A Personal/Pandemic Letter to My Church on Saturday Evening
[I took the above picture on Cape Cod a few weeks ago, and it’s a good reminder to me tonight that this pandemic won’t last forever.]
It’s Saturday evening, and I am feeling a nervous excitement and anticipation about church tomorrow.
I had a funeral earlier today for a woman in our church whom I used to see every Sunday—if you looked at her, it would seem as if she thought that getting to assemble with the people of God on the first day of the week to sing and pray and learn and listen was the greatest privilege of her life.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this time of pandemic is that Jan was right—the coming together of the Church on Sunday is the greatest gift and responsibility that the Lord has given us.
Now, I had assumed (and you know what they say about assumptions….) that the pandemic would be behind us when I returned from summer break, but even these past few days have shown me just how wrong that assumption was.
We met outside for worship, rain or shine, from October 2020 into June 2021, and so I’ve had a few folks ask me if we are going to move outside tomorrow.
As I mentioned, I only got back in the office a couple of days ago and had a funeral this morning on which I have been focused these past few days, so I personally have not been able to meet with our staff and leadership and consider if we need to change our Sunday plan going forward.
Consequently, for tomorrow (Sunday, 8/15) we will continue to follow the Sunday plan our staff and leadership had already developed; that is, this Sunday will be exactly the same as last Sunday—we will NOT be moving outside. (During the middle hour, our elementary Sunday school program will be held outside, however.)
In the week to come we will evaluate what happens tomorrow, and if I and our leaders think we need to adopt a different Sunday plan going forward, we will make that determination and I will let you know of any changes as soon as possible.
In the meantime, I understand there are some people in our congregation who may not feel comfortable gathering with other Mungarians inside our sanctuary on Sundays. It might be helpful to know that we post each Sunday’s worship service on our website by 7 PM on that Sunday. In addition, our Thursday evening service draws a much smaller number of people than do our Sunday services, and perhaps an almost-empty sanctuary might be a good option for folks who are desperate to come to church but who are uncomfortable being in our crowded sanctuary on Sunday mornings.
Finally—and I’ll have more to say about this tomorrow—it seems clear to me that this pandemic is being used by dark forces to divide us. We are of course aware that other people feel very strongly and quite differently than we do about this pandemic protocol or that pandemic protocol. You will certainly never hear me say that all beliefs or ideas or policies are equal—some beliefs or ideas or policies may be true and good and some may be false and bad. But, whether or not someone has adopted the correct views or not has absolutely nothing to do with how we are to think of that person; the command of Jesus to his Church is quite clear: we are to love even the people who are wrong.
Let it not be true at Munger that we let this pandemic cause us to hate other Mungarians. Let us make the decisions we need to make for our families, let us argue and listen and learn, let us show curiosity and empathy, but let us not give ourselves over to contempt and hatred for the people we believe are wrong.
So, here is what I’m asking you tonight:
That you would specifically pray for me, as I seek to faithfully lead our church through this pandemic;
That you would specifically pray by name for someone in our church whom you believe to be wrong about the pandemic, and ask that the Lord would give you love for that person;
And that you’d pray that the Lord would fill our church services with a fiery joy when we gather together.
In Christ,
Andrew Forrest
My Teaching/Preaching Schedule For August & September
Low tide at Breakwater Beach, Brewster Flats, Cape Cod.
I took the above photo last night on Cape Cod. I need and am so grateful for time away every summer from weekly preaching and teaching, but it won’t be long before we’re back home and kicking off a great fall, and I’m getting excited.
Some of you might be interested in my upcoming teaching and preaching schedule as a new ministry year begins for me—if so, I’ve listed below some of the fun stuff we have coming up.
What If You Could Start Over?
Sermon series, Sundays August 15 and 22
I’m interested in the following questions these days:
What if you could start over?
What if you could begin again?
What if, knowing what you know now, God gave you another shot?
I’m kicking off the fall by looking at these questions, and I have good news for you:
With God, all things are possible.
The Daniel Project
Friday-Saturday, August 27-28
The Daniel Project is a weekend seminar I teach in which we look at some of the most difficult and confusing questions people are asking about God and the Christian faith. My goal is for folks to leave feeling confident and to have clarity when they are confronted by these difficult questions. More info here.
Romans—The Greatest Letter Ever Written
Sermon series, Munger weekend services, kicking off Sunday, August 29
I’m going to be preaching and teaching through Paul’s great Letter to the Romans this fall, starting the last Sunday in August. Romans is not an easy letter, but it is worth it. We’ll be handing out Romans scripture journals as part of a churchwide reading plan; our reading plan begins September 1.
Who’s in?
Sex Idol! Churchwide Bible Study on Romans and Sexuality
Wednesday, September 1, 6-7 PM
The first chapter of Romans contains one of the longest discussions of sexuality in the Bible. What does the Bible say about human sexuality? Why does Paul connect sexual sin with idolatry? How does this passage make sense of the rest of the letter? How does the Bible’s teaching on sex apply to us today?
