It's in the Little Things

Did you ever notice that true quality is always to be found in the little things? That's a bit foreign to our Western mindset. Here it's primarily the "big" stuff that matters. It's the game-winning touchdown pass; the movie where the entire world is saved in two hours; the massive promotion to bigger and better things, etc.

Unfortunately, that's not reality. Quality is not primarily displayed in the game-winning touchdown pass but, rather, in the linemen effectively blocking play after play... in the countless gruelling hours in the gym and on the practice field... in the tedious and eye-straining study of game footage... If a team misses those things, game over!

The point is this: almost everybody is hopeful of living a quality life - One that is full of purpose and meaning. One that is fulfilling and full of joy. But the big secret is that this kind of life is found in the minutiae. It's the day to day. It's in the moment to moment. It's in the decision to decision. And to miss that is to miss even the opportunity for the "big" moments. In fact, your "big" moments will be nothing more than "big" disasters.

Here's a quick example:

Abram and Lot, his nephew, had a problem. There was not enough land for both to raise their flocks and herds so they decided to part. Abram gave Lot the choice of land and he chose the land near Sodom that looked so beautiful. Lot knew the evil that was occurring in Sodom but he chose instantaneous pleasure regardless. Sadly, this one simple decision set his course toward destruction. It was a bad decision based solely on greed and near-sightedness. He paid a terrible price for his decision - he suffered, his family suffered, and he lost everything.

It's in the small decisions. A wise man said, "...once our direction is set, our destination is also determined..."

May we be mindful of the "small" decisions we are making moment to moment. A good life is made up of a bunch of small, good decisions along the way.

To miss that is to miss everything.

Fighting for Life

"Every day in Tennessee an average of 40 unborn children lose their lives to legal abortion."

Sadly, I believe the church shares in some of the responsibility for these all-too-common murders. We sit by and plead ignorance or knowingly keep it in the realm of out-of-sight-out-of mind. We do nothing to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves...to be the voice of those who have no voices...

Last night, around 25 Elevate students headed over to the Crisis Pregnancy Resource Center/Tennessee Right to Life to do whatever we could to engage this battle. We swept, washed windows, cleaned refrigerators, vacuumed carpets, dusted shelves, weeded gardens, and more. We served wherever we could. And it was great! It felt...purposeful. Our group was not just doing church... We were being church.

I could not be more proud of our group. They understand that fighting the battle is not always done in the glory of the spotlight. Many times it is in the humility of cleaning a toilet bowl. But that is reality... that is the fight... that brings the victory... and most importantly, God is glorified.

Praise God for a group of young people who are engaging the battle!

Ancient Future 09 Camp

What words can describe what happened this past week? So instead of writing a 10 page report on it - which still would not do it justice - I will write a few key phrases to summarize:

- WRECKLESS ABANDON

- UNITY

- POWER

- HUNGER

- FREEDOM

- LIFE TRANSFORMATION

We have a group who is HUNGRY for more of God... I look forward to seeing where this hunger leads...

We have been at the gas station... We are full... Now it's time to unleash...