LeaderLines: What Each Generation Wants to Know

At Hillcrest we say “Every Generation Counts.” Every generation feels they “count” when leaders prove sensitive to the questions that people in different generations ask.

In a Leadership article, Gordon MacDonald said that as he prepares his sermons he tries to keep in mind what people in various stages of life may need to know. He was writing for preachers, but no matter what role you play at Hillcrest, keep these questions in mind. It will help you serve everyone in the wide age-range of adults in our church family.

Here the excerpt from MacDonald’s article:

Twenties

When I preach to people in their twenties, I am aware that they are asking questions such as:

What makes me different from my family of origin or the people around me? 

In what direction am I going to point my life in order to pay my way through life?

Am I lovable and am I capable of loving?

Around what will I center my life?

Thirties

Those in their thirties tend to have accumulated serious long-range responsibilities: spouses, babies, home mortgages, and serious income needs. Suddenly life becomes overrun with responsibilities. Time and priorities become important. Fatigue and stress levels rise. The questions shift to:

How can I get done all of these things for which I am responsible?

Why do I have so many self-doubts?

Why is my spiritual center so confused?

What happened to all the fun I used to have?

Why haven’t I resolved all my sin problems?

Why is there so little time for friendships?

Forties

For people in their forties, the questions do not get any easier. Now they are asking:

Why are some of my peers doing better than me?

Why am I so often disappointed in myself, in others?

Why isn’t my faith deeper?

Why is my marriage less than dazzling?

Why do I yearn to go back to the carefree days of my youth?

Should I scale back some of my dreams?

Why do I no longer feel attractive?

Fifties

People in their fifties are asking:

Do these young people think I’m obsolete?

Why is my body becoming increasingly unreliable?

Why are so few of my friendships nourishing?

What do my spouse and I have in common now that the children are leaving?

Does this marriage of mine offer any intimacy at all?

Why is my job no longer a satisfying experience?

Are the best years of life over?

Do I have anything of value to give any longer?

Sixties

Those in their sixties ask:

How long can I keep doing the things that define me?

Why do my peers look so much older than me?

What does it mean to grow old?

How do I deal with angers and resentments that I’ve never resolved?

Why do my friends and I talk so much about death and dying?

Seventies

Those in their seventies and above have questions such as:

Does anyone around here know who I once was?

How do I cope with all this increasing weakness around me?

How many years do I have left?

How long can I maintain my independence and my dignity?

When I die, how will it happen?

What about all these things I intended to do (and be) and never got around to?

Yes, I’m aware that for our church MacDonald stopped about 15 or so years too soon! We’re blessed with a seasoned gathering of those in their 80s and 90s at Hillcrest, too! But this is a good start.

Here’s what I suggest you do. Re-read this post again. This time, think of someone in the age range you’re reading about. If you need some ideas, thumb through the new pictorial directory that we just started distributing to our members. Pray for those in the Hillcrest Family who are in that age range. Pray for the unchurched in our community who are in that age range. And pray that our church will always be a place where every generation counts!

Tom

The excerpt was from Gordon MacDonald’s article, “Incarnate Preaching,” Leadership Journal, Summer 2007.
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"They really do hate people like me"

To have an informed national debate on redefining marriage, we could really use some even-handed coverage by our major media outlets. Let me know when you find it. Rod Dreher:

When it comes to reporting on the debate and events around the same-sex marriage issue, the [Washington] Post feels it has no responsibility to report fairly and accurately on people who oppose same-sex marriage, because they are morally wrong....

Over the years, talking to fellow conservatives about media bias, it has usually been my place, as one who worked in mainstream media, to tell conservatives that they’re wrong in some significant way about media bias — not its existence, but the way it works. Most reporters and editors, in my 20 years of experience, do not set out to slant stories, and in fact try to be fair. The bias that creeps into their coverage is typically the result of a newsroom monoculture, in which they don’t see the bias because everybody, or nearly everybody, within that culture agrees on so much.

