derrickhurst.org

living for eternity today

Tag: growth (Page 1 of 2)

Letting Go

July 19, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Life isn’t a continuous accumulation of people, experiences, and things. Sometimes, the most powerful and transformative act you can perform is to let go. It’s time to embrace the unapologetic power of letting things go, and do it without hesitation or regret. Clinging to what no longer serves you isn’t strength; it’s the very anchor that’s holding you back from sailing toward your greatness.

First, let’s talk about relationships. Perhaps you’ve heard the cliché, “People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.” Here’s a hard truth: not everyone who walks into your life is meant to stay. Friends, neighbors, even family members can outgrow their place in your journey. Holding onto toxic relationships because of time invested or fear of loneliness is pure madness. The longer you grip onto a relationship that’s draining you, the longer you delay your own happiness and growth. Letting go of someone who no longer respects, loves, or supports you is a bold declaration of self-worth. It’s not about cruelty; it’s about self-preservation.

Now don’t get all bent here. I’m not saying you should drop every relationship that no longer serves you! Some relationships are just not good. Running back into the arms of an abusive partner is a bad idea. Constantly feeling like you have to apologize for your actions around that friend because they don’t like your approach might be an indication that the term friend is slightly overstated.

Next, consider your dreams and goals. I know this might sting a bit. We’re often told to never give up, to relentlessly pursue our dreams. But here’s the kicker: some dreams aren’t meant to come true. Holding onto a goal that’s no longer aligned with who you are or what you want isn’t determination; it’s delusion. It’s okay to change course, to admit that what you once wanted isn’t what you want anymore. It’s not quitting; it’s redirecting your energy to something more fulfilling. Letting go of an outdated dream isn’t failure; it’s a strategic retreat that opens the door to new opportunities.

Packrats beware, you’re next. Possessions, those beloved trinkets of the past. Sentimentality can quickly turn into a suffocating trap. Do you really need to hold onto that box of notes from a high school relationship that ended a decade ago? Or that piece of clothing you’ll never be able to wear again but can’t seem to part with? Letting go applies to just about everything, except the scrap pieces of lumber in my garage that I might need to use one day.

Physical clutter creates mental clutter. Your environment should reflect the clarity and freedom you seek in your mind. Decluttering isn’t just a trendy lifestyle choice; it’s a radical act of self-liberation. Let go of the past’s physical anchors to make room for the future’s treasures.

Work and career paths aren’t immune from the let go approach. Many of us stick to jobs that we despise or career paths that stifle our passion because of fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of financial instability, fear of judgment. But staying in a job that drains your soul is a slow death. It’s time to muster the courage to walk away from what doesn’t ignite your passion or align with your values. Trust that something better awaits. You owe it to yourself to pursue work that makes you feel alive, not just financially secure.

But wait there’s more! The most elusive yet critical thing to let go of: our past selves. We are constantly evolving, yet we often hold ourselves to outdated versions of who we once were. Let go of the mistakes, the failures, and the regrets. They are weights you don’t need to carry into your future. Each new day is a chance to redefine yourself. Shed the skin of your past and step into the version of you that you’re meant to be.

So whether it’s a friendship that has run its course, a job that just doesn’t feed your passion, even a piece of property that no longer achieves its purpose – it’s ok to let some things go. The test of maturity and strength is to know what to hold onto and what to let go. When you master this, you find some immense clarity and strength.

Letting go is not a sign of weakness; it’s a testament to your strength. It’s a bold assertion that you are worthy of more – more love, more happiness, more fulfillment. So, be ok with cutting the ties that bind you to mediocrity and step into the greatness that awaits. Remember, sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to unapologetically, unequivocally, let go.

Change

January 10, 2024 / / 0 Comments

There are two kinds of people in the world, and the title of this post revealed both sides. When you think of changes to something about which you’re passionate, you either get super excited or fight it with all your might. Which are you?

Admittedly, there are some gradients here. Some are like I’m in! Let’s change it all! Others are willing to change even though they know it will hurt. Still others who are not resistant to change will tiptoe into it knowing it needs to happen but not be super excited about it.

