For the Love of Zombies

Just this last Saturday I was asked to be the official chauffer for my sister-in-law's bachelorette party in the Haymarket.  At one point during the night as I drove down to take the girls to another location, I was face-to-face with an amusing cross-section of our American culture.

Somehow the traffic signals had been reversed so that people were queued to walk across a busy street while cross-traveling vehicle traffic had a green light.  In a mass moment of confusion I pulled forward to take advantage of a green light in front of me only to find a large sea of walkers who were also determined to take advantage of their queue to walk across the street.  As I sat in my vehicle for my personal front-row seat to the show, I watched a peculiar mix of zombie fanatics on parade for Zombie Fest and of long line of spiritually renewed women leaving the Women of Faith conference at the arena.  The women walked across full of lively chatter and oblivious laughter, and the Zombies limped, dragged, flailed, and glared their similar paths across the street.

The women were completely unaware of my presence (small sedans are nothing compared to the freight train of the Holy Spirit), while the zombies were very aware of my presence.  I get it.  It's part of being a zombie.  Zombies glare.  Zombies want to take my life.  Zombies don't care about danger or inconveniences they might be causing.  They're free from caring about anything really.  At least that's what I've gathered from the shows I've seen.  I commend both parties for living into their parts quite well.  Yet, I struggled with the scene.

I've always loved Halloween.  I love scary movies, gore, fright, and scary stories.  I love haunted houses, and I love dressing up for the day.  It's fun!  It's festive.  It doesn't mean I worship evil or am supporting dark spirits.  So as I watched the zombie parade, a fair part of me wished I would've thought to attend Zombie Fest.  Yet, as I watched our zombie fanatics participate in the massive parade of the living dead, I was struck by how popular this trend has become and how heart-captivating it is as I watched even small children walk with their parents in line dressed as dead people.  What is it about zombies that cause us to desire, glorify, and uplift the lifestyle of the living dead?  How is the concept of being dead inside yet still being animated and driven only to destroy other life so attractive compared to the lifestyle of the One who says I will carry your burden and make your load light and give you life everlasting, though you may parish, you shall have everlasting life and be with me in paradise?

It's funny how life works oftentimes, and how we as humans respond.  Hopelessness often feels more comfortable and attractive than hope.  Hope is hard to keep a hold of; hope is demanding of our attention and our efforts; hope often seems to disappoint us; hope rarely guarantees we'll be taken care of along the way or that the path will be easy; hope often requires us to make changes in our lives if we wish to still have it within us.  Conversely, the life of a zombie requires little, if anything at all, is accountable to none, has few cares or goals, leaves little to be disappointed about, and yet has a remarkable amount of power and control over others.  The life of a zombie, for many who are burdened, overrun, and tired of the weight of life, seems VERY refreshing.  If we can't seem to fit into the world, the march, and the lifestyle of the majority, we might as well fit into something that works and won't so quickly kick us to the curb--even if it means we don't truly have life within us.

And so, for the sake of reflection I offer this:  faith, hope, belief in a living God, and a relationship with the savior are not easy.  Sometimes people get their own pursuits wrong and try to exclude others from similar pursuits.  Yet, the pursuit is worth it; it truly is the only way, the only truth, the only life that fills us overfilling.  It does take time, it does take effort, it will involve pain.  But it's worth it.  It's good.

To my zombie-loving friends, I get it.  It really can just be for fun.  I may also choose to dress like a zombie someday.  It's a pretty easy costume to put together.  But to all my friends, don't let your hope dwindle to the point that accepting failure feels like a better option.  Keep going.  Keep seeking.  Keep striving.  This life that Christ offers us really is all good.

More to come!

Jason <><

Looking at 5 to 10?

Nope!  It's not a sentence.  Horizons leaders have been working since early April to discern more intently for the church where God is leading us into the next 5 to 10 years.  We've been calling it the 5/10 Plan.  We sought the hearts and dreams of all Horizons people, we surveyed a broad spectrum of leaders, we prayed for days, studied scripture, held hours worth of gatherings and meetings, and we worked together to learn a ton!

And now the plan has nearly taken shape!  Final drafting and future picture-painting will happen this week, and the broad spectrum of leaders will gather again this Sunday to see what has come of this process.  After conversations and prayer happen Sunday and perhaps some final edits, we hope and pray to share the plan with all of Horizons!

