Author: jerrythinks

Figuring It Out

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Have you ever been in one of those escape rooms where you and some friends are locked in a room and given an hour to figure out how to get out? There’s typically some scene or theme that you’re immersed in while you’re presumably surrounded by clues, objects, and mind puzzles that–when solved–reveal exactly how to escape the room, and you’re challenged to emerge victorious over this kooky scene in 59:59…59:58…59:57…59:56…59:55…

I’m not great at all in those escape rooms. Setting aside being locked in a room and unable to escape, my focus goes instead to the people I’m with, what they’re doing, and what they think about how to get out of this stereotypical science lab, old-timey apartment, or pirate ship…wherever we may be trapped.

If you’re reading these words and you’re a follower of Jesus like I am, you can probably finish this statement by Jesus–it’s one of the final things He instructed His followers to do: “Go ____ _______ __________…”

Did your mind fill those blanks in automatically? If not, it’s okay. Keep reading. What you read might shed some light on those in your life who know what goes in those blanks.

I want to point something out that I’m sure I’ve brought up before. And if I haven’t done this clearly in the past, I want to invite a serious consideration on your part and an actual response to what you’re reading here. You can leave a comment below, text me, call me, or email me. Seriously.

So here’s the thing I want to point out: Even though Jesus told us clearly to make more disciples in the world, He left out the “how” to make disciples. Have you ever noticed that? It was almost as if He told us exactly what He wanted His followers to be doing while He’s gone for a quick break to sit at the right hand of God the Father, just before His return for His followers–but never specifies how He expects us to make disciples. Does that seem odd to anyone else?

We have nothing to go on but the example He set. (Good thing that’s enough.)

So for the rest of this blog post, we’re going to take a close look at the how. How did Jesus conduct Himself throughout His public ministry? These observations will shape the blueprint by which we live our daily lives. I understand that this is granular and in some places nebulous or perhaps redundant, but I also think it’s so very important.

Here’s the scene on the Mount of Olives those approximate 2,000 years ago:

Jesus: “Therefore go and make disciples.”

Disciples: “Okay. But how?”

Jesus: “Figure it out.”

Obviously, I’m taking some liberty with the actual interchange there, but without a clear manual handed over to the followers of Jesus in that moment, they were left to simply figure it out. What they knew of Jesus, and the promise of the coming Holy Spirit would have to be enough. Good thing it was. And is.

What do you know of Jesus? Take a minute or two right now and think it through. Make a mental (or actual) list and get as specific as you can. List the things you know for sure about Jesus. Once you do that, ask yourself: Where is the chapter and verse that goes along with each of those items on the list? Or have I simply made assumptions or believed what’s been told to me or handed down by tradition?

If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re only going to emulate the image of Jesus that your mind and heart hold. You cannot do otherwise. So who is He? And more to the point: Who is He to you?

My list: Compassionate. Methodical. Articulate. Authoritative (but in a comforting way). Tender. Firm. Relaxed. Unhurried. Flexible. Powerful. Purposeful. Loving. Focused. Gentle. Caring. Giving. Merciful. Approachable. Wise. Lovingly confrontational, Welcoming. Willing.

Those are just a few of the words that come to my mind when I think of words to describe Jesus. He has been all of those things in my life, as well as throughout the gospels.

So through the power of His own promised Spirit living within me, it becomes entirely possible and probable that as I live my life, I exhibit these traits as well. Not all of them perfectly at every moment, but as I continue to submit my life to Him, I am incrementally growing in all these ways. And as I seek for my life to be one that makes disciples, I am able to more clearly “figure it out” day by day.

Answer this: What’s the “how” of making disciples, in your view?

Day One.

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You aren’t living in yesterday. Obviously.

But there are probably ways that your mind, thoughts, emotions, and habits are. So this is a quick attempt to break you (and me) free from the things that would want to keep us stuck in what was, which almost always equals us missing what is and what might be.

So may I present to you: Day One. It’s today. It’s the start of something.

Everything, actually.

But just as importantly, it’s the end of other things. Things that happened yesterday. Or last month, year, or decade. They’re over. Done. Gone. Sift any lessons you can from yesterday, then give it the ‘ol heave-ho. Or kick it to the curb. Or yeet it. Or whatever the cool kids are saying these days.

Face forward.

Onward.

It’s…

Closer to the pin

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I love golf.

