Tag Archives: the twenty

The Twenty #5 – The Single Event that Transformed Me the Most

When I think about that question several different events come to mind…each that transformed a different part of me. But, if I have to pick just one event from my long life of 25 years I would have to say my move to Nashville. Getting diagnosed with a serious muscle disease my junior year of college comes in a very close second though.

I realize it sounds slightly cliche but I truly feel that moving to Nashville wasn’t just starting a new chapter in life, it was starting a whole new volume in the series. It was a culmination of lessons and a beginning of others all at the same time.

Honestly, even now as I write this I don’t feel like I quite have the words to sum it up. It was the first time I really felt like I was living by faith. It was the first time I truly experienced the unexplainable peace and joy that comes with walking in obedience to God’s calling.

But when I really stop and think about it, I’m not sure it transformed me as much as it returned me to who I really was…the me that had gotten lost…the me that I had surrendered to the pressures of the world.

Whether it was a transformation or returning to or somewhere in between, all that matters is I am a different person than I was a year ago. I approach life with a different attitude and perspective. When I try to wrap my mind around the goodness and greatness of God in a moment it completely overwhelms me. I know without a doubt that I am living the life He has for me in this season. And it’s beautiful.

4 Comments Deep Thinking, Just Life

The Twenty #3 – Why church is Relevant for Me

I used to work at a church where “relevant” was tossed around like a baseball. It was one of three words that closed out our mission statement. But, I’ll be honest, these days I cringe a little bit inside when I hear the words “relevant” and “church” in the same sentence.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t think church should be relevant. But, I’m not sure it should be a primary focus. I think the climb up the mountain of “relevancy” can be a slippery slope.

I believe that the concept of “church” will always be relevant because God designed us to live and love and learn in community…in the church. However, that may not always be the case with the institution or organization of the local church. For me, the local church is only relevant if it’s a representation of the Church.

These days, church is more than just a place I go to on Sunday mornings. And that’s what makes it relevant for me. It is family. It is support. It is accountability. It is love. It is compassion. It is encouragement. It is being challenged. It is brokenness and grace in action. It is rest. It’s gathering together with people whose hearts are knit together in some way to worship the One who created them all. It is the Church in action. And that makes it “relevant.”

Is church “relevant” for you? Why or why not?

2 Comments Church

The Twenty – #2: The Best Community of People I Know

When I left my church, I didn’t know for sure where I was going to end up. Or at the very least was too afraid to admit that I did know but Nashville just seemed like too crazy of an option. But, deep down I did know. I knew Nashville was right because one of the things I felt God challenging me with was truly living in community and it seemed

Now I know I talk a lot about relationships. I write about them. I tweet about them. Etc. But, if I’m honest, relationships don’t always come naturally to me because I have an ongoing fight with trust. And community requires trust. If left to my own devices, though, I’ll often keep relationships and community surface level which doesn’t require a whole lot of trust on my part.

But, after my second visit to Nashville last April, something struck me about the community here…at least the community God surrounded me with during that visit…I couldn’t hide. It hit me as I was driving back to Wisconsin that I had told my story more times in those five days, and to strangers nonetheless, than I had in years. And I think at that moment I knew Nashville was exactly where God was going to drop me even if I was too afraid to acknowledge it. It was a place where I wouldn’t be able to hide.

The best community is honestly the people I get to do life with in Nashville. It’s as small as a few close friends and as big as the church I attend. It’s the people I serve alongside on Monday nights with People Loving Nashville and the homeless people we serve. It’s the people in my Village (a.k.a. small group). It’s Journey. And it’s my friends here who don’t fall into any of those.

They are people who I can laugh with, cry with, rest with, worship with, vent to, be silent with, dream with, pray with, work with, be challenged by, and serve with. It is a community that I believe with my whole heart is the reason God brought me to Nashville. It is a community that I get incredibly excited about when I think of how God has used them and will continue to use them for His Kingdom.

It’s people with some of the biggest, most compassionate and servant filled hearts I know. It’s people with some of the craziest God-sized dreams I know. They each have a different story, yet there are common threads that tie all of our stories together. It’s a community I don’t believe happened by chance. It’s a community…it’s people…for whom I am deeply grateful…I believe that God has written each of them into my story for a reason. And it’s the closest thing I’ve experienced to what I believe in my heart is the Church.

What’s the best community of people you know?

This is the second post in a series of twenty. For more on the background, check out this post.

5 Comments Just Life, Relationships

The Twenty – #1: The Most Difficult Thing about Working at a Church

Gary Molander is someone I have great respect for and someone I think you should know. And when Gary posted a list of 20 things he wanted people to write about I got some inspiration. So, welcome to The Twenty series. One post a week. One topic from the list each week. Some of them I already have countless ideas for. Others, not so much. So, it ought to be a good challenge. :)

#1: The Most Difficult Thing About Working at a Church

Looking back I honestly think that the most difficult thing about working at a church for me was what came after I left.

I have struggled since leaving my position at a church to feel like I am living my purpose. And I’ve just recently begun to understand why. I feel called to serve the Church. And for the last 7 years of my life serving the Church has been my job. Though I was only on staff for 2 years at a church prior to that I served in roles that were volunteer staff for lack of a better description. So for 7 years what I have labeled ministry has been very regular, very scheduled, very constant in my life.

Fast forward to now, and I am not doing anything close to that. I am involved in my local church and volunteer a bit outside of that as well, but not nearly on the scale that I have for so long. Yet, I still long to live for something greater than myself…to feel like I am living my God-given purpose.

I’ve come to the realization that I have defined ministry as a job rather than a lifestyle.  I came to equate serving the Church with vocational ministry and ministry with being on church at a staff. I put serving the Church in the box of church staff and ministry in the box of church staff. In my mind the way to serve the Church was to be on church staff and ministry was being on church staff. And the reality is I think many who work in churches today end up doing that same thing without even knowing it.

But ministry is so much bigger than being on staff at a church and serving the Church is so much bigger than vocational ministry. Ministry is life. Life is ministry. At the end of the day ministry is people, it is serving the Church, it is compassion and caring and supporting and encouraging and admonishing and discipling and mentoring and loving. It is life. And it happens in schools and department stores. On blogs and on airplanes. In medical offices and art studios. It happens wherever it is that God places you. And so does serving the Church.

As I retrain my brain and learn redefine the term “ministry” I see that I really am living my purpose. If I am loving Him and loving others. If I am living out my faith, using the gifts He’s given me, then I am living my purpose. I am serving the Church. I am doing ministry.

How do you define “ministry” and “serving the Church?”

7 Comments Church, Missions