In the case of gay rights and the marriage debate, though, they don’t even make an effort to be fair....They honestly believe they are morally absolved from having to treat the views of about half the country with basic fairness in reporting....

I love journalism, and consider it important. But when it comes to reporting on the culture war, my profession is deeply corrupt, and profoundly self-righteous. The contempt with which so many within newsrooms hold social conservatives and traditional Christians is real. Stories like this one temper my sorrow over the demise of my profession. They really do hate people like me, and consider us not worthy of the basic fairness they would use in approaching their reporting on criminals and terrorists.

Wow. Read the whole thing.

 

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Winning Ways: Is It Enough to Just "Be a Good Person"?

Someone--maybe you--will say, "Well, I'm not very religious, but I'm a good person--and that's what really counts."

Is it? Here's Tim Keller on the subject:

Imagine a woman--a poor widow--with an only son. She teaches him how she wants him to live--to always tell the truth, to work hard, and to help the poor. She makes very little money, but with her meager savings she is able to put him through college. Imagine that when he graduates, he hardly ever speaks to her again. He occasionally sends a Christmas card, but he doesn't visit her; he won't answer her phone calls or letters; he doesn't speak to her. But he lives just like she taught him--honestly, industriously, and charitably. Would we say this was acceptable? Of course not! Wouldn't we say that by living a "good life" but neglecting a relationship with the one to whom he owed everything he was doing something condemnable? In the same way, if God created us and we owe him everything and we do not live for him but we "live a good life," it is not enough.

Thought for the week: What will you do this day to develop your relationship with God, to express your deep gratitude to him, and to serve him with joy?

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Here are some important notices about upcoming events.

Mission: Possible. For the next 3 Sundays we're going to expose you to ways you can join God's mission in Austin (week 1), Texas (week 2), and the world (week 3). Meet with us @ 10!

Questions I've Wanted to Ask God. You and your Austin "network" get to pick what topics I'll cover in an upcoming sermon series. Starting this Sunday, pick up a stack of ballots, have your friends fill them out, and return them by March 23. We'll tally the top six questions for a new study beginning Easter Sunday.

Sweet Life Comedy Dessert Theater. Set aside April 13 in your datebook. You don't want to miss the hilarity. More information coming!

Discover Hillcrest. I teach this one-hour class for those who want to become members and for those who just want to investigate Hillcrest. Meet me in the gym after the morning service this Sunday.

Upward Awards Night. Come celebrate the end of another successful kids basketball season this Sunday night @ 6:30pm.

 

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Links to Your World, Tuesday February 26

"According to researchers from Brigham Young University, low social interaction has the equivalent lifespan impact as smoking 15 cigarettes daily, or being a raging alcoholic. Cutting yourself off from others is worse, even, than inactivity. And twice as bad as obesity. So, you better start making friends." Read the rest.

 

"Failure to understand the basic (and, frankly, not even that difficult to understand) arguments of those who oppose redefining marriage is inexcusable bigotry....Refusing to learn the arguments of those who oppose changing the law must end. It simply must end. The ignorance and bigotry with which reporters have covered this topic is a scandal. It’s destroying civil political discourse, it’s embarrassing and can’t continue" (Mollie, in a must-read piece at Get Religion. She's reacting to a WaPo report in which the paper explains why their journalists are unapologetically biased in reporting efforts to redefine marriage.

 

Austin draws the "creative class," but this article says such a population doesn't tend to do much for a city. In fact, while the creative class benefits from urban gentrification, blue-collar and service personnel find they can no longer afford the urban-core cost of living and get pushed out to the suburbs. Where, I might add, there are fewer city services such as public transit.

