Run to Get the Prize

LBB Blog Post

Church in the City | Chapter 9

Run to Get the Prize

06 October 2024

Around New Life, we’ve long said that we’re “in the city for the sake of the city,” and as things become crazier in our world, I’ve never believed that phrase more acutely. We’re not here to serve ourselves. We’re here to serve those who don’t know God, those who thirst for a cup of cool water in what feels increasingly like dry, parched land.

It really is true: while our gatherings on Sunday mornings are vital to our collective health as a body, the strength of not only our local congregation but the global Church at large is felt only when we engage with our community, when we operate outside our four walls.

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul uses the metaphor of a race to describe the Christian life. He speaks to the people of Corinth, a city known for its athletes and the Isthmian Games. Paul’s message is clear: all believers must actively engage in their faith, just as all runners run in a race.

Two major obstacles often keep people from engaging in their faith: the fear of failure and the fear of criticism. Pastor Brady shared a personal story about his life-saving heart surgery as a baby, emphasizing the importance of taking risks and being willing to fail. Just as the surgeon took a risk to save his life, we must be willing to step out in faith, even if it means facing failure or criticism.

Paul emphasizes the need for strict training, likening it to the preparation athletes undergo for competition. For Christians, this means daily disciplines such as reading the Bible, praying, and engaging in fellowship. These practices prepare us for the moments when God calls us to act.

Paul speaks of running for a prize that will last forever. This prize is not just about eternal life but also about knowing Christ and being known by him. It’s about living a life of integrity, loving our families, and nurturing relationships—all true rewards of a life well-lived in faith.

So, let me issue a challenge to you and me both: let’s evaluate with fresh energy what we are running after. Are we pursuing things that truly matter? Are our goals aligned with God’s purpose for our lives? It’s crucial to ensure that our ambitions are not about worldly success but about eternal significance.

This week, take time to reflect on your life and your faith journey. Ask yourself:

1. Am I actively engaged in my faith, or am I on the sidelines?

2. What fears are holding me back from fully participating in the race God has set before me?

3. What daily disciplines can I incorporate to strengthen my spiritual life? When will I start?

Then, I invite you to commit to one act of service outside the church walls this week. Whether it’s volunteering, helping a neighbor, or simply being a friend to someone in need, take a step to actively engage in your faith. Remember, the race is not just about the finish line but about the journey and the impact we make along the way.

Stand up, New Life. Step out and start running the race God has set before you. Your life matters, and your faith can make a profound impact.

I love being your pastor—

Pastor Brady

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Refusing to Cheapen Our Souls

You’ve probably noticed that all around us, discussions about sex are often skewed and misinformed, with social media, movies, and other platforms bombarding us with messages that contradict biblical teachings. Ignoring this topic in church leaves a void that secular narratives quickly fill, which is why we’ve spent the last two weeks talking about to how align our thinking on sex with God’s thinking as laid out in Scripture.

Many pastors shy away from preaching about sex and money, yet these are areas where our culture is most confused. By addressing these topics head-on, the church can provide clarity and guidance rooted in Scripture.

We’ve been journeying through the book of 1 Corinthians, and in chapter six we find the apostle Paul addressing the Corinthians, who lived in a culture that promoted sexual freedom without boundaries. The prevalent slogan, “Everything is permissible for me,” reflects a mindset that Paul challenged by emphasizing that not everything is beneficial.

Paul confronted the Greek notion that the body and spirit were to be thought of separate entities. They’re not separate! They are intimately intertwined, which is why Paul argued that what we do with our bodies affects our spirits. This holistic view underscores for us still today the importance of honoring God with our entire being—body, soul, and spirit.

Sexual immorality is not just a physical act; sin in this regard carries profound spiritual implications. This is why Paul urged believers to flee from sexual immorality. I know we’re called to be patient throughout Scripture, but in this situation, different counsel applies. We are to waste no time in running away from any situation that could leave us sinning sexually against ourselves, against another person, and ultimately against God.

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Jesus’ teachings on sex and marriage are clear and consistent. He emphasizes that sex is designed for a man and a woman within the covenant of marriage. Incidentally, that’s the only situation in which sex is to occur.

Why? Because such a commitment is the only way to foster intimacy and spiritual growth, aligning with God’s design.

Whenever I encounter this chapter in Scripture, I think of this truth: When we cheapen sex, we cheapen our souls. It really is true. The enemy seeks to devalue the sacred act of sex, but understanding its true purpose helps us honor it appropriately.

