Second Wind

It is clearly evident that the current generation is not buying the cliched Christianity of a former generation.  A recent conversation with a young pastor made me realize anew that most of them don’t particularly identify with terminology that speaks of eternal salvation.  It turns out that they really don’t think there is a lot of meaning to the concept of the life beyond; what they really want to know is how they might experience life NOW! 

This is not really such an obtuse idea if we older evangelicals think about it.  After all, Jesus said he had come that we might experience life to the full (John 10:10).  John’s concept of eternal life was to know the Father.  In his great prayer of John 17, Jesus prayed that his followers might know the Father, whom to know, he said, was life eternal (John 17:3).  John took pains to demonstrate that the most important dimension of belief in Jesus was knowing the Father and of course this involves eternal life since God the Father is eternal. 

This is a much more attractive way to think about faith than has often been true of many expressions within evangelical Christianity.  Too often the most appealing aspect of Christian faith has been the assurance of heaven or even an escape from the fires of hell.  While these concepts are valid, it is a concern of post-modern Christians that this emphasis has led to an ingenuous kind of faith.  People have been led to believe that if they pray a prayer they will have assurance of heaven.  In fact this kind of communication may actual lead to a false sense of assurance because a person may follow a ritual or form that misses the point and doesn’t result in a personal connection with the God who is eternal. 

Many post-moderns want to have an encounter with the living God that is real and authentic every day of their lives.  The danger is that in the process they may miss the very means by which this is possible.  I have noticed that they really emphasize the matter of being a disciple of Jesus in a way that implies radical obedience in the ways that he lived and taught the spiritual life in the Gospels.  They tend to think that the issue is Christ’s lordship.   The problem, as I see it, is that this can become a moralistic way of thinking which is not a lot different than works theology so typical of most religious systems. 

Authentic Christianity needs to take into consideration the reality of sin and atonement theology with its emphasis on the means by which Jesus has paid for the penalty of sin by his death on the cross and by his resurrection.  The New Testament (and the Scriptures for that matter) taken in their entirety lead us to the conclusion that authentic faith embraces Christ as the Saviour from sin as a prerequisite to knowing Him as Lord.  Knowing the Father and the eternal life which is his comes by knowing Christ as the God-man both in his atoning sacrifice as well as his triumphant resurrection. 

True evangelicals of a former time have always known that the Christian faith is a lot more than a fire escape and an eternal home in heaven.  And this is evident in the theological comprehension of that faith as well as in its huge impact on the world in power and mission.  As was true in the past, so it is biblically true of God’s truth in this post-modern age, it is God’s will for us to have assurance of a relationship with him through the kind of belief expressed initially by a confession in prayer that acknowledges our need for his salvation through Christ as well as an ongoing submission to his glorious Lordship. 

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Last night someone called from another city about a lady in our town who needed a visit.  The situation was that she was living in a senior’s home and had grown anxious about her personal affairs since she had no immediate family around to help her.  She had come to distrust those who were supposed to help her but it seemed they were looking out for their own interests at her expense. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I prepared to meet with her this afternoon.  When I found my way into her space in the new, well-provided facility, I found a diminutive woman who was emotionally alive and mentally sharp.  Her major difficulty was that she couldn’t see very well.  Expecting me, she greeted me with a glass of juice and a cookie which she had smuggled in for the occasion.  It was clear she hadn’t much experience with clergy people so she asked me what she should call me.  I told her it was fine for her to call me by my first name, and later she suggested that I could call her by the shortened version of her first name. 

She shared a heart-rending story of a difficult life growing up in the vicinity of our town.  Her parents had moved here from eastern Europe and worked hard to make a living on the land.  She had an alcoholic husband whom she left after seven years because he drank continuously and spent all their income by that means.  She also suffered the loss of her two adult children.  Her loving, hard-working son died in a car accident at eighteen while his friend was driving, and her scientist daughter living in the US died of cancer at age fifty.  It seems her daughter’s friend was taking care of things for her in her old age but somehow this had turned into an experience of exploitation for the old lady.