As the Pastor, I share my excitement and my anticipation!  It's been clear since last fall this is what was next for Horizons.  For nearly 3 years since I first arrived, we've been working tirelessly to return Horizons to a healthy state.  It's been great seeing what God can do!  Yet, going through a process of future planning, especially if it's truly Spirit-led, cannot be forced or manipulated.  If the activities of something like this are not in line with what God's intending, there's simply no going forward.

The depth to which this process has taken Horizons and me personally has been astonishing.  There were several times when I questioned if we'd need to prolong the process--not because it wasn't going anywhere, but because the more we learned and the deeper we dug, the more we realized we had more work, more learning, and more digging to do (digging includes praying, searching, etc.).  Even as our final focused study group opened its third meeting of three hours, I wondered where God would lead us.  My hope was simply that the Holy Spirit would be present, strong, and willing to bless our hopes and desires.  It was mind and heart-blowing to see just what God can do so perfectly with imperfect hearts.  By the time we finished, I could see it!  Our work was still a diamond in the rough, but we could see it!

In reflecting on this process personally, I am blown away by how God has been working through it to grow me.  I've never led any process like this.  Many churches and businesses will pay thousands of dollars to have a trained person take them through this process.  Additionally, there was much to learn about Horizons itself--where our dreams and fears and hopes and hurts all lie.  There have been some challenging moments and opinions.  There have been some surprising twists and turns.  I read through dozens of interesting articles and have engaged in various conversations. All along, the dialogue running through my heart has been  God?  Am I doing what you need of me?  Will you reveal to us where your heart for Horizons truly is?  Will you give me what I need to lead this faithfully?  Jesus, is this part of what you were willing to die for? 

Leadership and servanthood are terrifying.  Yes, they are also immensely gratifying, but mostly only in hindsight.  Godly leadership leaves all of the ego behind and most of our worldly confidence and assurance, because God's plans are always bigger, typically less comfortable, and often more radical than our human-contrived plans.  God's plans don't always seem to make sense or seem possible.  Sometimes they feel quite counter-intuitive.  Being the one God calls to champion His plans requires all the humility, trust, and courage we possess.  Nothing more.

Yet, I'm thankful to have the chance.  I'm grateful to be used as God chooses.  I continue to pray daily for where God's leading us, and I work to lay down my needs and ego.  Sure, I'm not Moses, Peter, or Paul, but at least I can play a small, yet important role in building God's kingdom!

Here's to the upcoming 5/10!

More to come!  


Jason <><

Rebel With a Plan!

It's old news by now, but I recently signed up to run my first half-marathon (the Good Life Halfsy).  I'm excited because I rarely sign up for these things.

Now that I'm all signed up and the event is nearing, the chatter and e-mails are increasing as well.  Apparently, it's time to start training.  I knew this was part of it.  I've blogged several times about how foolish it is believe we can go from 0 to Marathon in a couple weeks.

I will be training and getting ready for the event, but when it comes to training, my rebel side starts to kick in.  I don't "do" the plans, I'm not a gym junkie, and I don't spend money on expensive clothing, shoes, watches, special food, equipment, personal trainers, or other such "necessities."  Some of them may be very helpful, but my rebel heart tells me it's mostly for profit and little for performance.  I still seem to do quite well in my climbing, running, and racing endeavors without all the stuff and on my own program.

Yet, the other day as a Halfsy e-mail came in, my interest was piqued by a recommended Halfsy Training Plan.  I figured I'd take a look at it just to see how close my "most excellent" Jason-designed training plan is to the promoted plan.  There were many similarities, but in truth, I picked up some really good insights on how far my runs should be.

Additionally, and this is the kicker, I realized what an event like this has to offer that appeals to us so much:  the "big mission and community" aspect of it.  The first training run was set for yesterday (Sunday the 16th), and it was going to be a big event with vendors, sponsors, and activities.  Additionally, just reading through the plan made me feel like I am part of a big group and that we're all going to be striving for this together.  I printed off the plan and proceeded to run a 9 mile course the next day, as sort of recommended by the plan (I'm a bit ahead).

As I was running that 9-miler and thinking about this whole event I am now part of, I realized what we are often missing in our faith lives:  a larger, more unifying mission and plan for our goals.  Good Life is so effective at what it does that I'm confident many Horizons people chose to go to the opening-day training event (Sunday at 9 a.m.) instead of worship yesterday.  I admire the work these organizations are doing, and I'm glad to learn from them at every step.  The church needs this as well!

So here's to the plan.  I'm now in prayer about how we might be able to create similar plans at Horizons and get on our mission together!

More to come!

