When the world seems crazy and chaotic, I intentionally look for peace. Some might call that escaping reality, but I would argue it is in fact facing reality. Life is full of good, bad, downright awful, and absolutely beautiful days. On the days, when bad and awful seem to be taking center stage, look for and find God in the good and beautiful parts and pieces. That will give you strength because the bad and awful will still be there.
Watching our world lately, I’ve been struggling trying to balance it all. People I love dearly, who have differing views than me, challenge my heart and soul. My social media feed allows me glimpses into the hearts of people, I wish I had never seen. In a world of believers screaming, “Come to Jesus”… are we really showing them the way? Am I showing them what a life lived with Christ looks like in action?
God at work in my life, had me delving into the book study with our District Superintendent, Surprise the World by Michael Frost. As I was trying to turn off the noises of this world and find my way through the chaos, I absorbed theses words: “Surely there is a way we can see the church as ‘an army of ordinary people’ sent out to announce and demonstrate the reign of God through Christ, without expecting ourselves to be something we’re not or something less than we should be.”
Read that again…”an army of ordinary people”. That’s us! The book gives us habits to incorporate that will help us to reach neighbors in our corners of the world. The BELLS model (Bless, Eat, Listen, Learn, and Sent) helps us to become missional people. I decided in the chaos, I would ease into these five habits with the first two. I do them all sporadically, but need to be intentional in making them habits. Michael challenges us to bless three people in the week ahead, one of whom is not a member of our own church. I can do that! So can YOU! The second challenge is to eat with three people this week, at least one of whom is not from our church. COVID-19 does present challenges with this, but it’s not impossible. Be creative and always safe.
I chose to call a friend and go to dinner on the Beaufort waterfront. We went at sunset in freezing cold temperatures and sat outside on the covered deck. It was pretty hilarious actually. The people warmly tucked inside the restaurant, clearly thought we were insane, but we knew that we were simply taking care of each other. We ordered things from the menu we had never had before which felt kind of brave. We need to have courage in the days ahead. On a day that had been mostly terrifying, we watched the most glorious sun dip behind perfectly still waters. We felt the peace that is possible. We ordered coffee and split a dessert as the temperatures dropped even further and laughed at the people who were staring at us. We felt free in spite of being judged as “possibly insane”. We know whose we are even on the most chaotic days. As we talked about what we needed spiritually and where we were each struggling, we found God in our time together.
If you missed the chance to participate in the book study, I encourage you to order the book which is less than $5 and begin these habits in your life. The world needs the clear and consistent message of Christ who lives in us and who LOVES us ALL. Let’s work together as Laity, to be clear with the messages we send and the behaviors we model for those watching us. Let everything begin and end with love. The unconditional love Christ offers is the peace we all need in this chaos. Reach out to your pastor, commit to time in scripture, and lean on your friends in faith if you are struggling to find that peace right now.
If you would like to view past editions of A Message from Kim, follow this link: https://sounddistrictnc.org/category/from-district-lay-leader/
If you would like to connect with Kim please do so through her email, k.smith@nccumc.org