 

"A Tel-Aviv woman parked her car legally in a spot that the city apparently intended to turn into a handicap spot. City workers painted the lines and wheelchair symbol around the woman’s car. Then, later, the city towed her for parking there without a handicap permit." The video she presented of the incident went viral. (story)

 

What to make of NYU philosopher and avowed atheist Thomas Nagel? He argues in his latest book, Mind and Cosmos, that, as the subtitle puts it "the Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False." He seems very much to be making the Intelligent Design argument, though he prefers to speak of the unfolding of a "cosmic predisposition." The NY Times reports on how forcefully he is loathed by the Darwinian magisterium. The article includes a link to a review of the book by Alvin Plantiga (a Christian and respected philosopher). It's worth your time to read.

 

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LeaderLines: A Visit with Henry Gonzales, Austin Area Commander, Salvation Army

I want to periodically use LeaderLines to introduce you to some community leaders and opinion makers in our area.  I welcome your suggestions of community leaders and opinion makers you'd like me to interview. 

Our first interview was with Donna Houser, principal of Anderson High School.  Our second interview was with Eileen Flynn, faith columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. Our third interview was with David Smith, director of our Austin Baptist Association.

Today I want to introduce you to Henry Gonzales, Commander for the Austin Area of the Salvation Army.

--Tom

Commander, tell us a little about yourself and your family.

I was born in Orange, Texas and attended Little Cypress High School. I was one of 7 children and thus I had to learn what it meant to have big brothers and a big sister supervising many of my activities, i.e., staying out of trouble, going to school and attending church. As the 5th child I had to learn how to take care of and supervise my 2 younger brothers. What I learned growing up has carried over into my adult life and my chosen profession. While attending a youth rally I felt God's calling to become a Salvation Army officer. I was encouraged by my parents and siblings to respond to the high calling. In 1966 I entered the College For Officers Training to prepare to become an officer. It was at the college that I met my wife Dorris. After being commissioned as an officer (minister) in The Salvation Army, as Lieutenants we were married a year later and started our ministry. My wife and I have completed 45 years of unbroken service as officers in The Salvation Army. We were blessed with 3 children and we were further blessed with 5 grandchildren.

What is the mission of the Salvation Army, and how do you hope it helps make Austin a better place?

The international mission statement of The Salvation Army is:

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

The Salvation Army in the Southern Territory has adopted an additional mission statement:

Salvationists of the USA Southern Territory are answering God's call to make radical followers of Jesus Christ who love inclusively, serve helpfully and disciple effectively in the communities where they live.

There are many people that do not know that The Salvation Army is a Christian based organization. We are a church. Our roots are Methodist. The Salvation Army has 11 doctrines that are the core of our beliefs. The Salvation Army around the world is guided by our doctrines. The mission adopted by the southern region states that the Army provides ministry and services that are inclusive, that strive to improve the lives of people. These 2 mission statements are the engine that enables The Salvation Army to work with everyone to make Austin a better community. I would like to believe that the Army is a voice for the hopeless, the homeless, the disadvantaged and a place where these individuals can find refuge in a world that may appear to have collapsed around them.

What are your responsibilities as the Austin Area Commander?

As the Area Commander for The Salvation Army in Austin it means that it is my responsibility to coordinate all activities and services of The Salvation Army. This would include having spiritual responsibility and oversight of our congregation and to ensure that the army is on the front line providing services and programs to assist individuals.

Since most of my e-newsletter subscribers are church leaders, what do you think are the greatest needs of the Austin Metro area that our churches need to be aware of?

As church leaders we need to be aware there are many people in our community that are disadvantaged. On a daily basis the army provides services to the homeless, the discharged veteran and women and children in need of shelter. The church community needs to be aware that these individuals need to be treated with dignity and respect. It would behoove the community leaders to support not only The Salvation Army but other organizations who are striving to meet the needs of individuals.

What are some ways that people can volunteer with the Salvation Army?

The Salvation Army has a long list of needs where individuals can volunteer their time and services. I would direct you to The Salvation Army website www.salvationarmyaustin.org and encourage people to contact our volunteer coordinator Michelle Packer at michelle_packer@uss.salvationarmy.org. Michelle would be able to match the need with a volunteer’s area of interest.

How can we pray for you and the Salvation Army staff?