In the course of our conversation I asked about any church connection and she said she had minor instances of exposure to church but never really got into any in particular.  I explained my own experience as one who had grown up in a Christian home and the church and early learned about Jesus as the one who came from heaven as God’s Son to die for our sin and rise again so that we could be forgiven.  She was very interested in this and said no one had ever really told her about Jesus. 

I told her that she could know that Jesus was her friend and that she could have a relationship with God through trust in Jesus.  I said she would find Him able to help her in her situation if she had that connection.  She wanted to know about how to pray effectively.  I prayed for her and then led her in a phrase by phrase prayer in which she opened her heart to Jesus, asking Him to forgive her sins and come and live in her life. 

It turns out that she has a cousin who is a strong Christian living elsewhere, and she had also been in touch recently with another Christian nearby who was helping her.  She also mentioned another Christian couple in Prince George that had been very good to her some years ago.  Evidently, God was sowing seeds of faith in her heart through these relationships and now, at 78, she was very eager to receive the gift of salvation. 

I left a lady this afternoon who was radiant with the joy of having come to know a new friend — two actually.  For she met me alright; but more importantly she had come to meet Jesus.  As I left she gave me a warm embrace and thanked me so very much for coming to share this time with her.  I told her I’d contact her Christian friend and be in touch with her myself and we would find a way to help her together during this time. 

It was a verybeautiful experience in evangelism — practically sharing Christian love with her about her immediate needs and telling her the Good News about Jesus which she was more than ready to receive. 

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The word Gospel itself means good news or good tidings.  It is taken from the Greek word evangelion in the New Testament which means Good News from which we also get the word evangelism or evangelist.  In Matthew 4:23 we read of “Jesus teaching in the synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom…” 

Essentially Jesus’ message was about himself and the conquest of sin and Satan.  He spoke often of his own unique connection with the Father in heaven and of the divine life which he came to bring.  It was a message anticipated by the prophets of the Old Testament like Isaiah who spoke very graphically about the coming of One who would be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace (9:6).  In Luke 4:18 Jesus identified himself with Isaiah’s prophecy in 61:1 about the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord coming upon him to preach good news to the poor, and so on.  So it is that the first four books of the New Testament, called the Gospels, focus attention upon the life of Jesus giving a good deal of attention especially to the crucial aspect of his unusual death and resurrection.  For it was in his life and these events that the Gospel was defined.  And as he prepared to leave he prophesied that this Gospel of the kingdom would be preached in the whole world before the end would come (Matthew 24:14). 

The  apostles and prophets of the early church carried this message and its fulfillment forward by providing evidence of its power in their spiritual work and by giving greater theological understanding to its significance.  Paul especially went to great lengths to explain the Gospel in his letters to the various churches to whom he wrote.  The letter to the Romans provides the most comprehensive explanation of the Gospel.  Some have identified the main points of the Gospel as explained in Romans as the Roman Road. 

1. Romans 3:23 — For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  This verse identifies the main reason why the coming of Jesus is such Good News.  The fact is that all of us are separated from the life of God by our sins and sinful nature.
2. Romans 6:23 — For the wages of sin is death, but he gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.  The second fact is that sin has its consequence which is death — the very opposite of the life of God.  But God’s gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
3. Romans 5:8 — But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  God’s gift of eternal life flows out of the reality of his love which was demonstrated in his willingness to die for us.  His death was a substitutionary one — he was willing to die in our place.  (This is explained earlier in Romans when in 3:25, Paul writes about God presenting Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement for us.)
4. Romans 5:1 — Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  This fact emphasizes that the gift is received by faith.  The previous chapter (4) explains how faith works.  Faith is an attitude that recognizes and acts upon the truth concerning Jesus. 
5. Romans 10:9, 10 — That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  This final fact has to do with the way faith is expressed.  It begins as a confession of the mouth in prayer or in testimony, based on what one has come to believe in their heart.  (A simple prayer of faith for acceptance of the Gospel might go like this:  Dear God, I acknowledge that I am a sinner and in need of your salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sin and to be raised again to life so that I could live with you forever in heaven.  Right now I receive this gift for myself and claim your promise of eternal life.  From this day forward I choose to live my life for you.  Help me to do so by the power of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.)