Jason <><

3 Guidelines for Knowing What's Right!

A question I often get asked and was posed again to me yesterday is how do we know what is truth--especially in more turbulent, unsettled days.  Even Pontius Pilate, face to face with Jesus before Jesus' condemnation and crucifixion and seeking for Jesus' real identity, scoffed at Jesus' mention of truth and retorted asking "Ha! What is truth!?"

I appreciate the question.  There are thousands of pastors, politicians, and other concerned/outspoken individuals wishing to lead and impress those around them to what they believe is right--and each one believing they have discovered the true truth while the rest have arrived at some form of false truth.

So how do we know?  How do we discern what it true?  Discernment, which is essentially decision-making based on the knowledge of the Holy Spirit, is our greatest tool.  Yet, most of us aren't well enough versed in the Spirit to discern as we're called.  Below are 3 guidelines to developing a more Spiritually discerning heart:

1.  Let Seconds be Second
When considering the sea of voices all calling out to us, the sheep, it can be confusing to know whose voice is reliable.  How can it be that two leaders can share really sound advice, yet be completely contradictory to each other?  One lesson we need to remember is the difference between primary and secondary sources.  Writers and researchers know this distinction well, as their use of these sources will often determine their credibility.  Essentially, when it comes to us seeking other leaders' voices and thoughts based on their research, study of scriptures, and experiences, we're accessing secondary sources.  The data have been filtered through someone's heart, mind, and bias already.  Secondary sources can be very helpful, but they should NEVER trump the primary sources available to us.  Go directly to the source.  Do your own praying, scripture reading, and wrestling before immediately putting someone else's word first.

Why is secondary information so appealing?  We often follow others because they clearly have a gift for making sense of things and for making compelling arguments.  Yet, we often gobble up the "wisdom" of others because it's easier.  We don't have to do the work that way; all we need to do is jump on board and enjoy the ride.

2.  Really Live With God's Word

If we want to begin truly communing with God and His Spirit, we have to spend time in His Word.  People often say they have made worthy attempts at doing this, but still end up confused and unsure about what to think.  Yet, what I often discover is when most of us attempt to make the journey of studying the word and seeking its truth, we attempt to go directly to the end for the answer, without actually taking the journey.

What I mean is this:  when we are confounded by a difficult decision or a heart-breaking issue and decide to go to scripture for direction, we often do a word search or a topic finder, and locate scripture that speaks about the issue or choice with which we're wrestling.  When I say really live with God's Word, I don't mean just to go to the end and read those passages over and over.  I mean go to the very beginning.  Start reading God's word, start downloading God's heart, start putting the pieces of His puzzle together.

The truth is all the words, stories, and lessons that seem to have absolutely nothing to do with our issue are absolutely crucial to the specific passages we believe will best guide us.  It's just like attempting to translate a French sentence into English (thank you Google translate).  We may get the words to match up, but rarely will we ever get the real meaning until we learn more about the French language and culture.  Read Psalm 42.  The Sons of Korah are reaching out to God for direction.  They too feel lost and as though God is distant or absent.  Yet, as the psalm progresses, the writer affirms God's presence and direction saying "deep calls to deep, and God is speaking in and through many things."  Essentially what is being said here is that deep wisdom doesn't call to shallow hearts or superficial knowledge.  The depth of God's words speak to the depth of our hearts and relationship--only formed out of intimacy.  Ultimately, God's specific word that applies to our issues won't be discernible to us until we know God's general word applying to the depth of wisdom!

3.  Cry Out
Even after we have rejected the easy road of taking someone else's word for truth and have begun to read God's whole word, we still often miss a crucial step.  We forget to cry out.  Isaiah 30:20-21 reminds us of a powerful promise God has given us:  How gracious will He be when you cry for help?  he asks.  As soon as He hears, he will answer you.  You will still face adversity and affliction, but when you seek me, I'll teach you.  You'll see me and you'll hear my voice guiding you whenever you begin to stray to the right or left. 

Discernment is less about knowing and far more about seeking what we'll never know on our own.  Rarely do we ask God face to face to speak to us, to reveal Himself to us, to lead us through something.  Instead, we read a passage, face an issue, consider a secondary source, and in solitude try to make sense of them, making our own conclusions.  We believe this is Holy work because we've considered holy sources.  But nothing can be holy if not brought before the Holy Spirit.

Additionally, crying out means something far different than what we make it.  Our crying out is done in the middle of the storm as the boat begins to fill with water.  Living with and and intimately communing with the Spirit takes time.  The type of crying out the Spirit requires is a constant, frequent, and consistent crying out.  God's direction is often only revealed over time because God is  seeking reconciliation with us in relationship, not just seeking to be our Holy Google for quick fixes and instant resolution.  When we seek God's revelation through true discernment, it make take months or years before God develops a sound direction for us in our hearts.

