Tis the Season

Read my new blog on the Caldwells Patch. The focus of this new blog is to encourage people who live in the West Essex region. http://caldwells.patch.com/blog_posts/tis-the-season-370fe603 (copy & paste the link)

Prove It!

We spend a great deal of proving ourselves in life. It begins in the elementary years with proving our smarts or our strength and in Jr. High our social skills. Unfortunately we don’t all excel in all these areas, quite honestly I don’t know excelled in any. It’s okay, I can laugh now about social awkwardness and struggling with algebra (boy am I thankful for the girl who sat in front of me, that’s another story). However, the fun of proving ourselves follows us into college and our career. After years of academics we have to prove we can actually survive in the real world. Every time we receive a new job we must prove our abilities to new co-workers and bosses. I won’t even venture to talk about proving ourselves as capable parents because that is a lifelong challenge. It seems as though proving ourselves is a relentless task, but one of extreme value. You see, our greatest heroes, those we admire achieve that status in our minds because they often overcome the most trying of circumstances. Think about the many political losses of Abraham Lincoln, or the impossibility of the colonists facing off against the greatest army in the world. On a less serious note, I love to watch my football team come back from behind and snag a win in the most clutch game of the season. We love the underdog because everyone says he should loose, yet he rises to occasion and proves everyone wrong. It’s like growing in concrete or planting a church. Today, refuse to give up, instead believe you have what it takes like a plant growing in concrete you will be triumphant and your dreams will spring to life!

The Dissenter

All my life I have been a rigid rule follower afraid of authorities with the fear offending or inconveniencing people. This worked well for much of my Christian life. I went to Christian school for my elementary years. When I was in public High School I surrounded myself by a wonderfully active and large youth group. I was a good kid, living up to the standards of my mainly Christian world. Going to Bible College and then entering ministry in a large church I was patted on the back for being a ‘good’. Then, God called me elsewhere. God had called me to plant a church, in Northern New Jersey where I was no longer sheltered by a Christian sub-culture. Confronted by this new found world, I realized that I was no longer running with the majority, but now I was the minority, I was the radical that is offensive to the public. My thoughts of Jesus as Savior were highly insulting to some. My passion to see this message delivered to others was viewed as intrusive. So what to do? There I was the rigid rule follower afraid of offending, being rejected or being told I was wrong. This quandary beckoned the question, who is my God? My Lord? My Master? Is it society, or is it the One who I have pledged allegiance to all these years. It feels like ‘growing in concrete’ when the pressures of society, inner struggles and even other churches seek to restrict. We must dig down deep under the surface of the concrete and find soil which is conducive with supporting spiritual life. I have no fear sharing about a new diet that brings greater health to my family or a financial opportunity. Likewise, I cannot be ashamed that the One who changed my life came to earth so that man and God could be reconciled. I have been forgiven, set free and brought to a place of abundant life so it would be inconsiderate for me to keep such good news to myself.

Abide

As kid our dreams are so real and seem within reach. However, as we grow the ‘real life’ before us becomes a major factor and diminishes our innocent hope. It’s as though the obstacle becomes more real than the dream. Our natural reaction is to figure things out, to toil to find solutions and muster all of the ‘inner strength’ that we have been told we possess. Society is so quick to tell us “believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything,” but does that ideology misdirect our faith toward ourselves and away from Christ? Does this self-sufficiency influence us to be followers of self before we are followers of Christ? We begin to think how we can make extra before we pray, we assess our interactions with co-workers before we pray for them. We seek to de-stress with trips to the gym, spa or pour our heart out over a cup of coffee with a friend before pouring our heart out to Christ on our knees. The desire of Christ as quoted in Gospel of John is that we abide in Him. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5 NASB).” In this blog I address the difficulty of planting a church in Northern New Jersey. However, the solution to any challenge you or I face is to abide in Christ. According to Jesus we are not the ones who cause fruit to be produced from our ‘inner strength’, but as we abide in Christ. In Christ we draw all nutrients, strength, vitality and fulfill our natural destiny of producing what is good. What does it then mean to ‘abide’? As I gathered in a prayer meeting I was taken back to a place of my youth. The world was simple and at times nothing mattered but being in the presence of Jesus. I can think back to when I was a child and an early teenager. I think of the pure and innocent love I had for God. It was a time before schedules, paying bills, fixing the house or raking leaves among many other ‘adult’ responsibilities. I listen to the simple faith of my four year old son. I can see such an innocent love for Christ and I am envious. In my time of prayer I realized I need to get back to a place of loving my time with Jesus. It is a place where everything fades away and the only thing that matters is that I am with Christ. In Him I find the strength to live as He has called me, I find the wisdom to love and lead like Him. This faith journey cannot be a chore, but must be a place where we are lost in love with our Creator who gave His Son that we might live. It’s a small word, but a big challenge, to tune out all the distractions and turn our attention to Christ that we might ‘abide’. Read these Passages for further insight on abiding: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91: 1 “…Those who trust in the LORD Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.” Psalm 125: 1 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” 1 John 4:15 All Scripture for represented in this post are in the New American Standard Bible version.