I’ll be teaching a Bible study on all of the above in the Munger sanctuary at 6 PM on Wednesday, 9/1. Leave work early just this once, and then join us for food trucks and fun outside afterwards. Separate study on Romans (but not on sex!) for elementary students at the same time, with childcare available for little ones.
You know you’re curious—mark your calendars now.
Seven - Friday Morning Men’s Series in September
Fridays in September, 7-8 AM, Munger sanctuary
For each of the Fridays in September, I and Rodney Adams will be teaching a men’s breakfast series starting at 7 AM sharp. We’ll provide Chick-fil-A biscuits and coffee.
Fellas, this is a great event to invite other guys to attend. Whom are you going to invite?
Going to be a great fall. Expect great things!
"The Wedding Song"
This past Saturday evening I officiated my 150th wedding.
At the bride’s request, I did something I hadn't done at the previous 149: performed a song. The song was "The Wedding Song", by Noel Paul Stookey.
(The video posted below is from the Thursday before the wedding, when I sang the song at Munger during our Thursday evening service as a way to practice.)
The bride helped us start Munger 11 years ago and the groom was a widower from our church with 3 boys. Their wedding was an occasion I had been praying for literally for years.
God is so good.
Happy Memorial Day, everyone.
Wanna Go With Me to Israel in 2022?
I’m going to Israel in Jan-Feb 2022. Wanna go with me?
The dates are January 25-February 3, 2022.
Registration
Make sure that you use the following when registering:
Host Name: Munger Place UMC
Host ID: 52701
Questions?
Email my awesome assistant Rosemary Cole.
41
Today is my 41st birthday, and I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned this past pandemic year is to enjoy the gifts you have while you have them, because you never know when they’ll be taken away.
Say your worst fears of the future will be realized—what good is it to allow future pains to rob you of present joys?
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34.)
Each day may have trouble, but each day has plenty in which to delight, too.
So, here’s to delighting in each day that comes.
P.S. Folks at church surprised me with a cake tonight. 41 candles!
My One Word for 2021
Since 2014, I’ve picked a One Word theme for the year. (Last year was 2 words, but you get the idea.)
This year’s word relates to a question I’m obsessed with:
Where does sustained success come from?
To put it another way:
Where does creativity come from? How can creativity be sustained? What does it take to make something of value? What does it take to get things done?
Jerry Seinfeld on Work
Tim Ferriss’s podcast is hit or miss for me, with more misses than hits. His best interviews are when he doesn’t know his guest personally and is somewhat intimidated by him or her. In those cases he postures and shows off a lot less than at other times, and tends to ask genuinely curious, perceptive questions. This brings to mind what one of Jim Collins’s mentors had to say to him one time: “you need to spend less time trying to be interesting and more time trying to be interested.” (I think one of the best interviews Mr. Ferriss has ever done was with Frank Blake of Home Depot—a good example of being interested, especially in his probing and curious questions about prayer.)
The recent Tim Ferriss interview with Jerry Seinfeld was one of his better ones, probably because they spent a lot of time talking about a subject that both men are interested in: what it takes to get work done.
Jerry Seinfeld is a disciplined writer, which is the only reason he’s been able to thrive as a stand-up comic decade after decade. Here’s Jerry talking about the process:
“But my writing sessions used to be very arduous, very painful, like pushing against the wind in soft, muddy ground with a wheelbarrow full of bricks. And I did it. I had to do it because there’s just, as I mentioned in the book, you either learn to do that or you will die in the ecosystem. I learned that really fast and really young, and that saved my life and made my career, that I grasped the essential principle of survival in comedy really young. That principle is: you learn to be a writer. It’s really the profession of writing, that’s what standup comedy is. However you do it, anybody, you can do it any way you want, but if you don’t learn to do it in some form, you will not survive.”
“If you don’t learn to do it in some form, you will not survive.”
—Jerry Seinfeld, talking about the discipline of hard work
Putting Your Work In
You see this same principle in the lives of all professional athletes who make it. Sure, there are some people with talent who light up the highlight reels for a season or two, but there are no examples of athletes who stay on top for a career who don’t put in the work every day. There will always be Johnny Manziel types whose natural talent bring them fleeting success, but unless they learn to work, they will never be anything other than fleeting successes.
Recently I came across an interview with NFL quarterback Russell Wilson in which he said this:
“I gotta earn my career, you know, and how you earn it is by the approach that you take every day. There’s no such thing as days off.
“Someone asked me the other day….“How many days a year do you [work]”? The question is, How many days I don’t. That’s the real question. To me, it’s a 365 day lifestyle—it’s a lifestyle choice. I may take 2 days off a year…. That lifestyle allows you to play for a long time….
“Pretty much every day I wake up around 5….I always pray first and then I’m going to the facility or the gym and putting my work in.”
I don’t know of any professional athletes who have made it a career who wouldn’t say the same thing. Natural talent is what gets you in the door, but it’s hard work that allows you to stay.
My Life As an Artist
Several years ago now, I came to a conclusion about my work, and that is that my work is primarily creative. What I mean by that is that my primary task is to create something out of nothing every single week. I am—in my own peculiar way—an artist.