Hang on. Let me back up.

I love the idea of golf.

Yeah, that’s better.

I used to play a fair amount of golf, back in the day.

Actually—hold up—let me modify that statement:

I used to play golf when my golf-loving Dad would invite me to play with him.

Yeah, that’s definitely more accurate.

Some of the things I can appreciate about golf are:

  • It’s never the same game twice; you’ll literally never take the exact same stance or swing the same way twice.
  • It demands focus. And I mean FOCUS to do it well consistently.
  • It’s as much mental as it is physical. (I hear some of you jeering that it isn’t really that physical, and that’s okay.)
  • It interacts with nature, which as we all know can be brutally unpredictable. Winds, grass length, tree branches, water, and light all play their part in making up every swing of the club.
  • There’s an etiquette embedded in the game. Did you know men must wear a collared shirt when they play? The three key words to acceptable golf fashion are “neat, clean, and comfortable.”
  • It’s a game that encourages teamwork, but ultimately, the outcome is up to me.

There are more reasons, but you get it. I want to share something I learned about golf years ago, and how I define success in golf whenever I play (I don’t play much anymore, but would love it if invited. Hint Hint).

One day I was out golfing with my Dad, and since he is a much, MUCH better golfer than I, he took every single shot to heart; as if every shot he took was determining whether he’d wear that famous green jacket or not. If I recall correctly, we were, that day, on an unremarkable golf course in Winchester, VA, where I was living at the time. He was visiting and, of course, brought his clubs so we could spend the day on the links.

As time went on, I could see his frustration rising. You see, golfers have this thing that happens where one bad shot can very easily give birth to another bad shot. String a few bad shots together, and you’re suddenly someone who has no right holding a club. Take it to its logical conclusion and you’ll see why some golfers resort to wrapping their club around the nearest tree trunk. But no one can argue with their passion, I’ll say that.

So as I recall, I stopped my Dad mid-tirade and made a suggestion. “Dad, how about we redefine what a good shot is?” We instantly both agreed that our new definition of success for any shot we took would be “Closer to the pin.” (For those of you who aren’t golfers, the “pin” is the flag that sticks up and out of the “cup”. And the “cup” is the technical name for the hole you’re trying to ultimately get the ball into.)

So there we were, on some random fairway on some random golf course on some random day in Northern Virginia, with a new vision of what good golfing looks like, right in the middle of our game. The cloud hanging over us broke up, the wind was suddenly sweeter, and the overall mood turned weightless. It was a decision we made together that instantly changed the game.

Christians, let’s be honest. Many of us need to let go of some of the rigidity of religion that has caused us to view it as a score-keeping regimen rather than a fiery relationship born out of and rooted in grace. In other words, we ought to tear up the scorecard we’ve been clutching.

Each day, ask one simple question: Am I closer to Jesus today than I was yesterday?

That’s it. And use your honest answer to that one question to calibrate your heart, decide your trajectory, and fuel your passion for Him and Him alone.

Putting the “me” in “mess”

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It was the final frame of the 2012 U.S. Open Bowling Championship in my childhood home state of New Jersey. Bowling legend Pete Weber was poised to clinch his 5th championship title, and a strike here would crown him bowling king once again, by a one-pin margin. Weber slipped three of his fingers into the holes of his perfectly weighted, balanced, and shined bowling ball. All during the championship, and as he made his approach on this historic frame that would decide the outcome of the tournament, Pete Weber had in his mind (and ears) a young heckler (unidentified to this day) who jeered at him. Unphased, Pete Weber maintained his steely focus on the 10 pins at the end of that finely oiled lane; pins that were doing their own heckling of Pete Weber.

Moments later, Pete Weber celebrated a perfect strike and, in exuberant celebration, gave the sporting world one of the greatest, most bizarre, most perfect-fitting exclamations of victory ever to be uttered:

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I AM!”

It’s a messy, awkward, nonsensical declaration that somehow fit the personality of Pete Weber and the alpha-male moment perfectly. But still…it was just…odd.

I appreciate how AI took this statement of Weber’s and straightens things out with a more logical explanation:

“Who do you think you are?” Implies that the person believes they are bigger than what they are. It elicits the thought of a powerful person. “I am” confirms that I am, in fact, who you think you are.