The Salvation Army staff and myself would solicit your prayers and the prayers of the church community asking that God would continue to provide the resources needed to meet the demands that are placed upon us. Pray that our staff may be encouraged by the good they are providing to individuals (it is so easy for a staff person to become discouraged in what at times may seem like a thankless job).

Winning Ways: When Heroes Fall

"I'm loving this series through Hezekiah," a young woman said, "I've never read about him before, and he's so inspiring."

"Oh, but just wait," I replied, "In the end he's going to break your heart."

"Don't tell me that!" she said, surprised. "Why do the best stories always have to end that way?"

She's right about the best Bible stories, you know. There's Moses at the rock that God said would supply water to his thirsty people. Or David, bored, on his rooftop. Then there's Simon Peter at a camp fire just before a rooster welcomed the dawn. Or Barnabas, in a first-century version of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."

If you're a new Bible reader, you may not be familiar with all of these stories, so just trust me when I say that they all end badly. This Sunday, Hezekiah's story is going to end badly, too.

Why do you think God wanted such stories included in the Bible?

First, the stories serve as a warning. Faithfulness yesterday is no guarantee of faithfulness today. As those in recovery remind each other, "One day at a time." How sad if some of us run the Christian race well for decades only to stumble at the last lap!

Second, the stories remind us to put our trust in God, not people. It may be your parents, your friend, your marriage partner, or your spiritual mentor--somewhere along the way there's going to be someone who will let you down. Hezekiah was admirable, and he inspired a nation who desperately needed an example of radical trust in God. But his attitudes and actions we'll see in this week's story demonstrate that he wasn't the ultimate Savior King the prophets said would come to set everything right. Jesus was and remains the only one worthy of our highest trust.

And that leads me to the third reason we find these stories in our Bibles. They remind us to find grace in Jesus. In the end, Hezekiah was in need of God's forgiveness like everyone else. We are not saved by our works, no matter how many or how impressive they may be. Our faults stain the beautiful garment of our good deeds. We all have to trust in the mercy of God so perfectly demonstrated on the cross.

Join us this Sunday @ 10 for our last look at the remarkable life and reign of King Hezekiah.

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Links to Your World, Tuesday February 19

Texas Monthly finds that Austin and Houston top the list of the U.S. cities with the most unfaithful spouses. Yikes.

 

9 golfers putt into the same hole at the same time:

 

Attention Pastors: Illustration Alert. This guy believes patrons should associate your organization with a unique smell.

 

How to make "fast friends."

 

If Disney had stayed true to the source material, these 12 movies would have been a whole lot darker.

 

Being physically fit in midlife is associated with a lower risk of dementia in old age, a new study reports.

 

 

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How to Make Fast Friends

Want to develop a friendly connection with someone? According to a WSJ article, "relationship researchers" say the following questions help establish "a feeling of closeness between strangers in about 45 minutes."

• Would you like to be famous? In what way?

• Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?

• When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?

• Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

• If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

• If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?

Read the whole article here.

 

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A Field Guide For Pastoral Facial Hair

Very Helpful...

 

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LeaderLines: How Does the Decline of Bible Knowledge in America Impact Our Mission?

"I know that you said we should get the Revised Standard Version, but all I can find is the Old Testament and the New Testament."

That’s what a bright student told Professor Susan McWilliams, as recounted in the following story. If you’re a church leader, you really need to think through what the following story tells us about our work. I'll share some thoughts about that, but read her anecdote first and then see if you don't come to the same conclusions I've reached:

On my first day as a college professor, I told my fresh-faced students gathered in Classical Political Theory that during the portion of the course in which we studied The Bible, I would be using the Revised Standard Version. Two days later, I got an e-mail from a freshman who would prove to be one of my most talented students: "I can't seem to find the right copy of the Bible for class," she wrote. "I know that you said we should get the Revised Standard Version, but all I can find is the Old Testament and the New Testament."

