Category: Stories

I’ve encountered a popular theological view that suggests that to believe in God, one must trust the Bible completely and not question what it says or what God says. But what if you question God, faith, or even the scriptures? Does the first chapter of James truly instruct us not to doubt? A great article by Pete Enns sheds light on how doubt can play a part in the lives of Jesus’ followers and might provide some helpful perspective:

“I get a lot of great, honest questions from my students on almost a daily basis. Here is one from yesterday:

“How do you read James 1:6-7, particularly as it concerns doubting… it seems as though James is saying that those who doubt God’s power are like waves and whatnot. Is this a specific theology of the time, or is it really saying TO ME that I should never doubt?”

Here is what we read in James 1:6-7: But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Well, that seems clear as crystal: doubt = bad. So I told this student, “Get with the program, pal. You can read the Bible just as well as I can, and you know that any shred of doubt makes God very, very, very angry. I hope you can live with yourself.”

Yes, everyone here thinks I’m hilarious.

I didn’t say that, of course, largely because I wrote this book The Sin of Certaintywhere I argue that doubt is normal, biblical, and spiritually beneficial. So here’s what I actually said.

First, different biblical authors have different perspectives. I don’t think we should read one author as canceling out another (like Job or some Psalms). It’s important, therefore, to try to understand not simply what James is saying but why he is saying it. Which brings us to…

Second, James is speaking in the context of “trials” and the “testing of your faith” (James 1:2-3) in what was thought to be the end of the age. Like other New Testament authors, James likely thought of Jesus’s resurrection as stage 1 of a 2-stage process that would come to completion soon. In that context of “suffering, though the time is near,” a tone of warning and  “pull yourself together, man!” is the expected rhetoric.

That context, however, is not one that I or my student share. We have, rather, more in common in this sense with Old Testament authors for whom no end was in sight, which afforded plenty of opportunities to struggle with their faith (e.g., Lament Psalms, Job, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations). So, James is valuable (of course) but not for every context, and so doesn’t simply trump Qoheleth, Job, or a psalmist. Scripture is diverse and multivalent (which loops us back to the first point).

Third, the Greek word there translated as “doubt” does not mean what it has come to mean too often in our western rationalist society, namely intellectual uncertainty: some intellectual struggling/questioning brought on by life experiences, bouts with depression, personal tragedies, etc.

The Greek word is diakrinō and connotes (don’t worry, I looked this up) a “divided loyalty,” which, as we saw in #2, is a particularly pressing concern in James’s context.  James seems to be saying something like, “Stay resolute in this time of great urgency. Believe in God. Do not get carried away by your circumstances.”

My student was asking me whether it was wrong to struggle with faith and have doubts. My answer is no.

That doesn’t mean you celebrate doubt or force it to appear. It just happens, and when it does, there are plenty of biblical moments to identify with.

By Pete Enns: This article was originally published on February 3, 2017.”

I have found it helpful to contemplate on the humility of Jesus. He was known for their patient, gentle, and humble nature rather than strict adherence to religious dogma or perfect knowledge. I am particularly inspired by the soldier who declared, “I believe, help my unbelief,” I aim to make this my continual prayer.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Philip

A lot can happen in a year…

On Friday we are celebrating that our sweet Elizabeth Pearl will be one year old…I know, can you believe it?! Time is flying and I feel like I am often just trying to catch my breath as I watch it all unfold around me.

Maybe you can relate, but with each of our children, it seems that time is passing faster and moments, sweet moments are over and done with before I can really savor them. I have been a wife now for 13 years, a pastor for 12, a mother for 7, and yet each year goes by faster than the one before.

Do you often think too, time, slow down?

What are the moments in life you wish to slow down more? Last Sunday as I watched our students and teachers prayed over in worship, I wanted to savor that moment and relive it again. Later that morning, when the Choir was singing “Be Thou My Vision” before the sermon, I wanted to hold onto that moment a little longer too. Or many, many moments with my own children, when they are hugging, or laughing, or singing, or creating…I try and remain present in a bit longer, knowing how fleeting it is.

But is there wisdom in what we prioritize or spend our time what about time as followers of Jesus? How does the Bible suggest that we use time to the best of our ability? Time is a commodity, is it not? How can we steward it well?

