The Topeka Capital Journal ran an article last Saturday on this journey that TD and I have been taking. (I’ve written about how TD and I got connected before.) I’m pretty humbled that people are starting to take notice of what we are doing, but I hope a bigger story doesn’t get lost in all this attention.

We want to live out the reality and hope of Jesus for our city. We – the Church – want to be a redemptive voice of blessing for our city.

In order for that to be a reality, we must deal with another ugly reality – racism.

I’m going to walk a fine line here that needs to be understood. There are some major issues facing our city (and nation). We have schools that need community involvement. We have parents in need of job training, financial tools, and parenting help. We have students that need access to technology and better study tools. We have multiple contributing factors in our community that are feeding a human trafficking problem that needs eradicating.

These are issues that need the hope and healing of Jesus. Guess who is designed to deliver that hope and healing? The Church. Not a church. Not a denomination. Not a personality. The Church. The called-out people of God on the mission of Jesus under the power of the Holy Spirit.

So on one hand, racism isn’t the biggest issue that we’re taking a look at. It’s just not. And it can’t be. Jesus has to be the point. He is the only one that brings real healing and hope. The Church is about being His bride, nothing else. The Church can’t have any other agenda except to be on His mission. That can not get lost in all of this.

BUT when the Church continues to tear itself apart from itself because of color and culture, she’s not really the Church anymore. At best she is the wounded, broken version of what God intended. Like it or not – race continues to be the single most dividing issue inside the church. For all the studies and research clamoring on how ineffective the church has become in presenting the person of Jesus, the reason may be as simple as this:

It’s really hard for a lost world to see the love of God in an institution that still practices segregation.

What’s the answer?

Let me start with a humble confession:

I. Don’t. Know.

I know we can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing and expect different results. I know that for now, we deal with what God has put in front of us. We pray like crazy, listen deeply, and then courageously take steps into the unknown as He is leading. I know I want more than just an annual pulpit exchange and periodic men’s breakfasts together. I know there is a mission TOGETHER that God is calling us towards as Christ-followers – not white Christ-followers or black Christ-followers.

I know that while the differences are real and significant, what we have in common in Christ is greater. And at the end of the day, His grace is sufficient.

May we all learn how to walk deeply in His grace.

My grandmother loved her Oldsmobile Delta ‘88: V8 engine, light blue, and roughly the size of an Abrams M1 tank. That car had a special place in her heart. I also remember the day my grandfather traded her beloved Oldsmobile Delta 88 for a 4-cylinder Chevy Citation about the size of her sewing machine.

He had made the deal without her knowledge. As he pulled up in the driveway, the first question my grandmother asked was, “Where is my car?” When my grandfather answered, “This is your car,” some untouched region of fury was unleashed from my grandmother. My grandfather may have served in the US Navy during World War II, but it is doubtful he ever suffered such a barrage of language in his life.

We grandkids didn’t even get to hear all of it. We were quickly whisked inside, while the rest of the neighborhood got to enjoy the sights and sounds of an unhinged grandmother in a complete DEFCON 1 meltdown.

There was no filter with my grandmother. She said what she thought with no holds barred. I loved her dearly for that, but… don’t you think there is something fundamentally wrong with having to have the last word in every single argument?

Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel 2:14

For the Christ-follower, there is something much more important at stake than just winning an argument. The people that we often find opposite of us on important issues are NOT the enemy. They are prisoners of war. They are stuck in a prison they can’t see, taste, or touch, but it is a prison nonetheless.

It’s our job to live out our faith and introduce them to Jesus. Will it mean at times fighting for right and truth? Yes. Redemptively. Not win at all costs. Not in a way that insults or disrespects… Speaking with discernment is not an option for Christ-followers.

To use the phrase ‘That’s just how I am’ or ‘That’s just what I think’ ignores the command of Jesus to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. It ignores what his Spirit is trying to do in our life to make us look more like Jesus. It completely misses how Jesus spoke and lived when he was on the earth. In short, to say what we want, when we want, is blatantly disobedient to Jesus.