I know it sounds pretentious, but conceiving my job as a creative endeavor has been helpful to me. Every single week I stand up in front of a group of people—during the pandemic it’s been a much smaller group than before!—and preach. Preaching, to me, is about creating. Where there was nothing, now there is something.
I have the natural gifts to be a preacher—I have a good memory and I’m poised in front of groups of people. But those gifts can only help you to preach a good sermon once. But preaching once isn’t the job—preaching week after week after week, year after year after year—that’s the job. It is not possible to overstate just how hard it is to do this well.
And there is no way to do it well without putting in the work.
But let me confess something to you—that kind of work does not come easy to me.
My Two Best Sermon Series Yet
In 2020 I think I preached two excellent sermon series, in my opinion the best I’ve yet preached: Genesis (in two parts) to begin the year and Revelation to end it. I feel as if I actually understand those books now, and I felt like I was able to share that understanding with others in a clear and compelling way.
When I ask myself why and where that insight came from, there is one clear answer:
I put in the work, and God blessed it.
“Just Read for One Hour, You Idiot”
The kind of books I read to support these two particular sermon series are not quick reads—they require lots of concentration. I’m normally a quick reader, but with these books 20 pages might take me well over an hour. And so I committed to getting in one hour of reading per day, no matter what.
One hour of concentrated reading may not sound like much, but for me it was about keeping a sustainable pace, and allowing the hours to accumulate. “Just sit down and focus for one hour, you idiot” was the kind of self-talk I’d use, and it worked.
Consistency Is More Important Than Intensity
One of the things I really believe is that consistency is more important than intensity. Anyone can throw himself into a problem with frenzied determination for one day, but one day’s determined work is not what most problems need. Rather, most problems are solved with sustained, relentless focus, day after day after day.
To put it another way, the tortoise always beats the hare.
When You’re More Hare Than Tortoise
The problem is that I’m not naturally a tortoise—I’m naturally a hare. And in the age of the internet, I have to fight hard to keep my rabbit-like attention from flitting from one shiny carrot to another.
Deep Work
I know that Cal Newport is right, and that in a world of distraction the ability to give focused attention to the problem in front of you will make you that much more valuable.
I know he’s right, and I know that the only way I can survive in the game is if I put in the work.
At this stage in my life, this is more true than ever, because, by the way:
I have a book manuscript due to the publisher by April 1.
Jerry Seinfeld, Russell Wilson, Robert Caro
I think it’s because I’m not naturally a tortoise that I admire tortoise-like work so much. I find people like Jerry Seinfeld and Russell Wilson to be inspiring—I want to be like that. I want to be a tortoise.
For that reason, one of the books I read over the last several years and most enjoyed was a brief autobiography from the great biographer Robert Caro entitled, appropriately enough, Working. I loved reading about his patient, relentless process of coming to really understand his subject.
I also want to stand before God one day and give an account of what I’ve done with what he’s given me. I’d much rather be someone with one talent who made ten out of it than someone with ten talents who ended up with twenty.
But, that will only happen through work.
There Are No Shortcuts
The kind of work I’m talking about is the kind of deliberate practice, putting in the hours, doing the reps, private, unglamorous work without which it is not possible to be a sustained success. I’m not talking about meetings and appointments and phone calls and emails. I’m talking about sitting alone in a room by yourself and just, through force of will, making yourself focus on a problem, and working at it until you’ve wrestled it to the floor.
That’s the kind of work that honors God, because it shows we take his gifts seriously enough to actually develop and hone them.
In fact, I often feel the greatest sense of godly satisfaction when I can look back at something I’ve made and say, “I worked hard on that.”
There is a lot that I want to accomplish in the year ahead and in the years ahead. Like Peter Drucker, I’d like to accomplish more in the second half of my life than in the first. But nothing I want to accomplish will happen if I’m not willing to put in the work, day after day after day.
My One Word for 2021
And so, my one word for 2021?
Work.
P.S.
It’s 10:00 PM on New Year’s Day, and after I post this I’m going to bed a happy man. You know why?
Because I already put in my work for the day.
First day of the new year, done.
Christmas 2020: "And They All Missed It"
Think back over the last 365 days, since last Christmas. Think of all the things that have happened: a global pandemic, civic unrest, a presidential election, etc.
How do you know you were paying attention to what really mattered?
It’s easy to be distracted by what the world considers important: politics and war and wealth and the like.
But, what if God is up to something else entirely? What if God is at work in other ways? What if you and I on our own are completely unable to tell what’s truly important from what is just distraction?
What if you’ve been distracted this entire year and missed what’s really been happening?
After all, when the first Christmas came it happened in a surprising and unexpected way.
And they all missed it.
Sermon References:
Painting: “The Census at Bethlehem,” by Pieter Brueghel the Elder
Good 48 minutes BBC documentary on the painting: “Private Life of a Masterpiece: Census at Bethlehem”
Gallup survey: “Americans' Mental Health Ratings Sink to New Low”
Making Peace with the Pandemic
What have you had to let go of this year because of the pandemic?