That understanding has to include this truth: our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. This means that God dwells within us, making our physical actions deeply significant. We are not our own; we were bought at a price—the life of Jesus Christ.

Understanding that we are temples of the Holy Spirit should motivate us to pursue holiness, making choices that honor God and reflect our identity as his children. So, let me ask you to consider a few things:

  1. Do you truly understand how valuable you are to God? You were bought with a high price. You were expensive to him! Yet he gladly paid for you.
  2. Are you committed to glorifying God with your sexuality? What shifts in thinking or behavior might be necessary for you to get more serious about this commitment?
  3. Are you actively fleeing any form of sexual immorality? Remember, this isdefined as any sexual act that occurs outside of the bonds of marriage.

This week, I hope you’ll commit to honoring God with your body. Reflect on your actions and decisions, ensuring they align with your identity as a child of God.

I love you!

I’m for you.

Pastor Brady

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Called to Holiness

How do you feel when you think about God’s holiness?

Do you feel defeated, like you’ll never measure up?

Do you feel distanced from him, as though your imperfections make him sick?

Or do you feel drawn in by him, inspired to be holy because God is holy?

As believers, we’re called to be holy. But we can’t live up to that standard by ourselves. We need God’s presence to be holy. We need God’s power to be holy. We need God’s character, coursing through our thoughts, our words, our lives.

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Friends, we are the bride of Christ, and one of the primary ways we practice holiness is in how we view our bodies and our sexuality. In 1 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul addresses the issue of sexual immorality within the church, clear in his message that we can’t tolerate unrepentant sin among our members. Paul’s instruction to “hand this man over to Satan” (1 Corinthians 5:5) may seem harsh, but it underscores the seriousness of maintaining holiness within the church. This action is meant to lead the sinner to repentance and ultimately restore him or her to the fellowship.

I hope you caught that: the goal of Paul’s position here is to help us when we sin to find our way back to God.

Think about how your life changed when you first decided to follow Jesus. You probably experienced transformation, right? Your behaviors, attitudes, and desires started to align more closely with God’s will as you began to grow in your faith.

This is as it should be!

Believers are called to be “peculiar” and to stand out from the world. Our lives should reflect the values of the kingdom of God, not those of the culture. This includes our social media posts, our conversations, and our overall conduct. We’re to demonstrate that we have been sanctified—called out for the purpose of becoming more like Jesus.

By our words and actions, we can show the world that we are taking up our cross daily, repenting of our sins, and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us. We should demonstrate that we’re in this deal for the long haul, actively participating with God. We can show that as the Church, we are supporting each other in this journey, not condemning, but building up.

I hope you’re going all-in with God today. I really do. There is no better plan for your life than that one!

Here’s a way to start:

  1. Examine your life. Ask yourself if your life has changed since you decided to follow Jesus. Are there areas where you need to repent and seek transformation?
  2. Pursue holiness. Reflect on areas of your life that need to align more closely with God’s holiness. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow in purity and righteousness.
  3. Support other believers. Be a source of encouragement and support for fellow believers who are struggling. Pray for them and offer practical help.

I love you.
God loves you.
Let’s keep pressing on.

Pastor Brady

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The Cost of Preaching Truth

 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 2 Timothy 4:2-4

There will come a time when many people will no longer desire biblical truth in our churches. They will want to hear their opinions affirmed by their pastor rather than be challenged to change them. Paul told Timothy that people would not put up with sound doctrine, especially if that doctrine is contradictory to their desires.

As pastors, we have a choice to make – tell people what they want to hear or tell people what they need to hear. Paul says there will be plenty of teachers willing to win the crowds, but far fewer who will stand with a prophetic voice and point people toward a narrow, but beautiful path of repentance, humility and generosity.

This is not a new dilemma. The church needs constant reform, because we often find it entangled with heresies, divisions and corruption. Today, we’re faced with a cacophony of political and social opinions that are constantly reinforced by non-stop social media and cable news. The shepherd’s voice is one of hundreds attempting to break through the fog, but many are attending church in-person less than ever. Our people are listening to pundits, not pastors, to speech rarely steeped in prayer and scripture.

As a result, we have crowds wandering from voice to voice, looking for agreement and affirmation, but rejecting costly discipleship. They have tribal preferences but little community inside the safety of the congregation.

Paul says we must correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. He’s reminding us to think long-term, to do the holy work of preaching and teaching without stumbling from the criticism that’s sure to follow. We’re not called to be popular, but we’re called to be faithful.