Daniel responded with tact and discretion. That should be the norm for Christ-followers. That doesn’t mean we compromise the Gospel of Jesus. We are still all sinners, completely a mess without Jesus, and He is humanity’s only hope. But HOW we speak of the story of God is JUST AS IMPORTANT as the story itself.

Let me say that again. HOW we speak of Jesus matters just as much as WHAT we speak of Jesus.

Why else do you think God sent Jesus to earth? He was done relying on humanity’s own version which was being communicated about Himself.

Let’s take a careful look at our conversations and interactions with the people around us. Is it discerning? Is it full of tact and discretion? Or does our mouth need an emergency brake to stop the flow of words at times? If we are going to thrive in Babylon, we’ll need to learn discernment.

And not talk like my grandmother.

When Daniel and his buddies were hauled away to Babylon, the last thing on their mind had to be thinking of ways to prosper their new home.  I’m guessing there were extreme bouts of depression, despair, and anger, as well as some incredibly passionate pleas to the Lord for rescue.  

But rescue wasn’t coming.  Redemption was.  Rescue was not.  Jeremiah told them straight up in Jeremiah 29, “You are going into exile and those left behind in Judah are going to experience the sword, famine, and pestilence.”  Judgement was coming for generations of disobedience, and the ones who were exiled would need to prepare to get comfortable and live life in their new home.  

Jeremiah also told them that one day, the Lord was going to redeem Israel.  When they sought Him with all their heart, He would restore them and make them a great nation again.  

That’s the fine print that many people miss when it comes to God:  He’s in the business of providing redemption, not rescue.

Redemption is life change. Rescue is escape from the circumstances.

Redemption is a process. Rescue is a moment. 

Redemption involves relationship. Rescue involves a first responder.  

Jesus wants a life change, one that will take us through a process and will invite us into a relationship.  More often than not, people want an escape from their circumstances – not to experience real transformation.  They are looking for a quick fix, not a process.  They are looking for a hero, not a long-term relationship.  

Redemption is better.  It’s longer.  It’s harder.  It’s messier.  But it’s better.  

So many times people wind up standing in the wreckage of their own making while asking God for rescue, not realizing that He is offering something so much better than that.  He’s offering a complete game changer.  He’s offering something harder, longer, and messier:  redemption.  He’s offering something that will make sense and purpose of the mess we find ourselves in.

Rescue doesn’t provide that.  Rescue only provides a temporary reprieve until we find the next ditch.  

The prodigal son story?  That’s a redemption story, not a rescue story.  God let him experience the consequences of his decisions.  There was no rescue there.  Once he wanted something different, God rushed in to redeem.  

So if you’ve been praying for a rescue…  maybe it’s time to start praying for redemption.  And then follow Him through your mess into something better.  

We are done with the Keep Faith Weird series, and usually when this happens, I’m quite ready for the next one. That’s part of my personality: look forward, never backward. Keep advancing, because you can’t go back anyway. And I’m usually really, really ready for the next series, because I’ve been studying on it for quite some time.

BUT… There are times when I wish we had more time. And I hear some of you saying, “You’ve got all the time in the world!! Just take it.” Timing may be a better word I’m looking for. This was one of those series that we could have stretched out for months, but maybe it’s better to spread it out over a year rather than tackle it all at once.

I feel like we hit the surface on these 4 key practices that will take our faith to WEIRD places, and now we are moving on. Each one provoked so much conversation in our Connect Groups and among us as staff as well. Each one seems to have layers of understanding and application. In short, it feels like we are leaving a lot of meat on the bone.

This week I challenged our staff to an exercise to help us keep applying these practices:

Take each of these practices and flesh out an application or two to keep in front of you. Maybe put it on your calendar or journal. Once a week, come back and get another one.

