Ending the moratorium

The moratorium is officially over. In the Steckel house, we do not begin listening to Christmas music and putting up decorations until after Thanksgiving. But after Thanksgiving, it's Christmas 24/7. :-)

If you want Christmas 365 days a year, you can drive an hour north from my house up I-75 to Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan. (It's a pretty cool place. If you've never been there, it's worth the trip.)

Many people have their own family traditions regarding Christmas and when they begin celebrating the season. Some enjoy Christmas music in October and November. Others wait until the week of the big day. Which ever one you prefer doesn't really matter.

But I also see a lot of Christians who treat their walk with Jesus like I treat Christmas music. They treat their week like I treat Christmas from January to November. They consider it a time to take a break from things that focus on Christ. The music of their life is whatever they choose, but Christ-focused living is packed away in boxes until the next Sunday.

Then it's time to pull the decorations out and get ready for church. Time to put on the Christian mask and start using church-speak. Time to celebrate Christ for a day until it's time to put things away until next weekend.

On Monday, it's back to living for self-centered agendas and forgetting the life worthy of the calling we have received. Just like I pack up the Christmas decorations and my home returns to normal, some will pack away the things they sang about on Sunday morning.

This is not what we are called to do or be. Consider these excerpts from Ephesians 5...

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.

So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.

So be careful how you live.

Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.

Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.

And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We all need to live our lives like Bronner's celebrates Christmas - 365 days a year. Being a Christian isn't something we should celebrate once a week; it should be something we live every day of our lives. When we assemble on Sundays, it shouldn't only be a reminder about God and His work in the world. It should be a time when God's people come together to celebrate how they have been caring out the work of the Kingdom of God all week long.

shine!
Jason

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for so many things....

A loving God

A wonderful partner in my wife Michelle

An amazing son in Matthew

A great dad who is also a wonderful grandpa

A church family at Rochester that is a constant source of blessings

A great youth group

A church staff that is second to none

A supportive group of elders

A house to live in

Food to eat

The grace and mercy of Creator God

The sacrificial life of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

The gift and outpouring of the Holy Spirit

The ability to love

What are you thankful for?

shine!
Jason

If it feels good...

Have you ever heard someone say they did something because it "feels right?" Emotions are a powerful thing. They have started wars, ended marriages, and changed the dynamics of families.

So how do we know when to listen to our emotions? Whether it's your "gut instinct" or one of those "I've got a feeling moments," how can we determine when to listen to that voice inside?

First, I believe we should be very careful about letting our emotions take control. This can be very challenging for us today. It was only a few decades ago that our culture frowned on emotions. Just think about some of the phrases that still remain in our lexicon:

"Real mean don't show emotions."

"You want me to give you something to cry about."

"Crying is weakness."

"Why are you so emotional?"

Obviously, times have changed. We now have an entire teen subculture named after being emotional. The pendulum seems to have swung the other way. This is even true in many churches.

If you think about the songs and style of worship, much has changed. The "old hymns" seemed to carry a deeper, internal emotion that was to be displayed. They told stories or proclaimed truths about God. They were designed to stimulate our minds much more than our hearts.

Today many of our songs are praise and worship songs that touch our hearts (sometimes to the neglect of our minds, I fear). Emotion appears to be much more accepted in today's church.

So what does all of this have to do with listening to our emotions? First, we must acknowledge that we are often handicapped because the previous generations don't have the experience to help us sort through all of this. Many who are my age and older have parents who did not live in the world we live in. Their world wasn't as open to a public display of emotions.

Second, we have to understand that God created us to be a holistic person. That means that emotions and facts are both important, and neither can stand alone. They must both have their place at the table.

Without emotions, we make decisions that look at the "cold hard" facts. This can cause us to hurt other people and ourselves because we are blind to the emotional aspects of our actions.

On the other hand, decisions made without engaging our mind can lead to foolish decisions that didn't consider the consequences. Proverb 15:14 says, "The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly."

So how do we find a good balance? Why not ask the One who designed us in the first place. Let's consider the words of the Apostle Paul...

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (Philipians 1:9-11)

True balance comes through having the right perspective. Paul's prayer was that their love would abound in knowledge and depth of insight. How do we listen to our emotions and our mind? We seek the heart and mind of God.

I have found in my life that the more distant from God I become, the more my balance gets out of whack. Sometimes I will make decisions without engaging my emotions and other times I will act on my emotions without thinking. Both can have damaging results.

If I have a "gut instinct" or a feeling about something, I will begin by considering the heart and mind of Christ. That means I need to be in tune with the heart and mind of Christ. Without that connection, the discernment is much more challenging.

I realize that some of us may be overwhelmed by emotions or emotionally numb. (And sometimes both at the same time.) Those extreme situations may require professional help or at least a long period of working through things. That can be a long, challenging journey, but it is worth it.

In today's "if it feels good, do it" world, we are in a battle for our hearts and minds. If we can seek that balance that is centered on God, then we can be "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ."

shine!
Jason

Shhh

Music… TV… Cell phones... Text messages... Internet... Movies... Earphones.