What I think everyone needs to understand is that change is essential and it is everywhere. Change doesn’t really care of you want to do it or not. Change doesn’t mind if you hate it or love it. Change is just change.

We change our clothes everyday, some of us more than once a day. The seasons change, unless you live in Ohio and it’s pretty much always gray and gloomy this time of year. Trees change from bare in the winter to buds in spring to leaves in summer. Grass changes from lush and green in the spring to dormant in the summer to back to dormant again in the winter months again.

Change is everywhere!

Watching changes happen from one season to another or changing your clothes are super easy. But what about when, after you get married, your new spouse changes the way the budget has always been worked? Or what happens when she makes chili in a different way than your mom used to make it? Or what about someone proposing a change in how your church does worship? (you know the whole hymnal vs band debate that seems to be never ending)

The point is some changes are easier to manage than others. While change doesn’t always have to be bad but it is always disruptive to comfort. And therein lies the problem. We love our comforts in life. We love to have our set routines. And when someone disrupts our routine, all hell breaks loose. We don’t want anyone to mess with the way it’s always been done!

Change can sometimes feel like that whole ice bucket challenge that was social media popular. Except it’s like someone doing that to you when you’re enjoying a nice steaming hot shower. It is awful! It shocks the system because it takes you out of your comfort zone.

Since this week’s word is change, consider how you handle change. Consider what types of changes are hardest for you to manage.

What Don’t You Know?

September 20, 2023 / / 0 Comments

There’s an old saying you don’t know what you don’t know. And man is that ever true! I have to be honest there are likely more things that I miss in life than I even realize because I take so many things for granted!

Today I was setting out some logo apparel at the church I serve. Super nice gear if I do say so myself! But if it had been up to me, this never would have happened. I kind of got in a rut with the logo wear for church. It all kind of looked the same. Simple logo on the left chest. Short sleeve polo shirt. Maybe a zip up fleece but that’s about it.

One day a young lady at church pretty much told me I didn’t know what people really wanted. And I could not be happier! I have to say her eye was exactly what was needed. While I was a bit shocked when she said something, I couldn’t be happier that she did.

I got so close to the same old design stuff that I didn’t even realize that it wasn’t something that was of any interest to anyone other than me! I didn’t know what I didn’t know. But am I ever glad that I was able to hear this one!

What don’t you know? A good practice in life is to gather feedback from those around you about what they see and how they’re experiencing things. It’s super easy to get so wrapped up in life that you miss the trees for the sake of the forest.

It’s good to surround yourself with people whose opinions you value. There are three types of people I find helpful to have on a sounding board kind of team.

People beyond you. These are the people who’ve been there, done that. They can speak from experience. They can tell you what worked or didn’t work for them and even better why it did/didn’t worked. Regularly check with these one or two people you value to tell them what they see in you. This might be hard and it takes some vulnerability but it’s super essential!

People beside you. These are colleagues and friends, sometimes family as well. They are the ones who interact with you on a regular basis. Really important here, these are not direct reports. These are peers and people who spend a great deal of time walking alongside you. They know your habits and can spot when something is a bit off. They can often tell when you’re not acting like yourself, even when you can’t even tell it!

People behind you. These are the direct report kind of evaluations. These people see how you interact and often are the recipients of your off days more than anyone else. They can sense when you are not focusing on what matters or when you’re really in the zone. These types of conversations might be hard at first but in time you can build the relationship where they feel comfortable to honestly tell you what you’re not seeing.

You don’t know what you don’t know, so ask a bunch of questions. Invite feedback from people whose opinion you’ll actually listen to! And then listen to it. Adjust when you need to adjust. Give away permission and authority where you need to give it away. And you never know, you might end up with a pretty well designed hoodie out of it!

How Old Are You?