There is much more that is written about the Gospel, but these points cover the essential elements of what the Gospel is all about and how a person can come to believe it.  Recently I realized that I had never given an explanation of this important matter on my web-site and that many may look here who wonder about the question of how a person can be sure of having an eternal relationship with God.  I hope and pray this will help some to come to experience the Good News in their lives.   If you have prayed to receive God’s free gift of Good News, please let me know. 

Recently I have also added a page, called Basic Truth, that explains important facts related to what the Good News is all about.   The truth of the Gospel of the Bible and the New Testament is very basic to the work of Second Wind Ministries. 

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In my own regular Bible reading recently I was encouraged to find a reference that affirmed the importance of  daily Bible reading.  It came to me in Deuteronomy 17, not a passage to which I had previously attached much significance.  (It’s amazing what one finds sometimes even after having read a passage many times previously.  It also helps to read Scripture in a different version.)

The context, Deuteronomy 17:14-20, anticipates Israel’s desire to someday want a king to reign over them.  (1 Samuel 8 tells us how this actually came to be.)  At this point in Deuteronomy God is telling Israel through Moses about some important features they should keep in mind about the kind of king to choose.  He should be of the Lord’s choosing, someone from among themselves and not a foreigner to Israel.  He is not to have large numbers of horses or acquire any from Egypt.  Also, he was not to take many wives — who might lead his heart astray.  And he should not be one who would accumulate large amounts of wealth. 

These are simple instructions in which we can easily recognize wisdom.  If Israel’s kings had paid closer attention to the last piece of instruction that God passed on at that time the people might not have disobeyed the ones already mentioned and gotten into the trouble they did.  That last piece was simply an emphasis for the king to copy the law already given, to keep it by his side, AND TO READ IT DAILY. 

I was actually reading this last week one morning in the New Living Translation.  Here are the exact words of Deuteronomy 17:18, 19: When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.  He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees.

I’ve always believed daily Bible reading to be one of the most important spiritual disciplines that a Christian could practice.  I have the ministry of the Navigators to thank for encouraging me in this discipline many years ago.  They pointed to, among others, the example of David in Psalm 5:3, and to that of Jesus in Mark 1:35.  These people  evidently had the habit of spending time daily in the God’s presence — some of that time, no doubt, being marked by meditation on God’s law. 

If it was important enough for God to emphasize this point for the kings that would rule in Israel, how much more should we who are followers of Jesus take time to meditate daily in God’s Word?  It seems right that the true servant of Christ and those who would reign with him (as kings) should take time for this daily habit — preferably at the start of each day.  It is a way of centering one’s soul before busyness of the day crowds in. 

In recent years I read Scripture much more slowly — going over the same passage often more than once.  My custom is to read a Psalm and alternately from the New Testament and Old Testament.  I try to combine this with a journal entry almost every day about what I read, and a time of prayer, often referring to a written list of needs for others. 

I know it sounds like a pretty basic comment.  But there really is no substitute for daily Bible reading in the life of anyone who wants to stay alive to the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in his or her life.

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Driving to Edmonton today to visit and help with family I listened again to one of my favourite messages by Bill Hybels on Turning Vision into Reality.  Few people that I know do a better job of describing what pastoral ministry is really all about in terms of accomplishing Jesus’ clear mandate to go and make disciples. 

As Hybels alludes, most pastors do a great job of casting vision through preaching, but the problem is that for the most part, that often is as far as it goes.  We pastors are very good at stirring up passion about spiritual truth.  But what we aren’t as good at is the matter of following up our words with leadership that really ensures that the work we talk about is accomplished. 