What’s the moral to this story, and why am I telling you about it? It’s because it’s the perfect reminder that people are messy. If you’re going to interact with other people, you’re going to get mess on your hands. It’s not a matter of if, but when. And when is always either “now” or “very very soon.”

I remember the moment in my life when I realized that people are messy. I don’t think I’ve ever shared this story with anyone. Somehow, this morning it slipped back into my consciousness, and with it, a trickling of some childhood emotions.

In elementary school (sixth grade, I think, which in those days was still elementary school), I had a really good classmate and friend named Jeff. We played trumpets together in the elementary school band, and we just got along really well. We were always joking around, laughing, and making the best of our school day. Jeff had become a good, positive, pleasant, and fun part of my school day as a young boy. We didn’t do much together outside of our school day, but when we were there together, it was always a good time.

Then one day I happened to see Jeff at a small shopping plaza–the Acme shopping plaza, I believe–in the little town of North Cape May, New Jersey, where I grew up. When I saw Jeff in that context, he wasn’t the Jeff I knew from school. He wasn’t smiling or even friendly. In fact, he was aggressive. He seemed angry. And in a matter of moments, became violent. I recall him pushing me, as if to invoke some kind of fighting response from me. I had no training either in self-defense or even about what to do in such a situation. He kept pushing me as I kept trying to get away from him.

This is part of the front of that old Acme shopping plaza, now vacant.

My young mind was racing, confused, and frightened at what was happening to me in that moment, in broad daylight on the cement walkway that ran along the front of that shopping plaza. What had I done wrong? Nothing I could think of. Why was Jeff acting this way? I had no earthly idea. I simply wanted to get away from this person, whom until that moment I had considered a good friend.

I understood in that moment for the first time, that people aren’t always easy to understand. That people aren’t always going to do what you expect or think they should. That, in short, people are messy.

My time in ministry for over three decades now has only served to support this truth. I know that anytime we’re interacting with others, we can count on it statistically that a mess is going to emerge. There’ll be some miscommunication, some misunderstanding, or even some perceived hurtful thing that happens or gets said. If you don’t believe me or agree, you’ve likely never had a conversation with anyone at any time about anything. For those of you who have, you’re nodding your head in agreement.

One of the most critical components of mess management, however, begins with the first two letters of “mess”: me. I should never have as my default setting the idea that when a mess arises, it certainly can’t be because of me. A healthy stance to take when interacting with any mess is to ask questions like, “What part do I have in this?” or even “What have I done–even inadvertently–that has contributed to the mess at hand?” Simply put: “What ownership do I need to take when it comes to the current mess?”

Here’s what that kind of honest vulnerability will do:

  1. It will make you humble and approachable, two qualities that do what nothing else can.
  2. It will disarm and diffuse the tendency for blame-laying over responsibility-taking.
  3. It will level the field in terms of anyone involved, allowing everyone to work together.
  4. It focuses energy on solutions rather than causes. (Not that fact-finding isn’t important.)
  5. It creates malleability instead of rigidity. Being malleable is a key ingredient to resolving messes.

So the next time you encounter a mess, don’t do anything before you remember the “me” in the mess.

Before shoving someone down a cement walkway, take stock of where the “me” in the mess is. When you do, reach out to me and tell me what transpired and what you learned from it.

Case in point: This morning, I have on my mind a situation that just happened this past weekend. I had an understanding of something that I thought was clearly planned and settled, and yet someone else had a different version of reality. At a certain point, those two perceptions of reality–mine and theirs–collided and made a small mess. Thankfully, it was easily rectified and we moved forward, but I had to do the work of mentally reviewing the situation, and thinking intentionally about my part in what had transpired.

I was tempted to dig in my heels, doubling down on my version of what was supposed to happen, but when faced with a different version, I chose instead to believe the best in the other person and give way to a different route. Then in quick hindsight, revisit the situation to see what can be learned and strengthened in me and my leadership. I hope this brief example can help put skin on the concept of effective mess management.

“But wait….there’s more!”

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There’s often a disparity between what I know and what I feel. They don’t always line up or even agree.

If I based my existence and daily decisions on my feelings, I’d be living a very different life indeed.

If you want to dig into the issues of emotions, experience and evidence as I wrote about a couple of years ago, feel free to click here. But I’d like to take us in a slightly different direction this time.