I teach young people who are members of the meritocratic elite. They are the kind of young people who are, and have always been, "going somewhere." By the age of eighteen, most of them have lengthy resumes that testify to their capacities for leadership, sportsmanship, citizenship, and every other kind of impressive-ship you can think of. They are not just competent test-takers and multi-taskers and application-filler-outers--although they are all of those things--but by large they are legitimately intellectual, careful in their thinking and gifted in their writing. These are people who you can call, without exaggeration, the future leaders of America.

My students are also disproportionately unchurched (and unsynagogued and unmosqued). An astonishing number of them--15 out of 38 in the last class I asked--come to college having never set foot inside a house of worship. Despite the fact that they are extraordinarily well-read, many of them have never opened a bible and are entirely ignorant of its contents.

Now, I can imagine two reactions to this reality. But only one reaction will actually gain us traction in reaching people.

The first reaction is to "tsk-tsk" the decline of Bible knowledge in American culture. We can read about such ignorance among elite undergraduates and bemoan the state of the American youth ministry or the American pulpit or American parenting that led to this.

Of course, there's a measure of merit in that observation. And be sure that if someone wrote a book criticizing the decline of appreciation for the Bible in America, a Christian publishing house would pick it up confident that a lot of Christians would buy it.

But that reaction won't let us even begin to make a dent in the actual problem. Let's not forget that God is on a search-and-rescue mission for the young woman in Dr. McWilliams' class. Are we building a church where someone so unfamiliar with our treasured Book would feel--actually feel--welcome? If she started attending our small groups, would she find our people reacting to her lack of Bible knowledge with grace instead of impatience? How can we welcome her interest in the Good Book and nudge it along from this elementary and tentative start?

Just being willing to ask those questions of ourselves is the beginning of reaching the world around us.

Tom

Susan McWilliams is an Associate Professor of Politics at Pomona College in Claremont, California. Her anecdote opens her article, "A Call for Resurrection," in the Fall 2012 edition of The City, a publication of Houston Baptist University.

Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by more than 350 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

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Ten Myths About Sex and Relationships

In their book, Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think about Marrying, Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker concluded with 10 myths that many emerging-adults believe, though the evidence supporting them just isn't there (pages 236-50). If you're a twentysomething, a parent of a twentysomething, or someone who works with twentysomethings, this is worthwhile material

Myth #1: Long-term exclusivity is a fiction.

"When we ask our students in class how long half of all marriages last, they fumble around for a response, guessing five years, or seven, or 10 tops. But the answer, which never occurs to them, is a lifetime."

 

Myth #2: The introduction of sex is necessary in order to sustain a fledging or struggling friendship.

"The sooner relationships become sexual, the greater their odds of failure. This is not to suggest that all such relationships will fail – just that they're more apt to. Relationships started with sex are even more tenuous. No shortage of emerging adults, however, think the data must somehow be wrong. Hence, they act like it's not true, only to become part of the same data pattern themselves."

 

Myth #3: The sexual double standard is inherently wrong and must be resisted by any means.

"So much about sexual attraction, desire, behavior, and response exhibits robust gender differences. Yet the way the term 'double standard' is popularly used implies that men occupy the optimal position; as in, 'Why should women be held to a higher standard than men?' On the contrary, perhaps it ought to be lauded that women generally do set higher standards for their relationships. Unfortunately, many well-meaning adults and educators want so badly to dismantle the double standard that they work to normalize any and all consensual sexual relationships, rather than considering whether common experiences of sexual regrets are in fact telling us something."

 

Myth #4: Boys will be boys.

"That is, men can't be expected to abide by the sexual terms that women may wish to set....The reality, however, is that this scenario is not fixed. Men live up to – or down to – the expectations placed upon them."

 

Myth #5: It doesn't matter what other people do sexually; you make your own decisions.

"Free choice disappears when the majority of men and women become constrained by the structured expectations of fairly prompt sex within romantic relationships, fewer expectations for commitment and permanence, etc. In other words, if a critical mass of men and women enjoy an extended series of sexual relationships and expect sex fairly promptly within them, it becomes quite difficult for a minority to do otherwise."