Hybels talks about being practical about setting goals that flesh out the vision that we communicate.  In the case of the Willow Creek Church, they spent a great deal of time on revisiting their vision which has been to turn irreligious people into devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  Hybels says they haven’t changed that vision-mission statement, but they have taken a lot of time to think about how they are actually doing it.  They have set goals for their Sunday morning service attendance, their mid-week attendance, the number of people in small groups, the number of people ministering to the poor, and the number of people becoming members of the church.  And in response to those who would be critical of that kind of number goal-setting, his simple response is that those goals represent real people for whom Christ died and are known to people as their dearest friends and relatives.  The goals aren’t an end in themselves — they are the means of measuring whether the vision is being accomplished. 

A couple of other things worthy of note in his message: one is that they had to be ruthless in the end about seeing that every leader in the church was committed to the common purpose of the church instead of the church simply being a federation of independent ministries all using money from the church budget to accomplish their own ends.  If the church was going to move forward as they had envisioned (the vision being based on the Word of God and the leading of God’s Spirit through its leaders) everyone would need to be moving toward the accomplishment of the same goals. 

Secondly, to those who think that such an approach doesn’t allow for the freedom of the Spirit — to those who would advocate a more laissez-faire approach in dependence on the Spirit to accomplish what He desires, Hybels would say that such an attitude is really passing the buck.  In his inimitable way, Hybels is passionate about church leaders being diligent about accountability to Jesus about the most important business in the whole world — making disciples.  If businesses are ruthless in seeing that every ounce of energy and every bit of money is directed to profit, how much more should the church be devoted to seeing that every resource is being well-invested for the greatest enterprise in the world! 

I couldn’t agree more.  Too often we pastors get all excited about delivering a great message from God’s Word but aren’t really diligent about ensuring that what we’re talking about is actually getting done in the lives of people in the church and beyond.  And in the process we end up kidding ourselves — at the least!  We should work hard at casting a great vision based on God’s beautiful revelation.  But we have to do more than inspire and make people feel good.  That’s kind of like simply ”tickling people’s ears.”  We have to get down to the harder work of truly building Christ’s church and making ourselves accountable for that as well. 

If you’re a pastor, what do you think about this?

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It’s difficult not to feel some sense of angst about the millions of barrels of oil that is spewing uncontrollably into the azure waters of the Gulf of Mexico these days.  Not only is the natural beauty of the area’s shorelines and beaches being ruined but the sensitive ecosystem involving birds and marine life is also being destroyed.  This is already having a terrible effect on the livelihood of millions of people who live in the region and eventually it is bound to impact all of our lives as well.   To make matters worse there doesn’t appear to be any assurance that the gushing will stop soon.  It seems impossible to calculate the actual amount of oil escaping as well as the long-term impact or the cost of clean-up and recovery.

What distinguishes this tragedy from many other natural disasters is what might be called, the human-cause factor.  This was an industrial accident of the worst proportion prompting similar questions of human responsibility as occurred in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant tragedy 24 years ago in the Ukraine.  These are serious accidents that point to the tragedy of human limitations.  They puncture a hole in the balloon of human hubris that characterizes so much of human endeavor.  They challenge man’s sense of invincibility.

The Christian response to this catastrophe is both simple and complex.  It is complex because there are so many issues surrounding a happening of this nature – legitimate industrial activity, for example, versus the need for self-control and government control on extremes that exploit natural resources and people. It is simple because we believe that God is sovereign over everything that happens in this world and that he can give us grace to deal even with the most difficult matters in a constructive way. 

One of the outstanding features of this calamity has been the obvious vacuum of human know-how to effectively deal with the on-going flow of oil.  Thankfully it now seems that some progress is being made on that front.  But the experience illustrates again the human limits of constructive solutions to our problems and how much humanity needs divine intervention.  It seems to me that if ever there was a time to pray it is in the midst of these kinds of experiences.  It is a time for soul-searching concerning distorted values.  It is a time to seek God for his voice in these circumstances.  It is a time to look to him, not only for his immediate mercy in this situation but also to seek him for his grace and forgiveness on a much wider scale and at a much deeper level. 