February 10, 2023 / / 0 Comments

There are a few things I know, some from experience and some from common sense. Never ask someone how old they are. Never guess someone’s age. And never, never, I repeat never ask a woman if she’s pregnant – yep even if you are 99.999% sure she is. You are signing your own death certificate in any of those situations.

Ok brevity aside there is a time when age is an important topic to consider. I recently came across a graphic that caught my eye. It was more of a graph than a picture but the details it contained were of some level of interest. What could this mean for me? I’m not a hugely studious person. I do however like to obtain some new information especially if it’s about a topic in which I take interest. This one did just that.

I’m a pastor so this information was pertinent to churches but not just for pastors. Actually I think it’s more intriguing to me as a member of a church than just as a pastor. The graphic contained age breakdowns of different church denominations. Basically it asks what the general age of your church tradition is based on some national study.

Have you ever looked around the church you attend (if you attend one) and evaluated what the general age of the population is? I do this for most places I go. I notice how old people are who eat at the restaurants I frequent. I check the age of the people at the gym during the times I attend. I notice what the average age of the church I serve is and how it fluctuates over time.

Ok so the church body of which I’m a part is listed first. That’s not exactly a good thing in this case. What it says in simple terms is that this Lutheran Church body is made up to a large extent by people who are over 65 years old. and that people 18-44 combined are barely half the percentage of those over 65. It means that this church tradition is getting old and it means we should be asking some serious questions.

Why are there more 65+ year olds than 18 year olds? Why are there so few young people in this church body? Does this reflect the local church that I attend?

These are just a few quick questions that I ask. Now the church I pastor does not fit this mold. As a matter of fact I would almost say our numbers are flipped from these numbers. But why is it that there are so few young people that gravitate toward some of the church traditions that are considered to be more historic mainline traditions?

I think part of it has to do with relevancy. Not the relevancy of Jesus or the Bible. Our job is not to make the Bible or even Jesus relevant. But the work we do as church can be seen as irrelevant by the culture around us if all we do is argue over who does something better, or we’re not using the right book or we don’t dress the right way.

I see a strong desire in the young men and women in the world to want to do more about what they are passionate than to just talk about it. I think this is an area we can learn as churches. We talk about loving Jesus and our neighbors but do we do it with actions? We talk about protecting certain groups of people, but when it comes to the inconvenience of actually lending a hand are we just words?

I think this is a large reason why so many churches are seeing a decline while others are exploding at the seams. Some churches do the hard job of living out what they talk about.

So don’t ask a woman if she’s pregnant or anyone what their age is, but it’s ok to notice the general age groups represented in any given scenario. It’s ok to ask hard questions about why those people are attracted to that type of gathering. And it’s ok to make a few adjustments to be more conscientious toward those groups not represented.

One Way With Many Entrances

November 16, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Now this is going to be a bit hard for some of you to handle and I get that. I know that my way of thinking and approaching life isn’t for everyone. And that’s a good thing actually! So a word of caution for those of you who can’t or won’t digest the whole article before forming an opinion, I’m going to encourage you to simply close the article and move on. 

Alright, if you’re still with me, here we go. The Bible says that Jesus is the only way to heaven. And I firmly believe that. So let’s get that straight right out the gate. I do think that the narrower the path and the more clear cut the direction, the better off we humans are! Knowing that Jesus is the only one who is capable of setting us up for salvation is pretty great if you think about it. You don’t have to wonder if you’ve done enough. You don’t have to question if you have the right attendance at church or have said the right prayer enough times. It’s done. Finished. Complete. No more to be added by you! Pretty cool right? 

While I will not argue with Jesus being the only way to heaven, I often get the impression that there are some people who think they have some kind of special sauce when it comes to connecting people to Jesus. There is only one way to heaven, but there isn’t only one way to Jesus. Trigger a flurry of emotions because it sounds like I’m bashing the church or challenging your way of thinking. 

Perhaps I am challenging your way of thinking. Maybe I am coming at this a little strong. But from my perspective it seems as if we’ve put the wrong thing in the most important place in the bus as the church. I’ve seen this far too often in the over 20 years I’ve served as a pastor. The church thinks that the world needs us in order to know salvation. 