 

Myth #6: Porn won't affect your relationships.

"Wrong. Porn now affects virtually everyone's relationships, even if neither partner actively spends time with it.... Talk of the 'false' or 'unrealistic' expectations that porn can generate will eventually diminish, not because the reality of real sex will set in for the porn-inspired men but because the reality of .pornified sex will settle in for women. They will increasingly accommodate their sex lives to it."

 

Myth #7: Everyone else is having more sex than you are.

Individuals within a group "begin to believe that their own private attitudes, beliefs, or judgments are more conservative and rare than the public norms they see displayed by others."

 

Myth #8: Sex need not mean anything.

It's tougher for women to untie sex from relationship than for men to.

 

Myth #9: Marriage can always wait.

"According to most surveys and the vast majority of our interviews, emerging adults still want to get married. The most popular script about marriage, however, is that you should wait quite some time before entering it.... Many lose sight of the fact – or more commonly, realize it too late – that there is a marriage market out there.... It's a pool that does not grow deeper and more impressive with age... This is not, however a clarion call to marry before one is prepared to, educated about it, thinking realistically about it, isn't in love, etc.... We simply wish to encourage men and women who've met someone who is 'marriage material' to think twice before rejecting the notion that they're just not ready yet. Life plans seldom develop exactly as adults anticipate and on the schedule they wish for."

 

Myth #10: Moving in together is definitely a step toward marriage.

"Moving in together might come as a reassuring thrill too many emerging adults, but in the majority of cases, it doesn't achieve permanence....Cohabitation is...about uncertainty and risk management for both men and women. It's holding back to see how things go. It certainly feels logical when evaluated against the backdrop of cereal monogamy and family experiences with divorce. But since few like to dwell for long and uncertainty, cohabitation is inherently unstable. It overwhelmingly leads to either marriage or break up within a few short years."

 

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Winning Ways: Memento Mori

As a Roman general paraded into the capital following a victorious battle, it was the custom to have a servant accompany him in the chariot doing two things simultaneously. He would hold a golden wreath above the champion's head while also whispering in his ear, "Memento mori!"

The wreath was a symbol of the victor's marvelous success, while at the same time the whispered statement was a reminder of his limitations. "Memento mori" means, "Remember that you are mortal."

Not a bad custom, really. Could we start that routine at celebrity awards shows?

Everyone needs a "memento mori" moment. King Hezekiah had his at the prime of life. He had served as a good and capable king of Judah for 14 years when suddenly, at 39, he suffered a life-threatening illness. Upon deliverance and a divine promise of 15 more years of life, the good king wrote a poem about his experience. You can find it in Isaiah 38:9-20.

We've seen a number of exemplary moments in our Sunday morning study through Hezekiah's life. In our first week of the study we saw him throw open the doors of the neglected Temple for restored worship. In the second week we saw his radical trust in God during Assyria's threatened invasion. But in Isaiah 38, we see Hezekiah in a moment even finer than these first stories. We see him praising God for the lessons learned from a frightening illness. "Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish," he mused (Isaiah 38:17).

I sit in awe before his poem as he praises God for the severe mercy of his traumatic experience.

How are such trials for our benefit? What is it about them that make us better people? You'll want to join us at 10 this Sunday to mine this deep shaft of God's word. It's part of our series on King Hezekiah called "Faith>Fear." Catch up with our series online and bring a friend this week!

It's not too late to join The Anchor Course! If you are exploring faith or trying to explain your faith to others, the Anchor Course will help. Consider it a sort of "tour guide" for our faith. Participants get my book for free. Meet me in the Adult Wing at 5:30pm this Sunday to get started. For more information go to hillcrestaustin.org/anchorcourse.

 

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Links to Your World, Tuesday February 12

Soraya Roberts doesn't like to drink, and she writes about how much social pushback she gets from it.