The most often asked question in scripture that is asked by humans to God is, “How long, O Lord?” This is a question that indicates discomfort, maybe even distance, and maybe even disenfranchisement. When we are in a situation that we’d rather not be in, the fuse of our patience typically shortens as we seem to bear up under the weight of whatever it is we’re facing. Even when we sense/feel God’s strength, we are not immune to wondering just how long this situation will last.

By contrast, the most often stated command given by God to humans is, “Do not fear.” It isn’t that God is dismissing our discomfort, but rather He is reminding and recalibrating our hearts to the truth that the present reality is not the permanent reality.

There’s always going to be more to the story. Always. As those catchy lyrics to that song go: “If I’m not dead, God’s not done.”

But feelings and facts can sometimes conflict with one another, can’t they? In fact, feelings can more often be a busted compass leading us in the wrong direction. Here’s the thing: While most people believe that God exists, not nearly enough people view him as personally interested and invested in who they are, where they are, or what they’re dealing with. So the only other option is to go it alone (or with other human friends) and use your human feelings as your guide. Can you see now why we’re a mess?

Imagine instead for a minute that the God who made the universe and stars in our galaxy is the same God who made you, your hands, your eyes, and your feet. Imagine that because He made you, He’s keenly interested in who you are, where you are, what you’re doing, and how you’re doing. Imagine that.

If God is not only real but personal, well, that changes everything. If God is personally interested in what your today holds, then you’ve got everything He is and every ounce of His powerful presence making the difference in your life. You can throw away that busted compass and instead rely on the higher, better, stronger, wiser, ever-present God who refuses to simply let you flounder and figure things out based on your feelings.

With this new reality, you move instantly from scraping by to walking on water. You move from having to muster up human strength to accessing God’s might that cannot be depleted. You get to leave behind fearful thoughts like “What if _____ happens?” and instead walk in the confidence that says, “Even if _____ happens…” and know that God is not merely near you but WITH you. And not merely with you, but FOR you.

I believe the “more” of what we all want is found in extracting ourselves out of natural living and planting our hearts in supernatural realities.

These are thoughts I simply wanted to set on a table and invite you to come and break bread with me and talk about. Leave a comment below for others to share, or feel free to text me. Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

  • What role does fear play in your life?
  • What role do feelings play in your decision-making process(es)?
  • What difference does God’s personal presence and interest in you make on a practical level?
  • How do you imagine God to be? What do you think His thoughts of you are right now? Why?

Mission: Day 1

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I find it helpful to imagine that it’s my first day on the job. I do this on a regular basis in order to reframe my perspective on what I’m doing and why. If you’ve never tried this, I recommend it as a regular exercise. As anyone would (or should) on their first day anywhere, I like to ask questions like:

  • What is it we’re hoping to accomplish as an organization/company/group of people?
  • What has been done in the past that has sought to move us toward accomplishing that mission, and how was it successful or unsuccessful?
  • How is “success” measured here? Is that the best metric?
  • What blindspots have developed in those who have been at it for a while?
  • What “sacred cows” exist that I need to be aware of, if any?
  • What has not been tried yet? Why not?

Today is Monday morning after Easter (Resurrection) Sunday. Jesus’ followers should probably look at today as “Mission: Day 1.” If you know the story of Jesus’ resurrection, you know that He stayed around for around 40 days and continued to show himself and taught people about His Kingdom. (Acts 1:3)

What we see in his disciples right after Jesus’ resurrection though, was that they went back to work. (John 21) Changed internally by the life-altering reality that their rabbi was back from the dead, it doesn’t (at least at first) seem to make a huge difference in them. Let’s chalk it up to adrenaline or perhaps allowing their new reality to sink in. So, no judgment here. I’ve learned that most people’s default setting when they’re not sure what to do is to do nothing. I get that.

What are we to do today, the day after we celebrate the most incredible, miraculous, history-shaking, unparalleled event that humanity has ever known? Outwardly, is it just another Monday? Probably seems so. But inwardly (making its way out), it’s Mission: Day 1.

The news of Jesus’ resurrection spread as you might expect. He revealed Himself in resurrected/glorified form to hundreds, maybe thousands of people, before He ascended into heaven. So the fact of His resurrection was not merely tabloid fodder. This was the actual reality of the situation: A man had been crucified in front of a huge crowd who all watched him die, proven to be dead, put in a sealed and guarded tomb, and was now alive and walking around.