When we value something so much that we want everyone to be a part of it, we can easily make it to be the most important thing when it’s just not. Now before you come unhinged here I am going to be very clear and probably a little more blunt than some would like. Just so there is no question, yes I am saying that the institutional church and corporate worship are not the most important thing in the life of the follower of Jesus. They are very important but they’re not the most important thing in life. 

Think of it this way. Jesus very much is the only way to heaven. But the local church is not the only way to Jesus. We can argue whether this local expression of church is better than another local expression of church, but that’s not the point. The point is – can someone access knowledge of salvation without connecting to a local expression of the church? Short answer: yes absolutely they can and often do. 

I’m a picture guy, so indulge me for a minute. Consider a freeway system as a mental picture. A large freeway with on ramps all over the place. Now this analogy will break down because that’s what analogies do, but stick with me for a little bit. I live outside of Columbus, OH and often travel to Cleveland. There is one major freeway that connects these two bigger cities. Let’s pretend that freeway as the only way to Cleveland. Now that same freeway that connects Columbus to Cleveland has many entry points. We call those on ramps. That means that even though this one major freeway connects Columbus to Cleveland, you don’t have to get on the freeway in Columbus in order to make it to Cleveland. You can enter in Sunbury, Mt. Gilead, Mansfield, or Ashland to name a few.

It’s the same with Jesus and Salvation. Jesus is the only road that will take us to salvation. Nothing else will get us there. But there are multiple ramps that will get us onto the roadway of Jesus. The local church is one major ramp that leads many to a place where they can get to know Jesus and understand salvation. But there are many people in the world who will never set foot in an institutional church who we’ll see in eternity. 

Church is massively important to the ongoing growth of the follower of Jesus. But it’s not the only way that someone can come to know and grow in Jesus. The challenge of the local church is to find creative ways, in addition to Sunday morning worship, that they can use to connect their community to the one way road of Jesus that leads to salvation. 

So there you have it, there is one way to heaven but there’s not just one way to Jesus. 

Moving The Sticks. What Really Matters?

November 1, 2022 / / 0 Comments

It’s super easy to measure the measurable. I mean seriously. Take a head count and you’re good to go right? Well, not so fast. There is likely a lot of information that you’re missing if you simply count butts in seats. Let me propose a better way.

Ok before we dive into this let me set the stage a little. Admittedly, this is written from the perspective of a pastor of a church. But I’ve lived in the real world as well so some of the principles here are transferrable to other trades. Actually, I believe most of this information is transferrable.

One of the easiest things to do to measure the growth of an organization is to ask for some statistical data. The simplest form of data is raw numbers about how many people show up to events, gatherings, come through the door, etc. This is what we’ll call attendance numbers. This is the primary lot of information that most church bodies like to gather for their churches. And as easy as it is to gather, the information is totally invalid. Actually, it’s often times misleading to be quite frank. Raw attendance shows one side of an equation that does not tell you about overall health. That’s where we’ll spend the rest of the time in this article – growth verses health. You can be big but weak and that’s no good!

There needs to be a metric that measures movement or progress from one area to the next. Something that drives to a deeper level of engagement or ownership in the life of the organization. Mere attendance shows a level of knowledge about the organization and that’s helpful to an extent but there’s no ownership involved at all.

A better way to measure the overall health and vibrancy of an organization is to move from singular attendance data to a cyclical view of engagement. In the church I serve, we use four key concepts that show levels of engagement ranging from observation to participation to involvement to ownership. The key is to get someone to move through this cycle to exhibit ownership of what they believe in. The same is true for other areas of life, not just church life.

Take my time in car sales as an example. Someone knows the dealership exists and they even drive through the lot on a day when the place is closed. That doesn’t do you any good. They move to participation in what you offer, meaning they end up buying the car. That’s great and it helps your bottom line, but if they never return you’re missing out. When they become involved in what the dealership offers they’ll bring their car back for service. That’s when they are actually buying into the culture of the organization and not just getting a product from you. Finally, the ultimate is when they become repeat and referrals to your dealership. That’s when they own it as their preferred place of business.

