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I DO care

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by Dan Amos

If I had written this a couple of weeks ago, I would have titled it “I don’t care.” But that can be discouraging and easily misinterpreted when what I really intend is to confess my actions reveal I can care more. As Pastor Steve encouraged us to find someone who has followed Jesus for a long time and listen to their counsel, several weeks ago I had such a person challenge me with “You don’t care. If you did, you’d do something.” I recognize circumstances and age have conspired against me to give me less time and energy than 10 years ago. But the real question is, What do I do with what remains?

The Transition Team has been an exciting time for me. I’m not saying I enjoy meetings at all. Nobody would believe that. But a large part of the process has been getting these two dozen or so people to dream together of what we believe is the purpose God has for His church on this corner on South Hill. There’s a hunger to be more, to reach out more, to make a difference in the kingdom. It is exciting to see it manifested in so many. The land lies before us.

On Sunday, Pastor Steve encouraged us with Joshua’s last words to the people of Israel. We, like Israel in Joshua 23, are in the process of a leadership change. We are looking at a new era for Elim. The land is plentiful and ready for harvest. We must remain strong and courageous. I see the giants around us, too, but God is bigger, and He goes before us.

Pastor Steve pulled four actions from chapter 23 for a winning strategy to remain faithful or, in other words, to always care about what God cares about:

  1. Imitate people who have walked with God for many years.
  2. Remember God’s faithfulness to you in the past.
  3. Be sensitive to diluting influences.
  4. Resolve to be faithful. 

That statement, “you don’t care,” was not intended to be harsh or even critical. It was a challenge to reflect and evaluate. It’s been running through my head since I heard it, making it really effective. I am vulnerable to diluting influences. I can make different choices with the time and energy I do have. I do resolve to be faithful. I do care, and it matters.

The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God. (Joshua 23:9-11)

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Stop

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By Brian Sharpe

Arriving in the evening before the big hike, we set up camp for the night. Early morning came, and we prepared for the hike. I had never led a trip up the side of a mountain before, but the guys wanted to do it. We started out, and it took about three hours to get to the top of Mt. St. Helens. I was hot and tired. Not knowing what to expect, I had brought too many clothes up the mountain, which made my pack heavy. Here I was at the top of Mount St. Helens, peering over the edge into the bowl, thinking to myself, “I could have just seen this in a postcard.” I was at the top of a mountain that had erupted just over 20 years ago, and I was not in awe of God’s creation. I was focused on the fact that I was tired and still had to hike back down. Tomina likes to comment how I am not good at living in the moment. I am very quick at wanting to move on to the next thing. Which means I miss a lot.

I almost missed out on something huge that God was doing at Challenge this year, but God didn’t let me. If it was up to me, I would have moved too quickly toward bed, because I was so tired. But instead, God intervened and showed me that I need to stop moving so quickly and live in the moment, because he was working in that moment. I had been on this trip before. I had seen God do the normal things on this trip in years past. I expected him to do the same things on this trip. He had different plans. He wanted to show me that he works in crazy ways still. Being in youth ministry for over 20 years has given me a veteran cynicism that isn’t healthy. God took my cynicism and turned it into wonder. God showed up in a way that I had not seen in 20 years of ministry. This past trip to Challenge reminded me why I went into ministry. God still works in crazy ways. I got to see that firsthand, and I would have missed it if it was left up to me.

I feel like this happens every Sunday. We show up to church because it is what we are supposed to do, but do we expect God to do anything on Sunday? I want to change the way I view Sunday. I want to encourage us to view Sundays differently. God is active, and I want to see what He is doing, so I want us to come every Sunday expecting to see God do something amazing. I want to wake up every morning, seeking God and watching for Him to do something crazy. It may not happen every day, but it does happen, and I don’t want to miss it because I am too busy going from one thing to the next, going through the motions of my life.

And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:44-47, NLT)

I want to see this happen at Elim, where God is adding to our fellowship those who are being saved because we are actively seeking Him and expecting Him to show up in crazy ways, which will lead to people coming to the saving knowledge of Christ. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that God is always at work. He wants to do crazy things in our church and community if we are actively seeking Him. I am not sure what He is going to do, but I don’t want to miss out because I was to busy going through the motions.

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Challenged

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By Dan Amos

It’s all or nothing. Sunday, I watched the video clips from Challenge, and the message that we are either all in or all out resonated with me. There’s no middle ground in our salvation, and we don’t get to choose what it looks like. The One who spoke creation into existence sets the standard, and He alone is judge.

Challenge is an apt name. Those who go are challenged in their faith, challenged in what they think they believe. We spend a lot of spiritual time with very fine sandpaper polishing the surfaces of our lives, but we forget the big rocks, the fundamentals that make us children of God. There are times we need to pull out the 80-grit, coarse sandpaper and do some serious reshaping.

Even more, I think students are challenged to own their own faith. The faith of their parents may have shaped them, but Jesus wants a personal relationship with each of us. We don’t get a pass into Heaven because Mom and Dad are saved.

Lastly, once we understand our faith and own it, the challenge is to come home and live it out. Or, it may mean GO and live it out! Wherever it is God leads us, we are challenged every day to live a life worthy to be called by His name.

As a church, we wrote our challenge into a statement of faith. These are the things we believe about who God is, what He has done, His work in our lives, our response to Him, and what is to come. It’s a challenge because it sets us apart from the world we live in. We are challenged to acknowledge the Scriptures as inspired by the Holy Spirit and the ultimate authority over human knowledge and endeavor. It establishes the framework for understanding our world and events. It’s the common framework believers cling to as a Church.

These are the big rocks of our faith. We can find the statement of faith on the Elim website under About. In rejecting God, the world has put itself into opposition to these truths. When God calls us to Himself and we accept the invitation, these things become our challenge; they become the coarse sandpaper that reshapes our lives.

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