In the last few weeks, I’ve had scores of pastors confess they’re discouraged, exhausted and ready to quit. The amount of criticism and vitriol has worn down their souls and caused them to doubt if people are really hungry to learn and grow. One pastor told me he’s working harder each week to prepare a meal no one wants to eat. Many have lost close friends and long-time members because they have not championed some issue with enough fervor.

We’ve made a commitment to contact one another more often and keep each other encouraged. We’ve decided to point people to Christ and stay centered on the primary mission. We’ll speak up when we see injustice but not get mired down in petty partisanship. It will cost us congregants, givers, and volunteers and that makes all of us sad.

In the end, though, we’re called to shepherd our people and to feed the flock that’s been assigned to us. We have a responsibility to sound doctrine, to love our people and to keep our hearts pure. It will be costly, but there’s no other path to follow.

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A Christmas Eve Reminder from Dr. Martin Luther King

Violence doesn’t solve our problems. 

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. 

Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The Most Vulnerable Among Us

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this,” it says: “to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

If you’ve ever looked closely into the practices and parameters involved in the establishment of ancient Israel, then you know that when the nation was being organized under Mosaic Law, a significant number of their guiding principles had to do with caring for those in “distress”—namely, widows, orphans, and the poor.

One practice, for example, was gleaning, in which farmers would leave the corners of their ripe fields unharvested, so that people in need could happen by and find grain to eat. This practice was not optional. It was required. God was serious about people helping each other out, especially those in need. And who were the neediest among the Israelites in that day?

Widows.

Orphans.

The poor.

When the nation Israel crossed the Jordan River, which runs through the valley between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee, each of its tribes was given property. Inside that allotment of property, each family within the tribe was given part of the tribal land, land that was supposed to belong to that particular family forever.

Instead, after a father or both parents died, people with evil agendas would come to the widows and orphans who were left behind and re-boundary the property, essentially stealing the land from defenseless landowners. Dad was dead; what was Mom going to do about it? Or else Dad and Mom both were gone; how were their little children going to stop anything?

The laws that God had handed down were for the purpose of saying, “Don’t even think about touching those boundary stones. I am the Defender of those women and children, and I am telling you to stop.”

And defend those women, he did, making good on what Psalm 68:5-6 has to say. “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,” we read there, “is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” Now, jump ahead to Jesus’ day and the immediate decades after, when the book of James was written. Again, our attention is drawn to widows … to orphans … and to those who are distressed in our midst.

Back then, in the Greco-Roman culture, there were no “orphanages” and no “retirement homes” or “nursing homes.” It wouldn’t be until the third century that Christians were strongly encouraged to adopt orphans and raise them to fear the Lord. And the first-generation nursing facilities, where elderly people could come and receive dignified care, weren’t established until the fifth century.

Therefore, as a key leader in the New Testament church, one of the primary issues James faced in his leadership role was how to care for the widows and orphans in town. Orphaned infants were tragically being abandoned en masse, while widows who didn’t have a family member to take them in were pushed to the street and told to make do for themselves. Most had no such family member, and so homelessness among widows became a pervasive issue in those days.

Acts 6:1 says this: “In those days [the days when the apostles were preaching daily in the Temple courts and from house to house, according to the end of Acts 5], when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.”

In response, James and the other leaders organized a system whereby the widows would no longer be overlooked. “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables,” they said. “Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word,” (vv. 2-4).

It was a solution that, according to verse 5, “pleased the whole group.”

You may recall an exchange from the scene involving Jesus’ crucifixion, during which he made sure that upon his passing, his mother would be cared for by his beloved disciple John.

Jesus’ father, Joseph, was never mentioned again after Jesus’ birth, causing most historians to believe that by the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, Joseph had been dead quite some time. And so, in his final moments before that agonizing and tortuous death, we find that what is top of mind for Jesus is one favored widow, his mother. He was determined to find her the care she would need, once Jesus had breathed his last breath.

Leaning into the example of Jesus, the Church followed suit. “Not on our watch,” the Church said of the rampant neglect that women and children faced. For now, they did the only thing they could do: they had women and children come live at the church.

WHEN OUR HEARTS BREAK IN TWO

The irony of James imploring all future generations of Christians to “look after orphans and widows in their distress” was that Jesus’ mother, Mary, was James’s mother too. It was James, not John, who should have stepped forward to care for her. It was James who was her son. Which means that either James was an outright hypocrite, or else he grew in his convictions after Christ had died.