This metric of moving people through a cycle of deeper engagement in the life of the organization is critical to long term viability and sustainability of the organization. If you’d like to see how this can apply to your particular are of work, I’d be glad to assist. Specifically if you’re a church or church planter, applying this to your context is the world in which I live currently! The end goal is to move us to a place of thriving instead of merely surviving in life, business and ministry.

Wrong way

September 15, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I can be a bit of a critic from time to time when it comes to the church. It’s not that I like to point out the wrong things or that I think the church is doing everything wrong. It’s kind of like working out. If we’re going to do it, we better do it right or else we’ll either hurt ourselves or someone else in the process. I think a lot of what happens in the church at its worst is hurting the view of the church in the world, it’s neglecting the community into which the church has been placed or at best it’s just a colossal waste of time.

There’s a word that is used in church settings a lot that is so misunderstood and misapplied. It’s the word discipleship or disciple. It is so aggravating when we, as church people, spin that word as if it’s something the pastor alone does or something that happens in a corporate worship service. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Now before you get all freaked out, listen to what I’m actually saying. Discipleship is NOT about going to worship, but a disciple should desire to be part of a worshiping community and participate in the worship life of a local group, often called a church or congregation. And here’s where some of you are going to disagree with me, but I don’t even think discipleship can happen in the context of a large group gathering like a worship service. It has to be in smaller settings, after all this is even how Jesus himself did it. He constantly went away with the 12 or sat with his inner 3. He didn’t spend significant time in the thousands or even hundreds, but he got down into the dark corners of the individual lives. This is discipleship at its core.

I guess it really depends on what your view of discipleship is but from my perspective discipleship is about being transformed into the image of Christ for the sake of others. And if I’m being totally honest, I don’t see a ton of life transformation happening in the lives of those are involved sitting in the pews in public worship service on Sunday mornings. It happens as they engage in bible study, small groups, service to the community, fellowship activities, and faith sharing. The key to discipleship from a biblical perspective is to prepare one another for works of service in the kingdom of God.

Think about it for a minute. How do you disciple someone? Better yet who is the last person you discipled who started discipling someone else? I think for so many in the church today we’ve painted the picture of just bring them to church and pastor will disciple them. This goes directly against what Paul teaches. We’re to equip the saints for works of service not make them rely on the pastor to get the job done.

In my own ministry I’ve fallen into the trap of letting people rely on me to do all the work. It’s exhausting to say the very least. But when we put in the extra effort of making disciples and raising up leaders today, it will free us for a more powerful and effective ministry down the road. I guess what I’m trying to say in a shorter version is that it’s time to stop enabling church people to think the pastor is the one responsible for their faith.

Instead we need to encourage, equip, empower and release people to grow in faith within the community of believers. Encourage them to gather as pairs, triads, small groups, cell groups, home groups, community groups – whatever you call them! The follower of God cannot do the work of God in isolation from the people of God. That’s just not how it works.

So whether you’re a pastor or a church member or a person who’s just trying to find their way in what it means to believe in Jesus. Don’t go it alone. Don’t rely on a pastor to have all the answers. Gather with a few other people who can challenge you. From whom you can learn and grow. Who will help you see where you’re living in congruity with your words and where you’re living in a way inconsistent with what you say. Find people who’s opinions encourage you and at the same time people who are willing to challenge you. This, at its heart, is what the process of discipleship looks like as long as all of it is done with growing in Christ at its core.

There’s no silver bullet. No perfect way prescribed by the bible for how to do much of this. Just best practices of those who’ve gone before us who’ve done it far better than we are today in times that were far more challenging than we’re facing right now. So maybe it’s not that we’re doing it the wrong way but that there might be a better way after all.