Silence…

We struggle with silence. There are so many things that distract us and keep us from simply being still. For many, it has gotten to the point where being silent is extremely uncomfortable.

One of the biggest barriers that keeps many people from growing closer to God is the lack of silence in their lives.

Consider the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 46:

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see the works of the LORD,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
    he burns the shields with fire.
Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth."
The LORD Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

In the midst of our trouble, we should be still. When defeat seems inevitable, we need to be still. When trouble is before us, we must be still.

If we want to experience God and hear His voice, maybe we need to quiet the hundreds of other voices that can drown His out.

The problem is that we like the noise. It helps us try to cover the pain, confusion, and hurt that many of us hide below the surface. Maybe it’s time for you to be still and know that He is God. Let Him be your fortress instead of settling for a bunch of inferior, noisy alternatives.

shine!
Jason

 

Welcome home

This is a great video...

The church?

What do you think of when you think of church? A building? An activity? Worship?

I think that the early Christians would look at our meanings for the word "church" and wonder what we are talking about.

Constantine did the body of Christ a huge disservice when he essentially hijacked it for his purposes. When he decried Christianity as a "socially acceptable" religion, he opened the door to the institutionalization of the church.

While I believe God used this to aide his purposes, I also believe it began the distortion of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

No longer was following Jesus a risky proposition. Instead of a conscious decision to follow the way of Jesus, regardless of the costs, following Jesus became a part of the Roman Empire. The orders of one man took a counter-cultural movement and integrated it into the mainstream.

So what does that mean for us?

It impacts us in many ways and forces us to evaluate what it means to be a "Christian." Consider some of the things Paul wrote:

"Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?" (1 Corinthians 6:19)

"Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." (Ephesians 4:15-16)

"He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs." (Acts 17:24-25)

I often hear people say things like "you can’t say that in church" or "you can’t do that in the church building." How would our behavior change if we acknowledged that we are the "church building?"

We are the temple of God and the body of Christ. We are called to be the presence of God wherever we find ourselves. It doesn’t matter if we are in a building with a sign out front that says "Church of Christ", sitting in our living room, at work, or walking the halls of our school. If we are a baptized believer, then we are the church. We are the dwelling place of God in this world. The only building that really matters is the body that you live in every day.

shine!
Jason

An afternoon at Focus: HOPE

Yesterday was our first Sunday afternoon at Focus: HOPE. We had over two dozen students and adults venture down to the Focus: HOPE campus in Detroit to make some new friends. While there were not a lot of children this first time, I feel like we made an impact on the children and adults that were there.

During our time there, we were able to share a meal, play some games, and build relationships. In the months ahead, I am hopeful that the numbers will grow and we will be able to meet more children from inner-city Detroit. But one thing I have learned in ministry, is that numbers aren't the most important thing. If we are able to make a positive impact on the life of one child, our trip has had value.

I am looking forward to developing an on-going relationship with the children and adults at Focus: HOPE. As we seek to live out Jesus-shaped lives, this is a great opportunity to live out our faith. And in the process, we can show the love of Jesus to those we encounter.

shine!
Jason

Bridging the gap

I love the Fall. I think there is something amazing about the changing leaves and the cool air. There are few things more beautiful in the world than the color of Autumn leaves.

The amazing thing is that the beauty emerges, even in the face of death. The changing of the leaves from green to red, orange, and yellow is actually the process of leaves dying and falling off of the tree.

While we appreciate that beauty, we often miss the beauty to be found in the older members of our society.

In recent years, our society has been more and more trained to look down on senior citizens and even middle-age adults. Many shows aimed at teenagers and pre-teens show parents as foolish and clueless. Commercials often portray the children as the smartest person in the family.

I don’t discount children and teenagers, and I admit that there have been times that their voices have unfairly been silenced or minimized. But swinging to the other extreme doesn’t make things any better.

I am witnessing a generation who is growing up without listening to very many of the voices of experience. Our mobile culture that moves families around the country and away from family has severed those connections. Churches where the teenagers often sit together and away from the adults has cut off that spiritual connection.

It saddens me when I listen to students who feel abandoned and alone. I know that there is plenty of blame to go around. Adults have ignored youth just as much as youth have pushed away from adults. But the reality is that there are as many lonely adults – especially senior citizens – sitting in the pews as there are teenagers.

I believe that one of the most overlooked opportunities in many churches, especially larger ones, is the chance for youth to connect with our older generations. In a world where so many institutions and organizations drive wedges between generations and separate us into sub-cultures, the church has a unique position. We can be a place where generations are drawn back together and voices of all ages can be heard.

If you are a teenager or pre-teen, my challenge to you is to approach an older member of the church and build a relationship. For our older adult members I would say this: Don’t be afraid to connect with the youth. While it may seem like their world is so much different than the one you grew up in (and it is), there are still many things where you can find common ground.

