when on vacation, from my standard regiment.  Additionally, rather than shaving after Thanksgiving, I simply let the beard grow.  The difference is more than wanting or intending to have a beard, I simply didn't stop it from appearing.

How does Sarah feel about it?

Sarah loves my beard, and certainly more than I do.  I don't mind it, but I think it risks me looking more like a pastor that I may want to at times.  So ultimately, I wear a beard because it's more work not to have it and because my wife loves it.

But what would my beard say if it could speak?  I'm guessing it would say the following:

• Moses had a beard.  If it was good for him, it's good for you.
•  It's too late to go back now.  If you get rid of me, people will squirm in the discomfort of how strange/young/less "manly" you look without me.
• You really should learn to love me, I make you look better, and many men would kill to have me.
• Never mind the sparsely, randomly placed white hairs, it's a work in progress.  

So here's to the beard.  I'm learning to love it, and yes, if I didn't want to keep it, I should have considered shaving it off earlier.  

Plus, it's "Christmasy" and season-appropriate!

More to come!

Jason <><

Even Bo's Coin is Double Sided

My sources tell me it was somewhere in the 2nd part of my message yesterday (11/30) that texts and messages begin pouring onto the phones of those in our 9:30 service.  The buzz was announcing Coach Pelini's termination.  Being fully consumed already by my tryptophan-tied, turkey-tired tongue that was making it difficult to pronounce words correctly, I hardly noticed the interruption.  

But, between services, I was made fully aware of the latest news--the rumors and high-expectations had won.  Nebraska will be seeking a new coach.  My immediate response was disappointment.  Being at the head of an organization that is largely out of my control, but largely under my responsibility, I have a heart for those leading sacrificially, even when the fruit of the labor is hardly visible.  I'm not equaling Pelini to a pastor, but I am certain the pressures and the challenges feel similar.  

Guessing that our second service might feel a little distracted unless I could respond somehow to the news, I shared my disappointment about the fickleness of our society.  It took 700 years for God to fulfill His promise of the Messiah's coming.  The Jewish community (as a whole) did not give up.  On the flip-side, however, it took a coach seven years to build up a good team and coaching program, and we decide it's too long; it's time to go a different route.  I'm concerned we're degrading the meaning and power of hope if we only have the capacity to let it live a short time.  Some things simply take time.  

Yet, the motivation behind today's thoughts is ultimately NOT about whether Coach Pelini should have lost his position or not, but about continually being willing to challenge ourselves by looking at both sides of the situation.  Before we too quickly decide the world is exactly as we see it at first glimpse, I invite us to rain on our own parades and go deeper.  Strong leaders and admirable people of faith alike will take the time and effort to look at the other side of the story, even when it hurts.

The other side of the Pelini coin?  

While many feel the coach's time was cut short and the criticism against him too staunch, leaders who fail to make big moves in order to pursue their visions and directions will ultimately fail to honor their roles as leaders.  The very nature of leadership, whether in the religious or secular field, is to go where people aren't already gathered and bring others along.  Leadership is not simply to go where most people already are and dance in circles.  It's been said that in regard to the competitive nature of university education and the pursuit of excellence, any school wishing to stay on that continuum must be willing and able to make tough calls in order to get to the next level.  In other words, it's difficult to get to the other side of a chasm if we're unwilling to release our stronghold on the side on which we're already standing.  Pelini's departure is UNL's attempt to make a leap forward.

And so, at the end of this, I can't say either way exactly how we should look at the situation or what it truly is a sign of.  But I can say that we should slow down and challenge ourselves to grow in our understanding before we too quickly jump to conclusions and base many of our subsequent choices on those conclusions.  We'll be better leaders and stronger people of faith if we do.

More to come!

Jason <><