Moving The Sticks

June 7, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I’m one of those people who thinks in pictures. So you say cookie and I picture a homemade chocolate chip cookie. You say truck and I picture the truck I currently drive, no matter what exact truck you’re referring to! Knowing how my mind works, I thought I’d share some things to consider when we talk about discipleship and why we do it.

The image in my head…

I love football. Not the whole national, professional kind of football but what I consider the good old college kind of hard hitting, forcing the ball down the field kind of football. There are a few things about football that just about everyone knows. There are lines that mark what is in bounds and what is out of bounds. There is a goal line. There are hash marks to help position the ball on the field and to help each team know how far they need to go in order to move the sticks. This is what some people call getting a first down. If you’re not a football fan, I’m sorry this illustration will likely be lost on you.

How do we move the sticks in the Christian church? Now I’m not talking about the institutional church that revolves around a building with a steeple and an hour or so once a week. The church to which I’m referring consists of the people who together have one confession of faith. The church is less the thing we do and more the people we are. It is less a time or space and more an act of gathering and doing life together.

With this understanding of church, how do we move the sticks? How do we know when we’re doing what we’re called to do? The illustration of moving the sticks is about moving forward and going in the right direction. How do we know if the church is moving in the right direction? And making any kind of positive progress while doing it?

Simply put the church that moves in the right direction will be making disciples. They will have proper worship and will do the things that are marks of the church. But the forward momentum of the church isn’t measured in worship, attendance, giving, or many of the butts in the seats kind of measures we typically use. According to the Bible, the forward momentum of the church is measured by how disciples are made.

This is why discipleship is so very important in the life of the church. If churches are not making disciples, then they’re not doing the one thing Jesus told us to be doing. I think we stop making disciples because we have a hard time measuring what a disciple is. We don’t have a 12 step program for making disciples. So we tend to measure things that we can measure like worship attendance and how strictly one adheres to a set standard of tradition. But moving the sticks as a church, so to speak, happens when we help people move from mere observers in their faith lives to men and women who own their faith.

Moving the sticks for the church isn’t about growing a local church or even enlarging the church budget, but it’s about working with men and women who believe in Jesus. It’s about helping them see the depth and breadth and width of Jesus’ love for them in their everyday lives.

The end goal stays the same, living in eternity with Jesus. But the markers along the road as we get there are the making of disciples. We took time to define what a disciple is here. And how disciples gather here. One of the keys to achieving anything is knowing you’re on the right track. And that happens best by checking your progress against some form of measuring stick. As institutional churches live out their calling of teaching and preaching the truth of Jesus, administering the sacraments rightly and gathering for public worship that glorifies God, we are called to do something bigger and more impactful for the men and women who gather in our buildings.

Discipleship isn’t a fad or a good idea. It’s actually what God commanded in the Bible. Jesus even gives us a great picture of what discipleship looks like. Discipleship is not a program that we funnel everyone through. We’ll discuss the fallacy of discipleship funnel in a future post, but for now this is not a time to create a program or add a staff person. Discipleship is critical because it’s the way Jesus grew His ministry. It’s critical because He commanded it. It’s critical because it’s the way Jesus continues to bless highly.

Long and short, the best way to move the sticks and measure our advancement as churches in the world isn’t found in more people in worship or larger budgets or additional programs. The way we move the sticks is by making disciples who make disciples.

Are You Beating Yourself?

February 4, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I think there are times in life when we actually do ourselves more harm than good. I mean we have great intentions but when we really look at it we haven’t done much good at all. As a matter of fact, the good we thought we were doing was actually undone by the negative things caused by our actions. Ok that’s ambiguous so let’s dive in a little more.

The thoughts that follow are my observations from my own life and ministry. These are my failures. They are things I’ve had to work through on a variety of levels. And they are things that I still monitor closely to make sure I don’t fall back into some of these same bad habits and destructive ideas again.

You are not God.

Now that goes without saying but the issue is that we don’t live like this. Ok so admittedly we don’t necessarily go through life thinking we’re God, but we often make decisions and plans acting as if we are the most important person in the world. We pursue things that are all about personal happiness and individual success. We seek attention and put ourselves on a pedestal as if we’re the most important person in the room or universe. Believe me, I know a few of those too.

