David's Bucket

Over the past five years, our church has launched five new worship services to meet the needs of our changing community. When we set this goal, it sounded like an impossible task. Looking back I can’t seem to remember what church was like without these expanded opportunities.

I’ve personally been involved in the leadership of three of these new starts. Each has been a rewarding experience, but what I’ve learned in each of those experiences is that starting a new worship service is a bit like having another child.

If you’ve had a child before, you have a working knowledge of what caring for a new baby will entail.

You’re prepared for the sleepless nights.

You’ve already learned how to put on a fresh diaper.

You’ve already mixed your first bottle of formula.

And yet what you cannot anticipate or fully appreciate before the birth is the unique personality, spirit, and giftedness that your new child will bring.

Starting a new worship service is similar.

You know there will be some singing, some prayer, some preaching, and some sense of flow, but what you cannot appreciate in advance is the unique “personality” that each new service brings. And so many things go into that personality… the space, the time, the audience, the support services like children’s ministry, etc. New services develop a life of their own and each of these factors contribute to the “vibe” of the new opportunity.

I’ve come to believe that understanding this development is critical to the long term success of the service.

Our 5 p.m. service is our most recent addition. Six months into the project we are learning a bit about the “character” of this new worship opportunity, and for those of us who have been a part of it, we’re starting to fall in love with that “character.”

Worshipping at 5 p.m. on Sunday feels dramatically different than our other evening service which is Saturday night at 6 pm. Saturday feels like a great way to start the weekend. Sunday night is a great way to start a new week.

Today, here’s the best way I know how to describe it right now.

Sunday night is an opportunity to hit the “reset” button… to step into a new week fresh and renewed. It’s an opportunity to pause and reflect on the week that has past… to celebrate those things that went well and to let go of those things that went wrong. And in that space to also recommit ourselves again to our sacred call to be a living witness of the love and grace of God in a hurting and broken world.

If you have not had a chance to attend Sunday at 5 yet, I want to encourage you to give it a try. It may not be where you end up worshipping on a consistent basis, but like the other new services we have started, it’s a unique opportunity that we are excited to share with our community.

Tonight in our chapel at 6:30 p.m., we are offering something brand new we are calling “Pause.” This quarterly worship experience is designed to provide a space to find quiet, to be still and to reconnect with God. Pause is unlike anything else we currently offer and so it is difficult to describe exactly what you can expect. What I will say is that if finding quiet, being still and reconnecting with God is a desire of your heart, I think Pause will provide a great environment for that to happen.

I hope you will consider joining me at Pause this evening. Again, it’s a 6:30 p.m. in our chapel and will last for an hour.

Today I’m doing something that really scares me.
When I agreed to it several months ago it sounded like a great idea. In fact, if I’m totally honest, it was my idea! But as the date has gotten closer, I’ve grown a bit more anxious.

The nerves have kicked in a little… and the doubts that I will be able to do what I thought I could do are beginning to creep in as well.

I bet you know the feeling.

It’s that tension within that keeps you from stepping too far out in faith.
It’s that need for security that can sometimes paralyze you into complacency.
It’s that fear that keeps you from taking any substantial risks.

And I think for most of us, it’s those emotions that keep us stuck in the present, sometimes chained to the past, unable and unwilling to embrace a future story that might be different from the one we are currently living…

Do you ever feel afraid?
I do.

I wish I could avoid it.
I wish I could make it go away.
I wish I could will myself into a state of confidence and trust.

But I can’t, and what I’ve come to understand is that running and hiding doesn’t do much good either.

What I’m continuing to learn in my life is that when I get intimidated or anxious, the only real weapon I have it to press into further… to embrace the fear, to meet the challenge, and to accept whatever results may occur…

Because failing is better than being paralyzed by the fear.

If I fail, I have the chance to learn and grow and stretch myself even further.
If I flee, I’ve gained nothing. I’ve only allowed the voice of fear in my life to get a little bit stronger.

So today I am doing something that is for me a bit terrifying because I can’t stand the thought that fear would become the primary motivation of my life.

Do you ever feel afraid?
I do.
We all do.
And we all have the choice.

Do we face it or do we flee?

A few weeks ago I posted that I was reading Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. In that first post I wrote the following.

As I’ve read through the first half of the book, it’s striking to read how those closest to Jobs describe what a self-centered, petty, and narcissistic man he could sometimes be. I’m waiting for the great moment of redemption. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it’s waiting for me in the chapters that follow.

After finishing the book last weekend while I was in New York, I can say that my initial impression did not change substantially. Steve did seem to soften somewhat in the second half of his career which hinged on his return to Apple in 1996, but the great moment of redemption never seemed to come. Even near the end when the sickness was ravaging his body [and his cancer was much worse than any of us ever imagined] Steve remained distant in relationships and just as able to verbally wound those with whom he worked and shared his life.

Steve did lead Apple from the brink of destruction in 1999 when he became the interim CEO to becoming the most valuable company in America.No one can argue with his business success. And in Steve’s own words, that seems to be the yardstick by which he would have wanted us to measure his life.

Isaacson dedicated the last few pages in the book to Job’s own words. In that section, Job’s writes,

My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products. Everything else was secondary.

Having read his biography I can say that this seemed to be the heartfelt intention of his life. Everything else truly was secondary.
In a sense, I found that to be terribly sad.

It led me to wonder if I were to make a similar statement, what would be the sentence that I would want to precede it?

What comes before everything else in my life?
What is it for you?

This morning I went out early for a five mile run. The sun wasn’t up yet and it was a bit chilly which I prefer. It was an easy paced and beautiful run. I felt refreshed and energized when I got back to the house.

Not every run over the past several months has gone as smoothly. It’s been a long training season and the extended summer temperatures didn’t help matters.

Yet, here I am.

Seven days away from catching a flight to New York City.

Ten days away from running my second marathon through the Big Apple.

It’s been a wild ride, but I’m ready, and excited again about the opportunity to run in support of the 1,000 orphans in Africa that our church is supporting.

If you want to be a part of seeing hope restored for these kids, I’d love to have your support.