The Civil War was, indeed, about "race," but for both North and South the view was that the racial heritage of Northerners from Saxon stock and Southerners from Norman stock created the disunion. Fascinating. Saxons were the race of the Puritans, who exhibited, according to one writer of the period, "those severe traits of fanaticism which had ever marked their history, squabbling, fighting, singing psalms, burning witches, and talking about liberty."


The data show that the perception of Christians as bad tippers is incorrect, but Stetzer says we have to work hard to change that bad image.


Facebook makes many feel bad about themselves. Ah, envy, that "green sickness."


You may be guilty of "oversharenting."


Downton Abbey as a Super Nintendo game. "Fluff those pillows!"

"What Opposites I Feel Within!"

Strange and mysterious is my life.

What opposites I feel within!

A stable peace, a constant strife;

The rule of grace, the power of sin:

Too often I am captive led,

Yet daily triumph in my Head,

Yet daily triumph in my Head.

I prize the privilege of prayer,

But oh! what backwardness to pray!

Though on the Lord I cast my care,

I feel its burden every day;

I seek His will in all I do,

Yet find my own is working too,

Yet find my own is working too.

I call the promises my own,

And prize them more than mines of gold;

Yet though their sweetness I have known,

They leave me unimpressed and cold

One hour upon the truth I feed,

The next I know not what I read,

The next I know not what I read.

I love the holy day of rest,

When Jesus meets His gathered saints;

Sweet day, of all the week the best!

For its return my spirit pants:

Yet often, through my unbelief,

It proves a day of guilt and grief,

It proves a day of guilt and grief.

While on my Savior I rely,

I know my foes shall lose their aim,

And therefore dare their power defy,

Assured of conquest through His name,

But soon my confidence is slain,

And all my fears return again,

And all my fears return again.

Thus different powers within me strive,

And grace and sin by turns prevail;

I grieve, rejoice, decline, revive,

And victory hangs in doubtful scale:

But Jesus has His promise passed,

That grace shall overcome at last,

That grace shall overcome at last.

"Conflicting Feelings," John Newton

 

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Winning Ways: Follow Your Heart and Fear Does Not Exist

What will you do when unwelcome news rises up before you like a 100-foot ocean wave? Where will you find the courage to ride it out?

Last week Garrett McNamara faced a literal wave of that magnitude. The world-famous surfer traveled to the Nazaré area of Portugal precisely because it has perfect conditions for generating waves of astonishing size. He ended up catching a 10-story monster.

Was he frightened when what he sought actually rose up before him? "If you have fear then it means you are not living in the moment," McNamara told Wired magazine by e-mail. "You are either stuck in the past or worrying about the future. It is important to not think and just do! Follow your heart and fear does not exist."

I think he's on to something with that comment about the role of the heart in facing your fears. Yes, true to surfer form, McNamara is a bit New-Agey. But he's on the scent of an unfinished hunt.

You see, your inner passions and convictions really do have everything to do with riding out your 100-foot wave.

Oh, it's coming, trust me. You won't be seeking it out like McNamara seeks out his literal waves. But eventually something will rise up--some circumstance in your career or finances or relationships or health will threaten to engulf you. And when that happens, conquering the fear of that wave depends on your "heart"--that word we use for the priorities and loves that drive our life.

When King Hezekiah faced the 100-foot wave of Assyrian invasion, he followed his heart straight to the throne of the God he loved. There he rested in God's competence to handle his problem. Read the story in 2 Chronicles 32:1-23 (with more information in 2 Kings 18-19, and Isaiah 36-37). We'll study the story together this Sunday @ 10. It's part of our series on King Hezekiah called "Faith>Fear." Bring a friend!

The Anchor Course starts February 10. If you are exploring faith or trying to explain your faith to others, the Anchor Course will help. Consider it a sort of "tour guide" for our faith. Join me this Sunday, February 10, at 5:30pm for a "no obligation" introduction of the study. For more information go to hillcrestaustin.org/anchorcourse.

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