I believe the latter is true.

James did not surrender his life to Jesus until after the resurrection, and it is my belief that once he had spiritual eyes to see things clearly, he experienced deep inner change. Finally, he saw how needy his mother truly was. Finally, he saw how he might help. It’s the same progression any of us must go through, if we ever hope to show up meaningfully in the lives of those in need. We must see the need … really see it … before we can begin to be of help.

I can relate to what James might have gone through emotionally, upon realizing his mother’s need. For me, the aha happened when I learned of a nine-year-old girl who lives in a neighborhood that New Life “adopted” several years ago. By partnering with those living inside this four-square-mile neighborhood, which is positioned in a less-resourced part of town, we as a church agreed to come alongside the members of that community to provide food, shelter, clothing, educational tutoring, spiritual direction, and more.

The little girl I mention was an elementary school student who had lost both her mother and her father and had no remaining relatives in town to look after her. For quite some time, as the “system” caught up with her, she would head down to the Salvation Army every day after school, where she would receive a meal and clothing. Eventually, staff there asked where her parents were and why she always came in alone. In response, she said, “My parents died. I don’t have a home. I don’t have a family anymore.”

She explained that friends of hers let her stay over at their houses each night, so that at least she’d have a place to sleep. She was an orphan in every sense of the word. Bouncing from place to place a mere fifteen minutes south of my house.

Something about the proximity of this little girl’s situation got to me. I have a daughter. Imagining Callie roaming around a fairly large town as a fourth-grader, having to cobble together outfits and meals hit me at a level that’s tough to explain.

That this girl’s situation had somehow gone unnoticed for so long was a wake-up call. How many others were in desperation in our community that we weren’t seeing? Not only did we as a church redouble our efforts to show up in the lives of both that little girl and all of the residents of that struggling community, but I personally decided to show up, driving the ten miles south to get out of my truck, walk those city blocks, meet as many people as I could meet, and be a tangible presence in their lives.

That nine-year-old girl is my neighbor. And once I knew of her distress, I began to pray, “Father, somehow use me.”

What that 9-year-old orphan must represent in our collective consciousness is anyone who is in distress. Still today, on a global scale the people who are most oppressed, most marginalized, most vulnerable, and most at risk are women and their children. Perhaps because of the stubborn vestiges of the vast patriarchies that have always ruled the earth, it will always be that way. I pray not, but perhaps it will. In any case, when Scripture exhorts us to “care for orphans and widows,” what it is saying is that we must keep our eyes peeled for those who have no one to help them out.

Who is being pushed aside?

Who is being kicked out?

Who has been forsaken?

Who has been left for dead in a ditch?

That person is my neighbor. That person is your neighbor, too.

That is the one we are called to go help … the one whose load we are told to lift.

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The Remarkable Cross

This is an excerpt from my new book, Remarkable, which releases September 3rd. Click here to pre-order. https://www.amazon.com/Remarkable-Living-Faith-Worth-Talking/dp/1982101377/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=brady+boyd&qid=1563219381&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Paul knew that he could blow endless amounts of time chasing down every manifestation of Corinthian waywardness he saw, or else he could labor to demonstrate the gospel, trusting the Spirit to draw tenderized hearts. He chose the latter, which I find instructive for you and me, given the culture we find ourselves in. As you might guess, the people of Corinth were spiritually stubborn. They’d found new freedom, they’d found new resourcefulness, they’d found new opportunities, they’d found new wealth. But Paul knew that even as this new path seemed stimulating and satisfying to Corinthian believers, any path that led to opposition to God was a destructive one. A fatal crash was in their future, he was sure. 

Thus, the level-setting reminders: Believers, remember what you’ve believed, he pleaded with them. Christ came. Christ died. Christ rose again from the dead. By his power, we can live differently now … 

I imagine Paul vying for Corinthian hearts in this way for a full eighteen months and feel exhausted on his behalf. It’s tiring to call people to change! A friend asked me why I was so tired one Monday, and I said, “I’m always tired on Mondays. Mondays come after Sundays, and on Sundays, I’m putting 100 percent of my energies toward pleading with people to change.” 

I can speak at a conference or do an hour-long radio interview or lead back-to-back meetings and go home feeling great. But preaching? It’s a different beast. When you go up against the gods of this age and ask people to imagine a fresh way of living, a wholly different direct object of their faith, the energy tank gets tapped—and fast. I think of Paul coming off of Philippi and setting foot on this eighteen-month journey to compel Corinth back to Christ, and my heart goes out to him. This would be an uphill climb, if ever there were one. And yet he knew it was a climb that had to be made. 