Friend it’s not about you. If you’re a leader of a team, parent, spouse or even friend to someone – you are not the point. A good friend, teammate, employer, parent or spouse will make decisions and go in directions that put the other person first. If we want to set ourselves and those around us up for the greatest success, start putting their needs before your own and watch how not only do their needs get met but yours will also!

The more you work, the less you get done.

This one sounds a bit like an oxymoron but it’s also very true. It’s kind of like that line they say on airplanes about the oxygen masks. If you’re traveling with small children, please secure the oxygen mask to yourself before placing it on your child. For the longest time I found this to be wildly insensitive and a horribly wrong practice! I mean who in the world is going to watch their child suffocate while they get the good air?! So I asked one of those friendly Southwest flight attendants why in the world this was the rule. They were patient with my stupidity and didn’t make me feel like too much of an idiot in their answer. She simply told me that if I couldn’t breathe, how could I make sure my child was breathing? Wow. Then it all started to click. Side note: I wasn’t even traveling with children which made my question that much more strange.

Back to over working. So the whole put the mask on the child thing is like taking a needed rest in order to be more productive. It doesn’t make sense until you ask a few questions. Then step back and realize that like a parent with no oxygen can’t help their child, so also a person who’s overworked and exhausted can’t focus on the job at hand and will likely not be productive nor effective. Getting the rest you need and stepping away from the task at hand for a minute is often the most powerful way to get more done.

Give yourself traveling time.

I have a tendency to stack appointments in my calendar pretty tight. I know how long it takes me to get from one place to another under normal conditions. And when I have to be somewhere I generally like to arrive on time, which for me is about 5-7 minutes early. But there are those times when we stack so many things so tightly in our calendar that we just can’t get it all done. We have no time to get from point A to point B.

This is also true with general calendaring without travel. The premise is that we tend to stack our appointments or tasks so tightly that there’s no breathing room at all. We move from task to task without giving our brains a chance to change gears. We run from one project to a totally unrelated project and wonder why our mind feels like mush at the end of the day.

There’s nothing wrong with stepping away for even as little as 3 minutes to use the bathroom, walk down the hallway, listen to music, close your eyes or just stare off into space. These are simple techniques that can clear your mind and let your brain get the space it needs to restart in a different gear.


Diversify your diet.

Now this one might be a tad misleading, so let me explain. I am not talking about your food diet, although that’s very important as well. I’m referring to the diet of information that you feed yourself. If you continually feed your brain with the same content over and over without any variation, you’re going to be mentally malnourished to say the least. It’s like eating crackers all the time with no protein or vegetables. You just won’t perform at your peak.

The same is true for what we put into our minds. I tend to read or listen to a variety of books. Some of these are books related to my field as a pastor. Others are leadership books. Others are on finance or parenting or how to understand what’s going on in my preteen daughter’s mind (ok so there’s really nothing that will help with that one but it’s worth a shot). The point is to try to look at the world around you through the many lenses at your disposal. Consuming content from a variety of sources helps you see not only your thought process more clearly, but also helps you appreciate where others are coming from and have more intelligent conversations about topics on which you disagree.

These are just a few of the many things I’ve had to learn the hard way in life. I hope they are somewhat helpful to you and provide you with a shortcut of sorts to not stay stagnant.

A needed reform

July 27, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Reform seems to be the latest craze in our culture. There have been cries from every corner of society calling for a reform of how we do what we do. We’ve largely been doing life the same way for years, decades even! It seems we’ve been living by the old adage that states if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. But what happens when the system is broken and we don’t realize it? What happens when we’ve missed the boat and don’t even know that we’re standing on a bridge that doesn’t really have a purpose anymore?

Now I’m not going to tackle all of the societal things that need fixing, because that would be pointless, too time consuming, and honestly likely divisive. But I would like to take a look at one part of culture and be honest about where some change is needed and why. Some of you are going to agree and others will disagree, and frankly that’s your right.