For example, Restful Contentment contained the nugget I have all I need to accomplish all He wants, meaning I don’t have to stress, freak out, or worry. The mission He’s called me on, the people He’s put in my path to interact with… God has already given me exactly what I need. Rest in that.

Be content with the gifts and talents God has given me, don’t get lost in the jealousy over the gifts He HAS NOT given me. Otherwise, I’ll miss the miracle God is trying to work through me.

Let me extend that challenge to you. Take a moment and revisit these practices, but fair warning… your faith will be stretched. That it will cause your ‘normal’ faith to seem lacking and empty. It will get weird, but it will be better.

Restful Contentment
The busier I get, the more stupid I become.
Jesus’ yoke is easy and light.
I’m created to live in God’s rest.
My rest comes first from believing.
Anywhere WITH Jesus is better than anywhere without Him.
He can teach me to be content, because He is all I need.
My identity in Christ can’t be touched, or destroyed, or taken away.
I am who I am because of Him. Rest in that.

Radical Forgiveness
Forgiveness isn’t trust, nor is it condoning or forgetting.
Forgiveness IS relinquishing the right for the offender to pay the cost.
Unforgiveness is when I choose to pay that cost.
Forgiveness is NOT reconciliation.
Reconciliation is a two-way street. Forgiveness is one-way.
Forgiveness is not optional for the Christ-follower.
You will never be who God wants you to be with unforgiveness in your heart.
We are most like Christ when we forgive.

Generous Compassion
Compassion starts with seeing people like Jesus sees people.
There are no invisible people.
Bring all that you have to Jesus. He’ll make it work.
He’s given me all that I need to do all that He wants.
Be obedient with what I have and where I am.
Wait and watch for the blessing.
It’s impossible to outgive God.

Messy Discipleship
Jesus dives into the messy.
I have heavenly power to rely on, not human power.
Start with WHO, not HOW and WHY.
Once we see the image of God in another, that will be all the reason we need to get messy.
True discipleship wants to see transformation, not condemnation.
We are created to be sent out, not sheltered.

I’d love to hear your list. And as we begin a new series, let’s not be so quick to forget this last one. I hope 2019 gets weird for us as we continue to be a church that lives out the reality of Jesus for those far from the Gospel.

I was invited to attend the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church here in Topeka by my friend Pastor TD Hicks. The ceremony was Sunday night, 6pm.

Truth be told, I wanted to watch the AFC Championship game, but TD invited me. What do you do when your brother asks you to go? You go.

The service recognized two African-American leaders in our community. One of the highlights of the night was the incredible words of former Judge Joe Johnson. For all the rhetoric that pervades our media, I found his words much needed. Some of his words still ring in my head this morning:

“I was conscious to help the young black man, and sometimes helping the young black man is to make him accountable when he did something he had no business doing.”

“I was told when I started my own law firm that the black community couldn’t pay me and the white community wouldn’t trust me. What I learned was if you fight for justice and win for your client, they don’t care what color you are.”

“I’m old and retired. It’s time for the younger generation to step up and lead with integrity and honor. It’s time for us to give the mantel over.”

The keynote speaker was Mr. Alvin Brooks who reminded the room of the primary motive and message of Dr. King: love. Love of all people.

The music…oh good gracious. I can’t say anything to do it justice. I think the hair on my arms is still standing up.

The other highlight of the evening… TD took a few moments to introduce the visiting dignitaries. I was surprised to find out that list included me. TD called me his “twin brother who I had to move to Topeka to find.” His gracious and warm introduction was not necessary, but I appreciated it. He’s a dear, close friend, a true brother.

I never once felt uncomfortable or like an outsider, even though I was one of only a few white people there and the only white pastor in the room. I didn’t feel that way, not because of the incredible introduction TD gave. It’s because we really, truly are close friends. Before the service, his son came up to Amy and I and gave us the biggest hug…well, the biggest hug that a freshman in high school will give in public. Joan, TD’s wife, sat and talked with us about how crazy she’s going to be if the Patriots go to another Super Bowl. André, their associate pastor, talked to us about his job and how his Christmas was.