 There is much more to be said about this event, but at the least it should serve to remind us about how much we need God’s help with our lives.   We are not invincible.  It is interesting to note that the word invincible has a large number of “i’s” in it.  We need to realize often, on an individual basis, that we do not have what is needed to make it in life.  We need God.  Jesus summed it up well when he said, “without me, you can do NOTHING!” (John 15:5)

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Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting with a twenty-something who is working in the area for the summer.  He is a Christ-follower having come to believe in Jesus through an association with a novel youth ministry in a Canadian Prairie town called Joe’s Place.  His story is another amazing example of how God is still in the business of touching people with his saving grace.  This person certainly had the odds stacked against him as far as achieving healthy significance.  Doesn’t sound like he ever knew his mom and was raised by several partners of his father until the latter married in recent years. 

The youth ministry that finally reached him was a weekly no-drugs allowed gathering which offered food and drink, activities, love and friendship in a Christian atmosphere.  There was also some deliberate communication of Christian truth in that setting.  After awhile, someone led him through some Bible texts that helped him want to put his faith in Jesus.  He prayed to receive Christ and then started attending a church recommended by the youth ministry.  After he graduated from high school he went on to Bible College and now has his sights set on one day planting a church in one of Canada’s large cities.

Talking to him made me realize again how different it is for the young people of today than it was for a former generation.  The kind of church experience that has captured his interest and seems effective in introducing new people to Jesus is characterized by typical post-modern features.  The Worship Service style is definitely low-key in terms of overt leadership.  He talked about it as a large group Bible-study — intimate, relational, participatory, and conversational.  The pastor teaches, he says, but it doesn’t have the feel of a presentation. 

So how do people from non-church backgrounds come into the church?  Well it sounds like most of them come by way of the small groups.  The groups are largely inductive-type Bible studies that also have a strong social dimension — groups have BBQ’s and parties that give regular participants an opportunity to invite their friends.  They hear about the regular Bible studies and are introduced to Christian love and truth in that way and then end up coming to church. 

Does the church have programs for particular age groups, etc?  Yes, they are starting to see the need for children’s programs that are separate from the main event on Sundays.  That’s about as far as we got in our discussion.  But it does demonstrate some of the ways that younger people are thinking about church these days.  I thought there were some interesting things to consider in his description of effective current church ministry. 

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Some of the difficulties that come into our lives as believers in Jesus Christ and also as his servants are due to how we sometimes fail to process temptation properly.  In addition to the challenges that come from Satan and others who choose to fight against us is the reality of our own sinful distractions.  For those of us who serve as pastors and Christian leaders there is a time for healthy, truth-focused introspection concerning our own lives.  Those of us who seek to bring others under the judgment of God’s Word should certainly not fail to do this with our own lives.  

1 Corinthians 10:13 has often be cited as an occasion about the reality of temptation in all of our lives which also includes the promise of victory and escape by God’s grace.  It consists of a number of important facts: no temptation is unique, God is faithful in working with us in temptation so that its strength will not overcome us, and he will be sure to provide a way through it.  The context helps us understand that the temptations Paul is writing about are similar to the ones that came into the lives of God’s people as they were led from Egypt through the wilderness.  Those temptations included the inclinations toward idolatry, sexual immorality, doubting or testing God, and grumbling.  In the context the admonition to flee from idolatry is repeated. 

I used to think that the temptations spoken about here in 1 Corinthians 10:13 were of the trials that came into our lives as circumstantial difficulties that God allowed – much as Job experienced.  That happens no doubt, but the context here in Corinthians implies that temptations at times come by the inclinations of our own hearts — as had also been the case with the children of Israel. 