I can’t put into words what the picture above means to me.
It is from Munger’s Christmas Commitment Sunday 2019.
On Christmas Commitment Sunday every year, we ask households to come forward, kneel, pray, and say:
“Lord, thank you for how you have provided for us in the year that’s past”
and
“Lord, please bless the work of our hands in the year to come.”
IF THERE IS A MORE MOVING SIGHT IN MINISTRY THAN SEEING WHOLE FAMILIES ON THEIR KNEES IN GRATITUDE BEFORE GOD, I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS.
Looking at that photo again—all those families crowded into our church—makes me want to cry:
Because it can’t happen like that this year.
Here are some more pics that make me realize how much we’re missing out on this year. Do you see the mariachis by the red tent? Mariachis make me happy. Also, can you see the one with me praying with my family? Man how I love being able to do that every year—it’s such a powerful moment for us: “Lord, thank you thank you thank you.”
None of the above will happen like that this year, which I think is a major spiritual setback for our community, gripped as it is so tightly by consumerism and entitlement.
But there’s nothing we can do, is there?
Making Peace with the Pandemic
It seems almost obscene to modern wealthy Americans to state the obvious:
Sooner or later in life, you come up against something you cannot ultimately change or control.
In every individual life this is true, but this pandemic is the first such experience in generations that is true for all of us at the same time.
So, things are different this year and there’s nothing I can do about it.
And so I’m going to make peace with the pandemic.
Things are different this Christmas than I want them to be, but that doesn’t mean that we should stop doing what we believe matters. It just has to look different.
And I’m okay with that. Really.
Munger Christmas Season 2020
So, here is how things will look at Munger this Christmas.
Church is outdoors every Sunday, 9 and 11, rain or shine. (In inclement weather, services will be 30 minutes.) Worried about the weather? As it says in 2 Hezekiah, “just suck it up.”
Christmas Eve is outdoors, rain or shine!
3:30 (kids);
4:30, 5:30, & 11:30 PM—all 30 minute candlelight services.
We will be offering indoor Christmas Travelers services at 6 PM on 12/21 and 12/22 so we can record a full service to put online. Reservations required—info to come.
Christmas Commitment Sunday 2020 (12/13)
The spiritual reality behind Christmas Commitment Sunday—namely that gratitude is the only appropriate response to all our blessings—is too important to forgo this year, though things have to look different.
So, as in years past, I want to challenge our church to thank God for his provision in 2020 and ask for his blessing in 2021—to Finish Strong and Start Well.
But this year, things will look different. There will not be regular services on Sunday, 12/13.
Instead, I will lead several brief communion services in the parking lot and the sanctuary will be open from 7:30 AM-12:30 PM for folks to pray inside and drop off their gifts.
Here’s our new plan for Sunday, December 13:
• Sanctuary open 7:30 AM-12:30 PM.
• Only one household permitted in the building at a time.
• 15 minute communion services in parking lot at 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 noon.
We want to give folks the opportunity to pray in the sanctuary as they make their Christmas Commitment. That time kneeling at the rail is important for many of us. If you choose to do so, you will enter through the main front doors and have the whole building to yourself for a few minutes, before leaving through the coffee bar doors. There will be no one else in the entire building while your household is inside.
Of course, if you want to drop off a gift outside, you can certainly do that as well.
(As always, you can make your Christmas gift and set up your giving at www.mungerplace.org/give.)
And, I’m pre-recording a full sermon that will be online that morning as well, so be sure to catch it with your family.
So, I’ve made my peace with the pandemic. I’m okay with things being different.
This year, a lot about the Christmas season will be different, but Christmas itself isn’t cancelled.
The light still shines in darkness.
And I’m more than okay with that.
What about you?
Thanksgiving 2020
Thanksgiving 2020 sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?
It seems crazy to be grateful and joyful when so many things aren’t the way we want them to be.
And yet:
It is because things aren’t perfect—not in spite of imperfection—that thanksgiving is so important.
Some thoughts (and pics!) from Thanksgiving 2020.
When we stopped reading through Psalms in September, I started to read one psalm a day right over again. I set a little widget in my phone to remind me of what psalm I’m on—and last week on Thanksgiving Day I read Psalm 79, which is a bitter, desperate psalm. It begins like this:
Psalm 79
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.
The psalmist is writing from the time of exile, after Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BC and the Israelites were carried off into Babylonian captivity.
After lamenting all the horror all around him and crying out for help, the last verse of the psalm pivots, and it caught my attention:
13 But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
In exile, after seeing his nation destroyed and his loved ones killed, the psalmist still stubbornly refuses to give up giving thanks.
I think there’s a lesson there for us, as 2020 comes to a close.
One of our problems is that we are so comfortable that we have forgotten that most people, most of the time, haven’t been.