In short, there’s a relationship there. I’m not foolish enough to think that these little interactions will solve the racism schism in our country. But I do believe it should give all of us a window of hope to look through.

What are the odds that the son of a Birmingham, Alabama firefighter, who grew up in arguably one of the most racist cities in America, who had relatives on the hoses and wore white robes, would be sitting in a black church on a Sunday night in the city famous for Brown vs. The Board of Education?

Actually the odds are pretty good, because racism is learned and my parents never tolerated any of that in the house. Despite where we lived and our environment, my mom and dad modeled something different. I watched them work with African-Americans, watched them have their African American friends over for dinner, played on the same teams with them, pray with and for them. Don’t think for a minute that they didn’t take some heat for such behavior. They did.

But my parents, even after their divorce, lived out the reality that every person is made in the image of God and worthy of respect. Character means more than color.

So I’m hopeful. Because if the racism cycle can be broken in just one generation with a white boy born in Birmingham, then it’s also possible for a lot of other people as well. And it won’t be the education system or the judicial system or the government that leads the way. It will be and must be the Church. Not the compromised church that is more in love with politics and power, but the real Bride of Christ that is on His mission to redeem the world.

I’m so thankful He’s included me on this journey.

Admit it… you’re singing the song.

I’ve been trying to get down
To the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it’s about forgiveness
FORGIVENESS
Even if, even if you don’t love me anymore.
Don Henley, The Heart Of The Matter

I love me some Don Henley. Boys of Summer, All She Wants To Do Is Dance, Dirty Laundry.

I digress.

I’m not sure of Henley’s spiritual beliefs, but he pretty much nails it. Forgiveness is the heart of the matter. Is there a more Christ-like action any Christ-follower can do for, and towards, another person? Are we not most like Christ when we are forgiving?

I was talking with a pastor-friend of mine this week. He said the issue of forgiveness was at the core of so many relational problems that he dealt with as a pastor that he preached a series on forgiveness every single year. I feel the same way about The Prodigal Son story. I think it’s the single most important story that Jesus ever told, where again forgiveness emerges as… the heart of the matter.

There is no getting around the fact that as Christ-followers we are called, expected, and commanded to forgive. And the why is easy to see. Jesus forgave us. No amount of “Yeah, but…” stands in comparison to the cross. What could be said to Jesus about forgiveness? “You don’t understand?” “You don’t know what he/she/they did to me?” “The hurt is deep?” “The betrayal was so atrocious?”

But forgiveness is NOT reconciliation. It’s not condoning the action. It’s not removing the consequence. It’s not trust either.

Forgiveness is releasing the demand for the cost of the offense to be paid to you. That’s it. Not forgiving is saying you’ll pay the cost – in bitterness, anger, and hurt.

One last thing on forgiveness and trust. At the end of John 2, Jesus is teaching in Jerusalem. He’s performed some miracles. People are really gearing up to follow Jesus or push Jesus into the limelight. John tells us that while Jesus loved the people, He did not entrust Himself to them because He knew their hearts. What’s that all about?

Jesus knew the fickleness of the human heart. He knew people would have different agendas than He and the Father had. He knew ultimately that humanity could not be trusted at that point. So He held back. Didn’t change the fact that He loved humanity. Didn’t change His course to the cross. Didn’t change the fact that He was going to forgive us. Just meant – He didn’t trust…yet.

Trust would come later. After Acts 2. Giving us both the Great Commission and the power to accomplish it by placing His Spirit in us.

Does that make forgiving easier? Maybe. Maybe not.

There is no denying that forgiveness gives freedom. Freedom to move on, to grow up, to see beyond the moment of pain. Forgiveness brings life and fresh air to our souls. And we are most like Christ when we forgive.