And so he looked into the eyes of those believers at Corinth and said with the compassion of a loving dad to a son that they’d traded something stunning for something sordid. Their pursuit of pleasure had replaced their pursuit of God. They had valued their own ways above the ways of their Father. They now craved chaos instead of peace. 

Come back, Paul was imploring them, come back to the cross of Christ. 

It wasn’t exactly what his listeners wanted to hear. Who wants to talk about a cross? 

As Christians, we have made the cross palatable. We put flowers around it. We cast it in gold, thread a chain through it, and feel noble about wearing it around our necks. But when Paul was on the earth, the cross represented serious business. This Roman method of execution was so bloody and tortuous and awful that you never would have even alluded to it in polite company, let alone glorified it. For Paul to preach about a Christ, a Messiah, the Son of God, being crucified was an awful way to start a conversation. Crucifixion was a shameful way to die, and nobody wanted to be reminded that the One they were following, the One they’d devoted their lives to, had been murdered on a Roman cross. This was a culture that celebrated the big, the bold, the successful, the strong, the sensual, the popular, the rich. This image of a poor, weak, vulnerable Jesus being put to death in this manner went against everything they esteemed. Which is precisely why Paul started there. The power of entertainment, of sex, and of money gets broken only by the power of the cross. 

It is by the power of the cross that believers can live blamelessly. 

It is by the power of the cross that unity can have its way. 

It is by the power of the cross that churches can operate harmoniously. 

It is by the power of the cross that humility can mark a human heart. 

It is by the power of the cross that deception gets defeated. 

It is by the power of the cross that sin loses its allure. 

It is by the power of the cross that true love is practiced. 

It is by the power of the cross that cultures see genuine change. 

Paul knew that the practical shifts he was asking believers at Corinth to make would happen only by the power of the cross, and so instead of shaking his fist or stomping his feet or disparaging the ones he was hoping to serve, he simply fixed his gaze on the old rugged cross, trusting that there, every wrong would be made right.

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The Gift of a Sabbatical

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Luke 5:16

This is one of my favorite Scriptures describing the leadership rhythms of Jesus. In the middle of a busy and hectic season of healing the sick, preaching to the multitudes and mentoring his core leaders, Jesus would simply disappear. His followers would frantically search for him, only to find him alone, praying, and restoring his own soul. He was putting on his own oxygen mask before attempting to help others.

It’s important we pay careful attention to the lifestyle Jesus modeled, and that’s why sabbaticals are a part of our ethos here at New Life. Every full-time employee receives this gift and we encourage them to take advantage. We believe these times are critical for the health of our team and for our congregation.

This Summer, it’s my turn for a much needed sabbatical. I will be gone for several weeks, but the congregation will be led during my time away by the strong team God has given us. The preaching will be handled, primarily, by Glenn Packiam, Daniel Grothe and Andrew Arndt. I’m thankful for each of them.

The elders and I have been planning for this extended time away for months now, with three primary goals.

1. Rest

I’m grateful I’m not wrestling with burnout as I enter this sabbatical. In fact, I am more energized and encouraged than ever. My family and I have strived to follow the principles of rest, solitude, and Sabbath for many years now. In fact, I talk about these life-giving principles in my book, Addicted to Busy. However, I’m sure I’ve underestimated the physical, emotional and mental toll these past years have taken on my family. I know I need to rest, and so I will.

2. Reflect

A lot has happened in the past few years, both in the church and within my family. I don’t want to miss anything God is showing me, so I need to pause, reflect, and journal all my thoughts from these amazing and challenging years. I want to have unhurried conversations with Pam, my wife of almost 30 years, and with my two adult children, who are racing toward college and careers. I will also spend some much needed time with mentors and close friends to get their wise perspectives.

3. Recharge

The last goal is to simply recharge my batteries for the days, years and decades ahead. New Life is growing and healthy. Our team is amazing and the best days for our congregation are still in front of us. I want to be re-energized to serve alongside all of you with a renewed spiritual vitality. I want to sharpen my spiritual disciplines, lose some middle-aged weight, eat better and exercise regularly so I can finish this race as strong as I started.

Thank you for giving me this gift of a sabbatical. I promise to steward this time well. Have a great summer!