Most people throughout history—and most people in the world today—deal with constant discomforts. Unfortunately, we have become deluded into thinking that life should be free from discomfort, and so when things become difficult—as they inevitably do—we are unable to have proper perspective. Because there are things in our lives and in this world that are far from perfect, we have a hard time with the idea that we should nevertheless give thanks. We focus on what’s wrong rather than what’s right—we look at what we lack rather than what we have.
This tendency to focus on what’s wrong is why so many of us are so miserable—despite being wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of most people who have ever lived, despite never having to worry about food, shelter, clothing, or water, so many of us are unhappy for so much of the time.
One of the reasons we resist thanksgiving is that we (incorrectly) believe that giving thanks will make us complacent in the face of obvious wrongs in the world. On the contrary, however, thanksgiving doesn’t make us numb—it makes us grateful. And it is my experience that grateful people have greater strength to persevere when things get difficult. You want to make a difference in this world? You’ll need perseverance.
Bluebird Ranch
So, we were committed to give thanks this year, and we had a great Thanksgiving 2020, in spite of some major things in our lives not being how we want them to be.
Or, better: we had a great Thanksgiving 2020 because some major things in our lives are not how we want them to be.
We always head down to Bluebird Ranch for Thanksgiving—the ranch Elaine’s uncle and aunt have outside of Utopia, TX, about 2 hours west of San Antonio.
Normally, we have a huge Friendsgiving when neighbors from all along the valley join us in the barn for a great Thanksgiving dinner. This year things were different for obvious reasons and Friendsgiving was cancelled. Even though it was just our family around the Thanksgiving table, it was a blessing nonetheless.
I love seeing my kids run around outside from dawn to dusk;
I love being somewhere my phone doesn’t work and there’s no television;
I love seeing the night sky and hearing nothing.
Then, the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving we got our family Christmas tree back here in Dallas.
There’s just something about a Christmas tree that makes me feel hopeful. Despite all the ugliness in the world, there are still so many beautiful things that remain
So, this week I’ve been sitting in the dark by our lit Christmas tree every morning, praying and sitting still and thanking the Lord. I am so blessed.
May these next few weeks be a blessing to you and yours, too.
One good thing about drought conditions—the big fish are easier to catch, especially if you have an angling assistant.
I’ve become a fish-kisser, I guess.
And yes, we threw this big papi right back in the water. Maybe next year we’ll catch him again.
Texas immigrant + the Sam Houston of pastors.
Local golf-cart chauffeur + your humble correspondent.
Sunset.
Moonrise.
Back home. My early morning prayer chair on the right.
My 2020 Advent Reading Plan
This year we need Christmas more than ever. Here’s how to prepare to get the most out of the season.
2020 Advent Reading Plan
Advent is the 4 week season of preparation that precedes Christmas. Christmas is an event of joy and feasting, but if we don’t learn why we’re celebrating, our celebrations can become superficial and materialistic.
To help us get the most out of the season, I’ve put together a simple scripture reading plan for Advent 2020.
Reading Plan Details
Readings are Monday-Friday, beginning Monday, 11/30 and ending Thursday, 12/24.
The Bible tells a unified story that leads to Jesus, and so many of the readings come from the Old Testament to help us understand the story of which Jesus is the fulfillment.
Each weekday’s reading is very brief. Of course, feel free to do your readings at any time, but I strongly encourage you to develop the habit of the First 15: spending the first 15 minutes of each day in silence, prayer, and scripture.
How to Sign Up for My Reading Plan
The reading plan is digital—I will send you each day’s reading and a brief thought on it every weekday morning at 4:00 AM.
(If you are already receiving my Bible posts—like the ones I wrote on Revelation, e.g., you don’t need to do anything—you’re already signed up.)
Sign up here to receive the Advent reading plan sent to you every morning.
If Today Were the Last Day of Your Life
If today were the last day of your life
you wouldn’t spend it fretting in anxiety about an election outcome over which you have no control;
you wouldn’t foment a sense of outrage at people who have the wrong facts, opinions, and ideas;
you wouldn’t frantically refresh your newsfeeds to see what’s changed in the last 4 minutes.
If today were the last day of your life
you’d savor every sip of your coffee;
you’d smile at the sight of every human face, considering it a great privilege just to be in that person’s presence;
and
you’d be grateful to God for every breath you had left.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Election Day 2020: 3 Truths
If you are a Christian, here are three truths to keep in mind this Election Day 2020.
Being Right Is Less Important Than Loving the People Who Are Wrong
Politics matters. It’s because of politics that we have hot water at the tap, paved airport runways, and a court system. Politics is how we live together in peace. Civilization is not inevitable, and it is politics that makes it possible.
Politics is important, which means argument and persuasion and ideas are also important.
Good ideas will lead to human flourishing; bad ideas will lead to human misery. Ideas matter! It’s important that we have the right ideas.
BUT
As a Christian, I know that being right is less important than loving people who are wrong. Don’t give up your ideas, but also don’t let them tempt you into hatred, contempt, or condescension.
So, this election don’t be so consumed with having the right political ideas that you forget to love—i.e., to actively will the good—of the people who are wrong. Even the ones who are voting the wrong way!