I know for each of us, this is hard work.  It takes time, and it's nearly always less fulfilling in the short-term.  Keep going.  This is our life's work!  It's in this that the true beauty of our relationships with God begin to flourish!

More to come!

Jason <><

A Week Not to Forget!

Wow!  VBS 2015 is complete, and our VBS and His Little Feet Sunday has come and gone.  What a beautiful 7 days to be a part of and witness!  Many have asked me, so how do you feel VBS went this year overall?  It's difficult for me to rate this VBS against others, but this is what I can say:

By far, of four VBS seasons I've now been a part of at Horizons, this has been the most spiritually engaging of them all, which I LOVE!  Horizons staff and leaders make it a priority to be in prayer for each event and effort we offer.  Yet, as the saying holds true, one can never pray too much.  This year more than any other, we quickly found the need to be in deeper prayer during the week.  Here's why:

VBS is Never on Auto-Pilot
Few churches can boast about their VBS being to the same caliber as Horizons'.  It's one of the areas in which we absolutely excel!  Yet, because the event and its success seems to come so easily to Horizons, we run the risk of thinking the event will nearly take care of itself.  This year we were reminded that it takes the WHOLE church, it takes EVERY volunteer, it requires EVERY invite, and it still demands EVERY ounce of passion we've poured into previous years.  One might propose we were reminded to work harder.  But in truth, more than we needed to put more effort into the week, we needed more prayer.  As we found ourselves short on volunteers this year and lower on registrations than usual, the opportunity to be in greater prayer became apparent.  And so we prayed!  By prayer and prayer alone we witnessed the miracle of volunteers come forward and invites to friends increase.  Never have those attending VBS invited more friends during the week than this year.  That's how powerful prayer is!

VBS is Never Just About VBSWithout the focus prayer brings about in our hearts, it's easy to hope and strive for something for the wrong reasons.  We LOVE VBS.  We yearn for it, get excited about it, and we push to ensure it goes well.  Yet, as we truly set our hearts to praying for the week, we were reminded what it's all about.  It quickly feels funny to ask God to make sure VBS is big.  It's like asking God to let the Huskers to win the championship.  Does God truly care about who wins the championship or how big our VBS is?  This last week, prayer reminded us of the deeper, more life-changing reasons why we have VBS.  It's through VBS that hearts, lives, and stories are brought to life, are redirected, and are filled with Jesus' life and light.  That's why we have VBS!  God DOES wish to bless things that will bring more of His people back to Him. Our constant practice of prayer over the week reminded us THIS is our true purpose and intent behind the events we hold.

Small Visions Cast Small Nets
Without prayer we often forget how powerful and grand God is.  Without prayer, we might feel as though it's only possible to welcome 200 children to VBS.  We look at numbers, trends, resources, our energy levels, and the energy of others, and predict by ourselves what is possible.  But in prayer, God reveals what His plan is.  It was God who brought thousands to faith in Jesus in just one day during the growth of the early church, not the efforts and estimations of the apostles (Acts 2:41).  Without prayer, our visions tend to be too small, and our efforts often render small results.  But in prayer, God gives us HUGE visions, blesses the efforts of servants, and renders unbelievable results!

Even Greater Things Can and Will Happen
Without prayer, we strive to meet all our goals and simply hope we might get there.  But as we saw this last week, in constant prayer and devotion to God's will, God will bring about even greater things, things far beyond what we could hope for or imagine!  It was while we were in prayer this last week His Little Feet called to ask if we would consider hosting them that Sunday.  Only God could have orchestrated this.  VBS and HLF children together?  It was a dream come true.

And even beyond that, through our prayer during the week and our focus on what VBS is really all about, God's power truly worked through our words and actions.  Jesus showed up, and the Spirit breathed ardently into the hearts of our children and adults.  By the end of Wednesday night, 56 children celebrated giving their hearts to Jesus, inviting Him to be their Lord and Savior.  Without prayer, this seems impossible and uncomfortable.  Through prayer, we confident and assured--this is our greatest desire and highest effort!

I am grateful for this journey.  The experience of prayer and the reminder of how important it is to be in prayer, constantly welcoming God's Spirit, has grown my heart and our hearts as Horizons staff and leaders.  Praise God for that!  While our record number of registrations may only have been matched this year, so much more happened.  Kingdom things happened.  Amen!

More to come!

Jason <><