An Open Letter to the Church

Perhaps it is fitting on Mother's Day to post this letter regarding the recent events in our household. I hope that living out our lives in a transparent fashion will serve to help along our healing process and hopefully edify those with whom we travel through life. In the book of James it is written:

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Dear friends and family at Bay West,

By now it will be readily apparent that Shannon and I are not present with you at church this Sunday. I asked Jim to permit me to write this letter to you to dispel any rumors and hopefully encourage you as well.

Let me first say that we do not harbor any ill feelings towards Bay West Church and remain committed to the vision for Palm Bay that the community of believers at Bay West seeks to fulfill. We do not wish our withdrawal to convey a sense of bitterness or antagonism towards anyone who has, is, or will serve at Bay West and would that our present circumstances did not lead us down the path we have taken.

With all my heart I believe it was God’s will for us to serve at Bay West and I cannot fully express how sweet our time among you has been to me. Yet our household has not been unanimous in our decision to serve at Bay West. We DO NOT discount the family ties we have built with Bay West; however, within the last twelve months we have endured the collapse of a family business, the departure of our closest friends, unemployment, the foreclosure of our house and imminent move, the death of a father, shortfalls in income, rifts in family relationships, a change in churches and ministries, and a dramatic change in our roles of service to our God. It would be decidedly inauthentic to tell you we have born these changes well.

Shannon has endured a struggle with God and those around her like she has never before faced. I, Paul, have struggled with the highest highs and lowest lows I have yet confronted. The Bible says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) In both of our cases, we each thought and assumed we were on good standing before God and before man. In both cases, we have fallen before God and before man.

Shannon has struggled with her submission to God and the redefinition of her place of service in the church. In many ways her battle has been present before all. My battle has largely been hidden before your faces, but my family has borne the brunt of my failure. I have not obeyed the commandment towards husbands to, “love your wife as Christ loved the church and game Himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25) I have seen my family as an obstacle to be overcome, a stumbling block to be leveled, and as a problem to be dealt with and summarily “fixed.” It is not that I just have not properly loved, but in many ways I now realize I do not yet know how to authentically love at all. I can serve, I can administrate, I can drive, I can execute, but I do not love. I have become that person the Apostle Paul warned about in 1 Corinthians 13: a noisy gong, a clanging symbol, . . . nothing.

The book of Proverbs says, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28) The “city” of our family life and our marriage is like that devastated and plundered city. We cannot live a lie before you any longer and need to take a step back for rebuilding, recovering, and learning again what it means to be husband and wife before the LORD.

We apologize to you and ask for your forgiveness for any way we have caused you to stumble or have given you ought against us. We desperately covet your prayers for our love towards each other, towards God, towards the Church, and for the revitalization of our marriage and our family. I will continue to pray for you and ask,

That God will give you complete knowledge of his will, that He will give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, that the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and that your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. We pray that all the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better, and that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. We pray that you may be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, for He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light. For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave us our sins. To Him be the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Your Brother and Sister in Christ,

Paul & Shannon

Saviour King by Hillsong

Here is the video I mentioned in my previous post. What a great moment of worship!

The Myth of Trying Harder

If you are anything like me, you probably find yourself often saying, “I could have done that better.” Or maybe it goes like this: you actually are feeling pretty OK about how things are and have perhaps even just gotten done “patting yourself on the back” only to have a Scripture come to mind, or to hear the words of a song or hymn, or find out a piece of news and come to the realization that, “I have fallen so short . . .”

I find that I regularly experience both instances. In terms of my faith journey and Christian growth I find such dichotomous phrases like “more often should,” “less often should,” “with greater intensity,” “with less intensity,” and the like to occupy a prominent position in my inner and outer dialogue. I have an acquaintance who once told me, “I can take a car apart and put it back together again with only a hammer and a chisel.” While this may be true, I prefer to have a lot more and various kinds of tools. There is a type of trap in thinking that greater efficiency and productivity as a car mechanic lie in greater quantities and varieties of hand and power tools. The tool guys know this (no offense meant to Sherman and Donovan!) and have profited well by me over my years of fixing cars. But I wonder if you and I do not often fall into this same trap in terms of Christian growth and in the transition to become like more like Christ?

A friend and I were having lunch a week or so ago and the topic of conversation swung to Christian living. In the middle of our conversation the realization hit me: Jesus never once told anyone to try harder. He said things like “come,” “believe,” “pray,” “watch,” and the most significant which is “abide.” But never once did He say “try harder.”

In the book of Matthew the Bible reports,

Then Peter called to him [Jesus], “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

I have heard this story preached as Jesus speaking in a condescending manner to Peter with derision in His voice regarding Peter’s lack of faith. Yet I must ask, what father or mother is there who would, in love, castigate their child over their child’s clumsiness in responding to a bid to come? I would therefore propose Jesus’ address to Peter was more likely with endearment and warmth in His voice than harshness and condescension. This view seems more closely aligned with Who Jesus was and with His character.

Although this makes for an interesting picture, I seriously doubt that any of us has ever walked by an orange tree or the like and heard the branches grunting or panting in their exertion to produce an orange. Not only would we find this shocking on a surface level, but I believe our psyche would find this outrageous be we know that an orange tree will produce an orange in due time given the right environment.

The Bible says,

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;

Jesus likewise says,

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

I am not diminishing the value of spiritual disciplines; however, the Scriptures make known a deeper truth. The Bible labels trying harder in and of ourselves “deeds of the flesh” and emphatically states spiritual fruit and the glory of God (the results of a life lived in an with Christ and His Spirit) will not result—the true result will be something else entirely.

What a demonstration of God’s grace, majesty, and glory is it that the life our souls desire—the life we are commanded to live out (see especially Matthew 6-8)—does not result from exertion and grunting away in the orange grove of life but in the continual process of simply abiding in the Son of God! I have learned too well that abiding is not an easy process. But I tell you the truth, it is certain to be ultimately less challenging than a 365, 24/7 spiritual “Iron Man” competition that the Bible says won’t get me where I want to go even if I did eventually win.

Why don’t we determine to stop “trying harder to” and to start “abiding in”. Let’s stop right here to examine our roots and see in what or in whom are we abiding.

While listening to the song I’ve posted let’s spend some time in confession and re-centering our lives in Christ, the Saviour King.