Sometimes Losing Is Winning
There is a tremendous temptation to give way to despair if your side or issue or candidate doesn’t win. Resist that temptation!
Life is inherently unpredictable; each of us knows countless examples of things that seemed like setbacks at the time only to later turn out for the best.
On Good Friday, it looked like Jesus had been defeated, but on Easter Sunday it was clear he had actually won—through losing!
If your candidate or issue or side loses this Election Day, why not ask the Lord to use the apparent defeat to set up a future victory?
It’s Possible to be Happy Even In Difficult Circumstances
Don’t believe the lie that it’s not possible to be happy if your circumstances (political or otherwise) are imperfect.
Happiness comes from finding the goodness of God in your everyday circumstances right now.
Let’s try it.
Review: The Good Shepherd/Greyhound
In July, I read an article about the Tom Hanks movie Greyhound that mentioned that the movie is based on a 1955 novel by C.S. Forester called The Good Shepherd. In high school, I used to read C.S. Forester’s Hornblower novels about the British navy during the Napoleonic wars, and when I saw the Kindle version of The Good Shepherd on sale for $0.99 [currently $2.99], I decided to give it a chance. I ended up reading the whole thing in less than 48 hours—the perfect summer reading novel. Below are my brief thoughts on both the novel and the movie.
Book Review: The Good Shepherd
From the publisher’s description:
The mission of Commander George Krause of the United States Navy is to protect a convoy of thirty-seven merchant ships making their way across the icy North Atlantic from America to England. There, they will deliver desperately needed supplies, but only if they can make it through the wolfpack of German submarines that awaits and outnumbers them in the perilous seas. For forty eight hours, Krause will play a desperate cat and mouse game against the submarines, combating exhaustion, hunger, and thirst to protect fifty million dollars' worth of cargo and the lives of three thousand men. Acclaimed as one of the best novels of the year upon publication in 1955, The Good Shepherd is a riveting classic of WWII and naval warfare from one of the 20th century's masters of sea stories.
The novel is essentially a long interior monologue of the thoughts of Captain Krause—the author gets you to feel what it must have been like to command a warship in the frozen North Atlantic: the crushing responsibility, the loneliness of command, the physical exertions of fighting a (largely) unseen enemy.
Captain Krause was raised as the only child of a strictly devout but loving pastor father and a mother who died when he was very young, and The Good Shepherd is one of those few popular books that accurately captures what it’s like to truly believe that the Lord is your shepherd and constantly at your right hand. The captain’s interior monologue is peppered with (unspecified) scriptural quotations, and his piety is presented as straightforward and honest.
I thought the ending was too abrupt and unsatisfying, but otherwise I really enjoyed the book.
The Good Shepherd. Recommended. ★★★1/2
Note on my Rating System for Books
I use a 5 star system in my ratings to signify the following:
★★★★★ life-changing and unforgettable
★★★★ excellent
★★★ worth reading
★★ read other things first
★ not recommended
Movie Review: Greyhound
If I hadn’t read the book first, I would have liked the movie Greyhound more. Even though the title was changed away from its double-meaning and scriptural allusion, the movie actually preserves the novel’s positive portrayal of the captain’s faith—something very unusual in modern movies, as I don’t need to tell you.
Tom Hanks is characteristically great, and the action scenes are believable, but the movie isn’t able to give us his interior thoughts in the same way as the book, nor get us to feel the psychological terror of being hunted by a Nazi wolfpack, a thousand miles from land and a thousand miles above the frozen Atlantic seafloor.
Be that as it may, I still recommend the movie, particularly if it causes you to turn off cable news!
Movie: Greyhound. Recommended.
Munger Is Opening! (ish)
Great news—we’re going to re-open church! (ish)
Outdoor Services at Munger: 9 AM & 11 AM
Starting Sunday, 10/4, we’re moving to a new Sunday schedule at Munger: outdoor services in our parking lot at 9:00 and 11:00 AM.
This schedule will continue through October and perhaps through November as well.
(The Sunday 7:30 AM outdoor communion service that we started in July is superseded by these later services and is discontinued. I will miss it, though—I really enjoyed being there in the early mornings with the faithful few.)
Service Details
We’ll be in the main Munger parking lot under the blue sky.
Bring your own camp chair or blanket.
Services will be 60 minutes long. I’ll be preaching every week.
Bathrooms will be open if you need them, but otherwise everything will take place outside.
Dress casually.
By now, you know the Covid rules, and they apply at church, too: keep at least 6 ft apart from others at all times and wear a mask when you cannot maintain that amount of distance. We’ll have masks available for anyone who needs one.
The nice thing about being outside is that you can position yourself as far away from others as you need—take advantage of the space. 6ft apart is the minimum, right?
Please respect the space of others and don’t be that guy or gal who puts a chair down right next to another family!
What About Kids?
We are offering an Outdoor Children’s Area for ages 1-pre K at the 9 AM service only. You must register to reserve a spot; spots are limited. For more info and to REGISTER, click here.
Infants as well as elementary kids get to be in the service with the rest of us!