So we need to be realistic about these tendencies.  How many times do we find ourselves in difficulty simply because we have given in to some form of idolatry — haven’t kept our hearts pure in their desire toward the supreme exaltation of Jesus Christ in our lives–have opened our hearts to indulge the senses in a way that  idolizes them instead of giving glory to God with them, etc?   These temptations are common and have common consequences in terms of trial and difficulty of many kinds.  If the truth were known the burdens of our lives are undoubtedly often the result of yielding to various forms of temptation toward idolatry. 

Sometimes it takes a severe experience of difficulty in our lives to arrest our attention deeply enough to seek the Lord for his mercy and grace.  God uses the trials that emerge to get us to think about particular instances of idolatry and to be honest about them with ourselves and with him — confessing them as sin.  Could this be the “way of escape” to which Paul is referring in this verse?  An early detection of temptation by this means keeps us from indulging further.  In this way we are spared from serious idolatry and are restored to walking in the joy and freedom of his grace once again.

In my own experience I have to confess to the reality of temptation in many of the ways that the children of Israel experienced it and that seems common to all followers of Jesus.  And God in his grace has allowed trials to come as a means of escape that leads me back to confession, forgiveness and freedom.  This is the way of practical sanctification again and again.  Evidently it is by this means that God’s glory in our lives is restored and that we can be useful to him once again. 

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While we don’t like to talk about it much discouragement in ministry is common.   I am thinking here especially of those who serve in professional pastoral ministries.  At first this seems odd since those who are called to lead in church ministry are defined for it by their faith, their passion, their enthusiasm, and their obvious giftedness to lead and to communicate in a spiritual context.  This image in fact makes their spiritual discouragement even more profound since they have expectations for themselves and from others to be people of strong faith.  But the reality is, despite the impression of others, that pastors are very human in this regard and may often experience a deep sense of discouragement which they may effectively hide — sometimes even from themselves. 

Some people are more prone to depression by temperament as something inherited or developed by their own insecurity or sensitivities.  Since pastors seek to lead in the extension of God’s kingdom their engagement in the battle between truth and falsehood can be emotionally exhausting.  Their work is challenged by opposing cultural trends often making it difficult to relax or “let down their guard.”  Working constantly with people can be draining anyway and especially so in this context.  And then there is the very real struggle that St. Paul writes about in Ephesians 6 — the struggle “…against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.” 

Potential points of discouragement have to do with the intensity of the work involving long hours of concentration in study or engagement in counseling.  It may also have to do with conflict in inter-personal relationships with other people on staff or in the lay leadership of the church.  Or it may have to do with incongruities that one is dealing with in personal life — family, finance, health and matters along those lines.  Sometimes discouragement may be more intense at certain seasons of the year because of the weather, or the darkness, or happenings in the church calendar.  It certainly is inclined to happen when the church is facing some kind of crisis and their is a real or threatened loss of people or finance.  Even the smallest critical comment, at times, can set off major feelings of disquiet.  One of the greatest discouragements for a pastor is not having work or a place to serve.  Ironically, pastors often experience greater discouragement when they attend a denominational conference or retreat because there they hear about the real or embellished good reports of other pastors.

In dealing with the reality of discouragement, first and foremost it is important for pastors to acknowledge the reality of this tendency.  They should recognize that this is not something unique in their experience despite the tendency of other servants of Christ to continually give the opposite impression.  On the other hand it is important to be candid about one’s discouragement in the right context – with trusted mentors and friends.  One of the reasons I have come to appreciate the Psalms so much in recent years is because of the writers’ willingness to be candid about discouragement.  A majority of the Psalms express discouragement and the need for God’s help in one form or another.   Psalm 13 is a classic example: How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart everyday?  It is helpful to recognize that even Jesus had to deal with the reality of discouragment due to the often dull and slow response of the disciples or by the evidence of his grief in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

The mention of Jesus’ trial in the Garden of Gethsemane brings to mind one of the most important ways of dealing with discouragement.  It is to go to God in prayer.  We should seek the prayers of others (as Jesus did) in times of discouragement but even when they fail (as they did in his case) we know that it is in meeting with God that we will find solace and strength for our dark nights of the soul.  During these times, of course, there is also great comfort to be found in the words of Scripture or in hearing God’s truth in one form or another — as in music.  Encouragement often comes through sharing with good friends who are able to empathize.  Journaling can be an effective way of dealing with discouragement.  So can taking a course to sharpen one’s skills.  Being occupied with some other constructive enterprise can be helpful.  Sometimes it is simply a matter of getting more rest or of taking time for a change of scenery. 