So, if you’re one of this man’s followers, what do you do on Mission: Day 1? Do you tuck this nugget of news under your hat and simply live as you did before? Or do you celebrate the widely-known fact that your Rabbi is the death-conquering Messiah and Lord?

Honestly, I’m not sure why the disciples went back to fishing after Jesus had been resurrected. But I do believe there’s something there for us to learn. They weren’t in denial of Jesus’ resurrection. They were simply integrating this new reality into their lives the best way they could. Probably trying to figure out for themselves how to live in this new world where their best friend is now the resurrected King of all kings.

Here’s my guess: They probably looked at people radically differently than they had before. Every person they saw was now in one of two categories: The “knows” and the “doesn’t know”. Let’s consider this.

Stop wherever you are right now. Look around. Look at the movement of humans around you right now. What are they doing? How do they appear to you? What do you imagine they are thinking? What do they know about Jesus? Do they know? Are they a “know” or a “doesn’t know”?

I don’t know how to tell you how to let them know. That’s really not my thing to be concerned with. My desire here is not to trigger any emotion in you as you read these words. My desire here is simply to invite you to imagine that it’s Day 1 of this new reality, and that there are still people who don’t know.

Go back up to that list of questions toward the beginning of this post. Now, Jesus followers: Imagine they’re applicable to this new resurrected reality we are all now living in. How would you answer them?

What’s good?

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It’s Monday of Holy Week and I’ve (again) recently been asked this year the question that seems to emerge every year during Holy Week: “Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?”

Rather than launch into some deeply theological or academic answer (you can find a plethora of those on the intrawebs), let me share with you what I hope amounts to more of a personal, internalized response.

When I think of Jesus, I must always keep in the forefront of my mind that He is God incarnate. That is, God in human flesh. By the way, that’s as theological as this post will get. God became flesh in order to satisfy His own demands for holiness and a holy sacrifice. Why was a sacrifice needed at all? Because the Creator will not tolerate not being fully united with His creation. The perfect sacrifice of the perfect Savior created a perfect salvation that is perfectly accessible to any and all who will believe.

Because you and are…well…imperfect, we couldn’t have provided that perfect sacrifice on our own.

So Jesus humbled Himself by taking on the flesh of humanity and came to live among us. As He did, He gave us a clear reflection of God’s Kingdom and all that it entails. He loved, He taught, He shepherded, He healed, He put justice and righteousness on display, and He willingly crescendoed His earthly ministry with a one-two punch that defeated sin and death for all time.

The cross Jesus died on wasn’t a new invention. The Romans had perfected this method of execution. They didn’t invent crucifixion, but it’s fair to say that they nailed it. Pun intended.

So when we think of Jesus, we must always keep His mission central. Jesus didn’t happen to fall onto the cross. He didn’t get himself wrapped up in the wrong crowd and thereby found Himself on the wrong end of the law, and hanging on a cross. This wasn’t a curveball in His mission. It WAS His mission. Jesus wasn’t a victim as He hung on that cross. This was the script from the beginning. The cross was precisely why He came at all. For Jesus, the cross was Job One.

The hours that Jesus spent on that cross were prepared and planned out millennia beforehand. Read Genesis chapter 3. All of eternity had awaited this crushing blow that Jesus delivered through His death.

And all of creation was the recipient of grace through the shed blood of Jesus’ death on that cross. No one is left out of the invitation to come and take the gift that Jesus offers through the work of the cross. The thief that hung next to Jesus wasn’t just a random or mildly interesting addition to the story. No, no, no. The thief is all of us. The guilty given grace. Jesus said to him that day and it echoes for us today: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Still wonder why Good Friday is Good Friday? Ask yourself these questions:

  1. Since God’s holiness demands a holy sacrifice, what hope do I have in attaining holiness on my own?
  2. If God, through Jesus, provided the necessary sacrifice to forgive my sins, what is keeping me from receiving that gift through faith in Jesus alone?
  3. As a forgiven child of God, how can I set my heart on the good news of Jesus’ sacrificial death on my behalf? Who in my life needs to be told or reminded of His love for them?

I trust that as we move through Holy Week, our hearts will be set on the cross of Jesus and the Good that was done there. I’ll finish where I started: there are other explanations as to why we call it Good Friday, but when it comes to the saving of our souls, I’d argue that none matter as much.