We’re starting small this week and will add more kids/childcare options in the weeks to come.
What About Online?
We will post an entire service online at 9:30 AM Sunday as usual; the sermon is also available from 6 AM Sunday on via the Munger website and via podcast.
Please do NOT feel pressure to attend an outdoor service if it not wise for your household to do so for whatever reason; take advantage of the online service instead.
When Will We Move Indoors?
We will continue outdoor services through October, and very likely through November. So, one possibility is to move indoors the first Sunday of Advent (11/29). But, as with everything else in 2020, who knows?
What About Coffee?
At this point, it’s BYOC and BYOD (doughnuts).
Actually, it’s pretty much BYOeverything.
Should I Attend If I’m Sick or Think I Could Be Sick?
If you don’t know the answer to that one by now, I have some magic beans to sell you for a great price.
Munger Old Testament Parking Lot Campout
This is going to be fun: we are going to do a campout in the Munger parking lot inspired by an Old Testament holiday. Seriously.
Sukkot
The Festival of Tabernacles (also called the Festival of Booths) was “one of ancient Israel’s three giant annual feasts, celebrated in autumn” (from The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary). Every fall, the Israelites would build temporary shelters (or “booths” or “tabernacles”) and live in them for a week to remind them that when they came out of Egypt, they lived in tents on their way to the Promised Land. (See Leviticus 23:33-43.) In Hebrew, the word for a single shelter is a sukkah—plural sukkot—so the holiday was called Sukkot in Hebrew. (Pronounced “sue-COTE”.)
It’s such a cool holiday: every year you get to stay outdoors with your family in a shelter you build and be reminded that all of life is temporary, but that you are heading toward the Promised Land.
(Did you know that Jesus celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles? Read about it in John 7.)
Sukkot observance in modern-day Jerusalem.
Sukkot in Nehemiah
The Festival of Tabernacles is one of the holidays that Nehemiah and Ezra got the returned exiles to observe in 445 BC—you can read about it in Nehemiah 8:13-18.
The Munger Old Testament Campout
Since we’re reading through Nehemiah, and since 2020 has been such a downer, we though it would be fun to do a campout at Munger as a way to make the connection to what we’re reading. That’s the whole point: something fun.
When: 6 PM Friday, October 2 to 9 AM Saturday, October 3.
Where: The Munger main parking lot. Campsites are every other parking space around the perimeter of the lot. We’ll keep the center of the lot free so folks have lots of room to spread out and leave plenty of space for hanging out, fire pits, etc. Church bathrooms will be open, but the entire event will take place outside. Pray for good weather!
Cost: Free! And we’ll provide dinner Friday and breakfast Saturday.
What to Bring: Tent/sleeping bags/chairs, etc—basically whatever you want to bring to make yourself comfortable. Bring your own fire pit and wood, s’mores, games, etc. Because Sukkot was also about hospitality, bring stuff to share with another family. Who knows?
Who’s Invited: Anyone who wants to come! If you’re not a camper, so what? You’ll never have an easier camping experience. All ages.
What About Security? We’ll have a police officer on site all-night.
What’s the Program? I’ll teach a brief family-friendly Bible study lesson on Friday evening and lead a brief morning prayer time on Saturday morning. Otherwise, we hope folks just hangout and play games and have fun. Think of it as a giant tailgating experience. We’ll set up our Gaga pit, 9-Square-in-the-Air, and other outdoor games, but bring whatever you have that seems like fun.
Register Here:
So we know how much food to order, please register here.
This is going to be fun, and we all need some more fun these days.
Are you in?
P.S. Watch this movie beforehand
Jake Porter on our staff lent me the DVD of this movie several years ago. It’s an Israeli movie called Ushpizin (“the Guests”) that’s about what happens to one family celebrating Sukkot in modern Jerusalem.
The movie is available to rent for $2.99 on Amazon Prime. It’s probably a bit over the heads of little kids, but I’d recommend it for middle-school aged kids and up. I just watched it again and really like it.
Let Us Rise Up and Build
Friends, it’s time to rebuild.
If ever there were a time for rebuilding, it is now:
It’s time to rebuild our lives;
It’s time to rebuild our families;
It’s time rebuild our communities;
It’s time to rebuild our country.
This pandemic has been apocalyptic in the sense that it has been revealing, and what what’s been revealed about us has been ugly. There is a lot of work to do.
And yet, I can tell you that I personally have more energy for the season ahead than I can remember having before.
Let me tell you how I got here.
(And share some pictures from our summer.)
43 Weeks Straight
Every spring, it’s the same: by the end of May I find myself getting weary and worn out from preaching.
The pattern I generally follow is to take summers off and then basically preach every Sunday during the school year. For example, I preached a sermon every week from August 18, 2019 through June 7, 2020—43 weeks straight!
The hardest thing about preaching—by far—is doing it every week. No matter how good last week’s sermon was, you start at zero at 6 PM every Sunday evening. After a while of preaching every week, you find that you have nothing to say worth hearing.
After 43 weeks straight, I needed a break.