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The God of Springtime

A few years ago, I sustained a tough relational injury.  A friend of several years and I were suddenly and dramatically on the outs. I had tried everything I could think of to reconcile the situation, but my attempts were all in vain. Eighteen months passed with no words between us … such a strong connection we’d enjoyed, and then poof—it was gone. I still loved this person. I still cared for this person. I still longed to call this person my friend. And yet it had become clear to me that by continuing to reach out when he clearly didn’t wish to engage might make an already tenuous situation far worse.

At about month nineteen, I was standing in my flower garden in front of my house, picking weeds and watering plants, when my phone rang. Gardening is cheap therapy for me, and I find that the neater my yard looks, the neater my inner world tends to be. I answered the call and heard my friend’s voice on the other end of the line.

As we exchanged benign greetings in that awkward way you do, when silence has distanced you for so long, I happened to be watering a mound of dead foliage. In Colorado, you can stick a perennial in the ground and expect it to do well for about a year, even as it probably will not come back. Our soil is terrible, our winters can be long and harsh, and outdoor miracles are rarely seen. I remember thinking, “Why am I wasting precious water on this pile of shriveled-up leaves and stubs? This flower is not coming back …” I was having this conversation with myself when my phone began to buzz.

Twenty minutes into the restorative, forgiveness-drenched conversation that had been nineteen months coming, while I was still resting on a rake in my front yard, I absentmindedly kicked over some mulch on that plant I just knew was dead, and that’s when I saw it: the tiniest of tiny green shoots. It felt like a nod from God: “What you thought was dead isn’t dead, Brady. I’m Master of all-things-new …”

Even as a young boy, I remember being fascinated with nature, with how trees could go to sleep and then, a season later, wake again. When I ended that call with my friend, I thought about winter, and spring. “I’m so glad I didn’t discard that relationship in wintertime, when everything’s cold and bleak,” I told Pam. “I’m so glad I waited on springtime, when things always come back to life.”

God is a God of springtime, the Bible promises. Behold, he is doing new things.

 

This is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, Remarkable, which releases in the Fall of 2019.

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The Home and the Church – The Great Partnership

Recently, I was in a meeting with some church leaders, talking about complex social concerns like suicide, depression, porn addiction, and sexual brokenness. These issues are complicated and nuanced, for sure. During the conversation, which lasted for several hours, one of the leaders said the reason these issues have not been solved was because the church had not taught enough on the topics.

I know it’s easy to blame our societal ills on failures from the pulpit, but it deflects the blame from the real culprit. The church should certainly tackle all these issues – consistently, purposely and graciously. However, the family has always been the best place to educate and inform. Discipleship, teaching and training should always begin at home and be reinforced at church. Too many people are wanting the church to do heavy lifting that should be happening around our dinner tables.

When family life is robust and centered on holy conversations, kids are taught by their parents. Good parents refuse to wait for others to have healthy conversations with their own kids. Right now, pastors are feeling enormous pressures to fill the gaps left by broken families. I know most of my sermons contain information that’s being heard for the first time and most people in my church don’t have mature mentors to further process what I’m teaching them.

For most people, this creates a huge gulf in the discipleship journey. The home has no answers for them, the world is telling them lies, the church is trying, but failing to tackle all their concerns, therefore, people are left immature and discouraged. To make matters worse, these same people are attending church less than ever, which means they’re missing most of what’s actually being taught. Right now, the most committed people in our churches attend less than 2 1/2 Sundays per month and there’s no margin in their calendars for advanced classes and discipleship courses.

Believe me, most pastors want to make disciples. This is our sacred duty. We want people to grow up, be strong,  get well, and find the truth. At times, it seems the church is overwhelmed with pressures to preach on a myriad of complex issues, like violence, politics, immigration, sexuality, abuse, mental health, and so many others. All are critical topics, but a 30-minute message on Sunday will not suffice.

We must take individual responsibility for our homes and for our friends. Turn off the devices, and have real conversations. Do this regularly. Make it a habit. Each week, we must put ourselves in a small circle of trusted friends and talk deeply about the complexities of life. We must listen well, pray sincerely and not relent until truth is found.  Then come to the church and help your pastor lead those who are abandoned and distraught.

Don’t show up on Sunday wanting all your questions answered. Show up on Sundays and get involved with the people sitting around you. Most of them do not have homes and families that are safe for vulnerable conversations. Offer them your friendship, your empathy and your prayers. Go make disciples in partnership with your church and pastor. He needs you. I need you.

 

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