If the church can grab onto this great opportunity for community, I believe it can have a positive impact for everyone involved. Let’s bridge the gap.

shine!
Jason

 

"Star Wars" - an a capella tribute to John Williams

I found this on YouTube. It is worth the 4 minutes, especially if you are a John Williams or Star Wars fan!

The morning after

The commercials are done. The speeches are over. The votes have been cast.

History has yet to determine what this election means for our nation. In a little over two months, Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. Then we will see what the future holds.

While I fundamentally disagree with much of Obama's philosophy and many of his approaches to the role of government, I can't deny the historic relevance of this election. While I hope that those who voted, voted for the candidate's platform, not his race, I know that for some that is not true.

Regardless of how you voted and why you voted that way, it's time for our nation to display the spirit of unity that has held us together for over two centuries. This nation has suffered through many challenging times, but the beauty of our country is the peaceful change in leadership that has helped make us who we are.

I will still stand up for what I believe is the best way for our government to function. Just like in the church, unity does not mean everyone agrees. Unity means that everyone stands for one purpose greater than themselves. Whether we are talking about the Kingdom of Heaven or the United States of America, this message rings true. When we can look beyond ourselves to the greater good, we can overcome.

Today is a new day in America. We have elected to office a man who would have likely served on a plantation, not had a right to vote, and only counted as 3/5 of a person earlier in our nation's history. Agree or disagree with his style of governing, this is a historic day in our nation's history.

On the other hand, I hope that we don't let the significance of this moment keep us from engaging in serious dialogue in the days ahead. Some would use the historic nature of this election as a buffer to dispel disagreement and silence dissent. To me, that would discount the importance of this moment.

As with most things in life, we must always seek a balance between sensitivity and substance. We must strive to find ways to work together while remaining true to our principles. It is of the utmost importance that as we move into the future, we start from our common ground and engage in serious dialogue about the issues at hand. This is how we can mature and seek what is best.

While I am talking about our country, I believe the same is true with the church. We can disagree about the way we "do church" and the methods we use to engage our mission, but we must start with Christ as our foundation, our cornerstone, and our starting point. From there we can embark on our mission that will call us to change the world and bring the Kingdom of God to the lives around us.

shine!
Jason

My vote

I am glad this is finally over. While I have a minor in political science, I get weary of the long political season.

As I woke up this morning, something hit me. Why do Christians invest so much in the election of a President?

Don't get me wrong, I think it's OK to be involved in the political process. I believe we have a responsibility to participate in elections; that's not what I am talking about.

I am referring to Christians and Christian groups who have spent hours and hours making phone calls, handing out fliers, and investing a significant amount of energy campaigning - for either candidate. Giving that kind of time is not inherently a bad thing. But here is the question I want to pose against this:

If a follower of Jesus spends hours and hours campaigning for a candidate for President, how much time are they investing on a regular basis in the Kingdom of God?

I don't take issue with those who consistently engage in spiritual disciplines and offer their time and resources to carry out the work of the Kingdom. My concern is with those who generally give a lot less time to Kingdom work than a political campaign. Where are they putting their trust?

At the end of the day (or maybe days, depending on what happens - remember 2000?), our nation will have elected a new President. On January 20, 2009, either John McCain or Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th President of United States.

While I am voting today, and I do feel that one man is the better choice, my hope does not rest on who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. My hope rests with the One who sits on the throne of Heaven. So that's where I want to invest the majority of my time, energy, and resources.

I will vote for the President of the United States, but I live for the Lord and Savior of all mankind.

shine!
Jason

Significant or symbolic?

I walked by a high school football team practicing yesterday and noticed the oddest thing. They didn’t have a football. The offense just ran their plays, but without a ball to throw or run.

Then I watched a mechanic working on a car. It was weird; he didn’t have a wrench. He used his fingers to tighten the lug nuts.

Then I walked in the front door of my house to find Michelle in the kitchen, cooking dinner. The weird thing was she was trying to mix some ingredients together, but she didn’t have a spoon. She was kind of tilting the pan from side to side, hoping the ingredients would mix together.

OK, so none of these stories are real. But I witness something equally as strange weekly. I see dozens of students coming to Bible class without a Bible. I was especially surprised a few weeks ago when the class I was teaching divided into groups to look at a passage of Scripture. In a class of over two-dozen students, only two students had a Bible.

A football player wouldn’t imagine going to practice without his equipment. A mechanic would never think about working on a car without his tools. Michelle wouldn’t entertain the idea of cooking without utensils.

Paul wrote the following words to the church in Colosse:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15-17)

Paul encourages the church to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” He reminds each of us about the importance of letting the word of God be a part of who we are.

I am not sure what the reason, but it seems like the number of people bringing their Bible to church has significantly decreased, especially with teenagers.

We set our TiVo so we don’t miss our favorite shows. We carry our cell phones everywhere so we don’t miss a call or text message. We always have our debit card for that purchase we might want to make.

But the Book that contains the words of God and wisdom to make us more Christ-like? Evidently, it is supposed to stay on the bookshelf at home where it’s simply a symbol of the faith we claim.

shine!
Jason