This year, of course, we had the added stress of a worldwide pandemic this spring, so I really needed a break.
Summer Break 2020
One of the many great things about Munger is how kind our folks are to me and my family. When we leave town for the summer, no one complains (at least to my face!); folks understand that if I am going to be in the pastoral ministry for the long haul, I need to pace myself. The most important thing I have to offer as a leader is my energy, and if I don’t steward my energy well, I have nothing to offer.
And so we pulled out of town on July 2 and returned back into town on August 13, exactly 6 weeks later. 5,500 miles! Now that’s a road trip, Clark.
But Wherever You Go, There You Are
We were in beautiful places this summer—from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and we spent time with family.
And yet, wherever you go, there you are.
Just because I was in beautiful places with people who love me didn’t mean that I was immediately renewed and on fire for the task ahead—I was still carrying my worries and frustrations with me. About halfway through our summer break, I was feeling pretty discouraged and not looking forward to coming back to Dallas. In prior years, we’ve been excited to get back to church, but this year, there was no church to get back to, at least not in the normal sense, and so I was dreading coming back—like so many other people, I was sick and tired of the changes the pandemic has placed in my life.
Lifeguard Stand Prayer
One of the places we went this summer was to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It was clear that I needed God to give me a sense of hope and direction for the future, and so I got up early every morning and walked down to the beach and sat in the lifeguard stand, read my daily psalm, and prayed.
Let Us Rise Up and Build
After a couple of days of lifeguard stand prayer—”Lord, give me something!”—I felt really drawn toward the story of rebuilding in Ezra-Nehemiah. “That’s what we need to be about!” My wife had the idea of pulling a small group of folks together in the Munger sanctuary so I could have some friendly faces to preach to, to make things are normal as possible. It all seemed good.
I know it sounds like a Sunday school story, but it’s true: after a few weeks of committed prayer, I felt like I had a new fire for the future and a clear direction in which to walk.
“Let us rise up and build.”
(That’s from Nehemiah.)
I decided that in the immediate future, my task is to (re)build, and inspire others to do the same.
I couldn’t wait to get back home and get to work.
“This Was Filmed In Front of a Live Studio Audience”
So, for the past 4 Thursdays, I’ve filmed my sermon in front of a small “studio audience” in our church sanctuary, and it has been so life-giving to me!
The story of Ezra-Nehemiah is fascinating and filled with wisdom, and I think we can learn a lot from the stories of those great men about what it will take to rebuild in our own time.
#1 “When You Can’t Figure Out What God is Up To” [August 23]
#2 “Even the Swiss Family Robinson Got This Right” [August 30]
#3 “What If You Don’t Want What You Think You Want?” [September 6]
“When God Needs To Change You Before He Changes Your Circumstances” [Coming 9/13]
Will You Join Me?
Starting this Monday, September 14, at Munger we’ll be reading through the book of Nehemiah (more info to come—this past Wednesday we finished up reading through all 150 psalms! ); I’m continuing to preach through the book (last night’s sermon really got me fired up).
I hope you’ll join me in reading and I hope you’ll watch any sermons you’ve missed—we are releasing each week’s sermon every Sunday morning.
I don’t know when we’ll all be back in church together again, but I know this:
we’re one week closer.
Friends, It’s time to rebuild.
Who’s in?
P.S.
I took this picture at church 2 weeks ago as I was getting ready to lead evening prayer. Something about it just gives me hope.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Sunrise comes early to the Outer Banks of North Carolina in July, so I got up at 4:50 this morning to come to the highest point on the island—the Wright Brothers memorial—so I could see it. [Photo gallery below.]
The thing about the sunrise is how quickly it passes. Which is exactly what Robert Frost was getting at in his little poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” I memorized it when I was in high school, and I still know it by heart.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
When the sun finally came over the horizon, I was struck at just how appropriate is the psalmist’s description of the sun as “the strong man”:
Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
I watched for about 45 minutes for the sun to show himself over the Atlantic Ocean, and when he did, there was definitely a strength to his appearance. Majestic.
"In the Day of Trouble"
For Our Country
ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favour and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
—from The Book of Common Prayer (1928). [credit: Alan Jacobs]
Kristi & Jason's Private Pandemic Parade!
Because of the quarantine, Kristi & Jason had a very different wedding day than they’d planned. They cancelled all their invitations and their reservations; they asked me if I’d be willing to officiate a private wedding ceremony for them at Munger. Of course I said yes. The total congregation today at the wedding consisted of me, the bride, the groom, the photographer, and a floppy-haired urchin I enlisted as my altarboy/assistant, who ended up filming with an iPhone from the balcony.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds walked out the front steps of the church only to be surprised by a parade put on by their loved ones! The stream of vehicles kept circling and honking and generally making a ruckus. None of us expected it, and it was such a delight!
Jason and Kristi, may all your days be filled with such unexpected joy, and may God confirm your covenant and fill you both with grace. Amen.
P.S. Here’s a picture of the humble officiant with his floppy-haired urchin/altarboy/assistant.