My grandfather used to say that our world is going to hell in a hand basket and his self prescribed fix was to go back to a better time. He thought that our best times were behind us. He thought that the previous way of doing things was the only way to do things. It seems that many in our world have a very similar approach. We either cling to the way they were or the way they are and aren’t willing to see life for what it could be.

This post is intended to spur some thought and conversation with you and those around you about who we are and who we’re called to be. Because I truly believe that by and large we are not living the lives we’ve been called to live.

In my estimation the institutional church is doing this very thing – clinging to a way of doing things that is largely ineffective because it was designed for a different time. Now before you get your pants in a bunch and go all he’s a heretic on me, read on and I’ll try to explain.

What I’m NOT saying

I know that some of you have formed your opinions already because you heard something that I didn’t say, so let me clear that one up right now. I did NOT say we need to change the message. The message is the only thing we know is right. If we’re teaching the message of the bible, then we’re standing on solid footing. I’m not saying that we need to bail on all of our traditions and deny our past. That would be just as dangerous as trying to erase history because we don’t like what it said or represented. We’ll just end up falling back into old habits if we do that.

The Problem

So the problem, as I see it, is that we’re clinging to systems and ways of doing things that fit a time that no longer exists. We’re living as though the Blue Laws still exist. For those of you unaware of Blue Laws, it was when many activities and businesses were not allowed to be opened on Sundays. Basically, church was the only thing to do on Sundays which is why nearly all of church activities happen on Sundays even to this day!

But that’s just not the case anymore. Hardly anything is closed on Sundays, yet Sunday is the day when most of our work and service happens in the church. What’s worse is the church is grinding her teeth complaining that culture is moving away from what we have to offer. We grumble that we need to go back to a simpler time when Sundays were sacred. What if Sunday isn’t the problem or the answer? What if this whole idea of a day of rest isn’t tied to Sunday or even Saturday but tied to whatever day you can find to rest on a regular basis?

It’s not just the day of the week that we struggle with either. We have largely been clinging to methods of learning and teaching that are quite old school. Much of our Sunday programming revolves around lecturing at a learner. But is this the best approach? Is this even a biblical approach?

Finally, our focus has moved from mission to maintenance. I’m part of a church body that in my mind has a great foundation of belief. I willingly ascribe to this identity of what I believe and how it impacts my understanding of life. But what happens when the confessional identity becomes the point over the mission of the kingdom? What happens when making people look like us becomes more important that helping people see the reality of who Jesus is? What happens when, as a church body, we’re more concerned with butts in seats in our membership classes than lives transformed by the gospel as individuals connect with one another on mission in their daily lives?

What happens? Simple – the institution gets off course and loses ground. The message gets disregarded because it doesn’t match up to the new perceived mission of self preservation.

I have to be honest here I’m getting a bit frustrated as I look into the world and hear well meaning Christians talk about the church as if the church is there to serve her members. Since when is the church about those on the inside? Since when did the church lose her identity like this? If you’re part of a church and you’re concerned more about what you gain from it personally than you are taking the truths learned into the world and sharing them those around you, then perhaps a reformation is needed in you as well.

The Reformation that happened in the 1500s was about reforming the people’s mindset of being part of the church. The reformation that’s needed today is about reforming the church’s mindset on what it means to be on mission. If you wnat to know what the chruch should be about, then read Jesus’ own words. I came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10) Then in John 14 Jesus says, the things I do you also shall do. If we’re supposed to be about what Jesus was about, and Jesus was about seeking those far from God and introducing them to God, then why do we care more about introducing them to church than to Jesus?

The church doesn’t save people. The church SHOULD be pointing people to the only source of salvation, namely Jesus. While there is only one way to the Father and that’s through Jesus, the institutional church that’s bent on membership more than mission isn’t the only way to Jesus.

It’s time for a reformation. Not in someone else. Not in someone else’s church tradition. The reformation needs to start in you and in me.

« Older posts

© 2024 derrickhurst.org

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