‘Great Faith’ or ‘Great Naivety’

When I first announced a few years back that my wife and I would set out to plant a church with our newborn son people had all sorts of reactions. I was taken aback by one response in particular when people would comment “Wow, Jonathan you must have such great faith to trust that God will provide every need you will have.” It would take some difficult experiences to discover a truly deeper level of faith. Now, nearly four years later I understand the difficulties of finding a place to worship, coordinating multiple ministries through volunteers, financial pressures and emotions like failure and discouragement to name a few challenges I realize now that I didn’t have ‘great faith’ but ‘great naivety’. Understanding the depth of the challenge presented me with a great question as the challenges in your life today present you with a similar question which is “now that I am aware of the mountain that stands before me will I continue to trust?” You see, it’s easy to trust when we are ignorant, but when your worst fear becomes your newest reality will you continue to have faith? The mountain in your life may be sickness, depression, financial disaster, addiction or a relationship that seems to be shipwrecked. God is not shocked by your seemingly impossible situation. God is faithful to walk with you through the pain and strengthen you through your journey. Faith is to stand face to face with the enormity of the mountain and still believe our God is greater!

Rebuilding Preview

Day 6 ||Proverbs 15: 22 - 33

In the 1980’s a proposal was made to build the world’s tallest building in Newark, NJ a city that was desperate for a renaissance. Some saw this project as the key of rebirth for the blighted city. So what happened to the proposed 1,750 foot tall ‘Grant USA Tower’? The builder went bankrupt in the mid 1980’s. Essentially, there was no realistic plan for a company that was just about bankrupt to complete such a task in the struggling city. So what about us and what about Nehemiah? Do we have a realistic plan, and what can we learn from the story of Nehemiah?

…“If it please Your Majesty, give me letters to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah. Nehemiah 2: 7 (also read verses 8 & 9)

It’s clear that we are to be a people of solutions and action, but equally we must also have a plan; a God plan. We can see that Nehemiah thoroughly thought through his strategy in going to Judah. He first prayed (1: 4 – 6), he then asked for permission honoring his authority even though the authority would have been considered ‘unrighteous’ (2:4). The advice of others is more valuable than gold in some situations. Lastly, Nehemiah made provisions for the journey and the challenges that realistically lie ahead by asking for letters of approval for the task he set out to accomplish (2: 7 -10).

1. Pray – Search for God’s plan and desire for your life or situation.
2. Seek Permission – This may be a boss, a spouse, a ministry leader or for others it may mean filling out a job or school application.
3. Make Provisions – What education, skills, time frame is realistic to accomplishing the goals you have set out for?

Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success.
- Proverbs 15:22

Prayer Emphasis: Reveal God’s plan not just my ‘good plan’.

Unstoppable

So there I was again, stuck in traffic and late when I saw natural life pushing through the cold man made concrete of the street barriers. I realized that when life is destined emerge it finds a way, even when circumstances are not ideal. If there is a dream that God has placed in one's heart or a talent that has been given to an artist, it simply must emerge. Sure dreams and art take hard work, time, money and often many failed attempts leading to doubt, but nonetheless life emerges. I realized that the natural life was not suppressed by the man made materials. Often we can have the man made pressures of life weigh heavily on us and threaten the greatness that God has placed within us. Most people cave under this pressure and simply conclude that their aspirations are too grand and must be relinquished. Though times and trials may be difficult, that which is truly alive is unstoppable.