Sunday, 9 AM & 10:30 AM: Preach on Restful Contentment
Next 24 hours: 65 text messages, 47 emails, and 26 phone calls

I’m not complaining. Not at all. It’s a sacred trust being the pastor who people call in the middle of their crisis. It’s both deeply satisfying and incredibly heavy. It’s not something I take for granted – to be invited into these moments. I’ve prayed when families couldn’t speak. I’ve listened when they had no one else to speak to. I’ve been the calming voice in the middle of the storm, and at times I’ve been the clarion siren pointing out the rocks they are about to crash into.

There’s no real blueprint for this. We are completely relying the Spirit to speak, nudge, move, whisper. At the center of this, I understand that my primary role is one of presence. To help us all remember that God is here, in the middle of this mess.

And yes, I get tired too. So if you ever wondered if the pastor REALLY has to apply what he preaches about on Sunday? The answer is yes. Absolutely. Positively. 100%.

I have to BELIEVE that Jesus is in the middle of every storm. That’s His history. He’s got a great track record. So I’m not believing blindly or without confidence. He’s in the storms of my own creation and the ones that are thrown at me. And He IS working. He is working for GOOD. I may not see it… now. So I pray for eyes to see… eventually.

I have to WAIT. Wait for His timing. It frustrates me that God is never early. Never. He doesn’t bend to my timetable. He doesn’t seem to care that I have this all planned out in my mind. He doesn’t seem particularly in a hurry either. I suspect this is due to Him being more concerned about the character He is trying to form in me than the actual outcome of the situation. So, I’m learning to wait. I’m learning to adopt to His timeline, not insist on mine.

I have to EMBRACE. Embrace the moment. Pray that He makes me content. Pray that I find my contentment in Him because He is enough. Have I experienced Him enough to know that He is enough? I have to embrace that in my humanity I need Him.

And I need Him more now than the day I decided to first follow Him.

There is a tension I often see Christ-followers wrestle with.  On one side is this hope and promise of a vibrant faith that changes everything, a faith that is dynamic and life-giving, that gives purpose and is the seedbed of miracles.  There is this desire to grow deep in Christ and have more and more of our lives look like Jesus.  We want a faith that is the rock that will hold steady in the middle of life’s strongest storms.  We see the hope and joy of this faith in the life of others, and we want this.  

On the other side is a deep desire to be… “normal.”  We want to fit in, to be seen as cool or relevant.  We don’t want to be singled out for our faith or called “Jesus Freak.”  We don’t want to be labeled as weird or “super Christian.”  It’s hard enough for us as it is in our world the way it is without adding the extra issues of being a crazed Christ-follower.

Here’s the truth.  Normal doesn’t work.  If normal worked, people wouldn’t be looking for hope and for answers.  If normal worked, why are normal people suddenly not so normal when they encounter hardships and trials?  Normal can’t withstand the hard stuff of life.  Normal ends up being hollow, boring, unimpressive, and unfulfilling.

Do you really want that kind of life?  Is that the kind of life that is worth having?

Yes, living out the reality of Jesus can get weird.  It puts you in weird circumstances.  You’ll have weird conversations.  You’ll be asked to do weird things, and you may even be seen by your peers as a little…. weird.  But I think weird is okay.  

I actually think weird is better than okay.  I think weird is better.    

We are going to look at 4 key ways we can start living out our faith and making our faith… weird.  This is not an EXHAUSTIVE list by any stretch of the imagination.  But these 4 are foundational.

Restful Contentment

Radical Forgiveness

Generous Compassion

Messy Discipleship

We covered Restful Contentment last Sunday.  Access the message here.  Watch it.  Join us the next three weeks.  It’s gonna get weird.  And that’s a good thing.