Though discouragement in pastoral ministry is inevitable and often intense it is through those experiences that God’s servant is better prepared for more authentic ministry.  In the words of 2 Corinthians 1:3,4, as we experience God’s comfort, we are better prepared to comfort others — by the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  As hard as the experience of discouragement may be, we need to remember that a proper response to it can effectively serve to be a source of great blessing to our own lives and the lives of many other people. 

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This week I spent a few days with a friend who had some work to do in a nearby town.  He and his wife are preparing to move there to start a food business and to do church ministry.  They are building a house there and are also establishing an agricultural enterprise to supplement their food business.  My friend and I have been meeting regularly for mutual encouragement during the last several years and we know each other relatively well.  But going to help him with his work for an extended period of time was a larger commitment to our relationship.

I did it because I appreciate his friendship and because we share a common desire to learn and grow in our personal lives and ministries.  He has been a big support to my efforts in Second Wind Ministries as he has also been willing to learn from the knowledge and experience that I have acquired over the years.  Recently he started work on a Doctor of Ministry degree program in which I have encouraged him and from which I have also learned new things. 

But committing myself to spend an extended time with him and to work as an assistant to him in his world was a kind of spiritual discipline for me.  I did it because I wanted to help and encourage him and I wanted to submit myself to whatever would be required of me in that relationship for that time.  It took me out of my own comfort zone of independent living and forced me to be the dependent and the helper.  It turned out to be a very valuable experience in a variety of ways.

For one thing, I came to appreciate again the wonder of the kind of friendship that God calls us to in which “iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17).  Besides the fun of enjoying each other’s personalities, we discussed personal and theological issues in a way that encouraged greater self-discipline and commitment to what’s important.  We shared Scripture and theological ideas and also prayed for one another.  And we worked together — me helping him with his new orchard/garden to the point of planting quite a number of trees and preparing everything for better development.   I also met a number of people who were his acquaintances and friends in the town where he and his wife will be living. 

It is refreshing and therapeutic in a variety of ways at times to leave one’s normal routine to live and work with others in another context.  I found it spiritually and emotionally refreshing to travel into another beautiful part of our world to breath its air and to try to appreciate its unique physical and cultural features.  I also learned a lot about another industry which I discovered is much more profound and technical than I had ever imagined.  And I enjoyed the physical demands of the work associated with planting fruit trees and caring for them. 

Among the people we encountered I had the privilege of meeting a couple who are among my buddy’s dearest elderly friends.  They have meant much to him and also to the community in which they have lived for 50 years or more.  Though this elderly couple has lived and served in professional capacities in their community I was impressed by the material simplicity of their lives.  Their home is spacious but modest and it offers a nice view of the river valley.  The larger yard has a garden and a variety of fruit trees.  But it is very obvious that this couple’s greatest joy has been in serving God and people.  While we visited with them I learned a little about their respective journey’s.  I was impressed by the evidence of God’s grace in their lives through their faith stories, their interest in people, and their hospitality.  Just being with them made me realize what a wonderful heritage I have through my own journey of faith in Christ and how much I want our lives as a couple to reflect these same values of grace and hospitality.

Besides serving my friend and enjoying the generous hospitality that he provided I came to realize anew what a precious and delicate thing it is to live and work together in Christian fellowship.  I learned again that we grow to appreciate friendship when we are willing to listen and yield to one another and also to be honest with one another about the things that we think and feel.  Christian fellowship it seems thrives in an atmosphere of commitment, trust, and honest communication.  When properly appreciated it entails both learning and laughter and is a rich kind of nourishment for the soul. 

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