Because of your generosity in 2018…

We were able to send 17 people to Honduras with Trash Mountain Project.  We helped feed and educate hundreds of kids in the Philippines.  We delivered 65 backpacks full of food per week to 3 different schools in Topeka.  We gave every kid at McCarter Elementary a backpack for school supplies.  We gave away dozens of scholarships for Upward Soccer, Football, Basketball, and Cheerleading.  We supported two missionary families in countries closed to Gospel work.  We painted and cleaned McCarter Elementary as part of the Topeka ShareFest project.  We helped a church in the Hi-Crest neighborhood provide tutoring and technology for at-risk kids.  We also renovated our worship space so we could fit more people in the room.

We are a unique church.  In 2018 we spent 34% of our budget directly on Serve All ministries, and we’ve budgeted even more than that for 2019.  But NONE of it happens without GENEROSITY.  I’m talking about TIME and MONEY.  When God’s people are generous with both the TIME and the MONEY that God has given them, TRANSFORMATION happens. It changes us.  It changes our church.  It changes our city.  We experienced that in 2018, and we have even more in the plans for 2019.

So thank you for a great year this year.  Thank you for being generous with your time and your money.  You helped us flesh out our vision of being a people that lives out the reality of Jesus for those far from the Gospel.

Just a couple of reminders…  If you want to make a year-end financial gift, all you have to do is:

Give online before midnight on December 31st,

OR Mail a check to us that is postmarked by December 31st.

(For our autodraft givers, remember to re-login in January for giving.  We never just assume people want to keep to giving.)

Merry Christmas, Western Hills.  And thanks for being a generous church that loves to bless our city.

This past Sunday we unpacked Advent: PEACE with some help from our friends over at The Bible Project. Like I mentioned in the message, the concept of peace in the Scriptures is so much deeper than just the absence of war. It’s the concept of completeness… wholeness.

According to Scripture, no one fulfills bringing the peace like Jesus does. From a prophetic and theological standpoint, this is fairly easy to see and understand. Jesus by virtue of his life, death, and resurrection, gives us peace with God. The debt we owed to sin is paid by Jesus. As a theological construct this is fairly straightforward, and it is a major reason why Paul (in Ephesians 2) says HE – meaning Jesus – is our peace.

Here’s the problem… How can Jesus be my peace in the middle of the wreck that I call my life? What good is this theological truth in the middle of financial or relational crisis? If I’ve got job issues and kid issues and marriage issues – not to mention the state of the whole world right now, then how useful or practical is this “theological truth” of Jesus being my peace?

This is not a new tension for those of us who live in the 21st Century. In the very time that Jesus was born, they had the same questions. In light of centuries of being under the oppression of corrupt governments, having a lifeless and disconnected religion putting more burdens on families, how could the arrival of a little baby boy be the solution to all of that?

There may be two different ways to look at this.

The first I pose with this question. How many messes in our life are actually out of our own creation THEN we ask Jesus to make PEACE out of it? He’s gracious, and I know He can and will cover them. I can’t count how many of these situations I’ve put Jesus in the middle of, but the truth does remain that so many times Jesus really isn’t my PEACE. He’s my life preserver after I realize the thing I was using as my PEACE (money, position, influence, smarts, other people) failed me.

Christmas can be a great time to ask ourselves what or who really is our PEACE. What are we trusting our lives with? What gives our souls ultimate rest and security? If it is something other than Jesus, we will never EXPERIENCE the PEACE of Jesus.

The second way to look at this has to do with how big is your Christmas story? If Christmas for you is only the manger scene, then you’re missing out. That’s not really Christmas. If Christmas for you includes the whole life of Jesus, the cross and the resurrection, then that’s not really the whole Christmas story either.

This is because the complete promise of Christmas will not be experienced until Christ returns again. This time, not as a baby but as the King of kings and Lord of lords. When every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. When He will make a new heaven and a new earth, where death and sickness are no more, where darkness has no place to hide.

And He will be our PEACE.

Til then we live by faith. Believing Him, based on His character that He has already proven. And that gives us temporary peace for now.