When I think about the life of Jesus, I am amazed that the first section of the New Testament really only covers about 3 years of Jesus’ life and ministry. And so much of the Gospel stories are similar stories told with a different voice over those three years.  And then I remember how thankful I am to be starting year four at this church and how much I have grown and learned along the way. And it begs the question, if time seems to fly by the older we get, how do we savor the time God gives us? How do we remain present in the everyday knowing it is a gift, even if it is a challenge?

Jesus taught us a lot about time and modeled for us priorities. In the three years of his life and ministry, we see that Jesus takes a lot of time to converse, eat and pray. He places himself around others and he gets to know their story. He took seriously the holy act of eating as fellowship and slowed down when it came to meal-time. Lastly, he prayed consistently, at odd hours and whenever he was feeling most depleted.

If I take His example and weave it into my life, here are a few things that will change in my rhythm and pattern of life to better emulate the honoring of time that I see lived out by Jesus. First, I will know less people but in a deeper way. I laugh every time I hear someone talk about how Jesus’ best miracle was having 12 close friends in his mid-30’s because it is spot on in my own life as well. At last I checked, I have over 2,200 friends on social media, but hardly any of them know me deeply. Therefore, if I want to honor God with my time, I will spend more time this year with fewer people because I want to know people on a heart-level more than just in a superficial way. I will not avoid friendships of course, but I will prioritize who I pour into most knowing that there is only so much time in the day.

Secondly, I will enjoy eating more. Great idea, right?  I hope I am not the only person that struggles with this, but will choose to slow down and savor my meal and make eye contact with the people I share the table with. I will pray before meals and make the other persons laugh as we share in the meal together. I will think about the hands that grew and cooked the meal I am enjoying and I am going to sit and slow down more while I eat.

Lastly, I will pray more, or should I say, I will worship more. One thing I have started to do more is study the lyrics of the worship songs in my play list. Music is a love language for me anyways and so I have found that when I am lucky or free enough to listen to worship music in the car, when I am parked or at a stop light, I read a bit of the lyrics so that while I sing along it becomes a prayer of sorts.

Ultimately, as a wife, mom and pastor, I am having to reorient every season to a Christ-centered calendar and to really making a conscious effort to honor God with my time. There will never be enough time in life, but when I remember that all of time is God’s gift to us anyways, it takes away some of the pressure and replaces it with grace.

I found these words wise as I reflect on how to best use the time that God has given me and I hope it blesses. This is The Message version from the end of Ecclesiastes 5.

^18-20 After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live.”

One question to ponder this week, what is one thing you will adjust in your everyday schedule to honor God more with your time?

If you don’t have plans tomorrow, August 17^th, I would love for you to bring your own lunch and join me anytime at church between 11am-1pm to unpack this more.

Have a blessed week!

Check out our “God in a Box” skit by Pastor Rachel & our Children’s Ministry kids! It paves the way for what’s to come in our next sermon series- The Lorax, which is family-friendly and starts this Sunday!

Recently God has been forcing me to learn more about rest, whether I want to or not. Over and over again over these last few weeks, several of my encounters have led me down a path of learning to slow down and just be. If you know me, you know that I don’t slow down well. Some of that is current life situation. Those of you with young kids get it and if your kids are grown, you remember. But besides my current life situation, I also don’t choose to slow down and rest much of my own free will. I am constantly looking for the next fun adventure or experience. My husband is the opposite, and he definitely balances my “go, go, go” way of living but I am constantly learning that God wants more of my being than my doing.

My spiritual director taught me this phrase years ago and I come back to it time and time again. Evelyn Underhill wrote, “We spend our lives conjugating three verbs: to want, to have, to do- but what really matters is TO BE. “

I was reminded again of this by my Barre workout coach this weekend who said that we are human Beings, not human Doings and I can’t agree more. But incorporating the spiritual practices that allow us to simply “be” will often need to be honed and refined. To be, doesn’t just naturally happen.  

And so, my question for us to ponder today is this. Why is it so difficult to just be? Where does the pressure, drive or expectation come from to make us human doings? And what does God have to say about it?

I can tell you from my own life that part of it is temperament, part of it is our family of origin and part of it is the community we find ourselves in. Only one of these things can we really do much about, and that is our temperament; our own self awareness and spiritual maturity. But so much of our temperament is influenced by our schedules, routines, internal and external needs and the way we view the world. When it comes to the way rest realigns us with God, I spend much of my time reorienting the way I view the world. Somewhere along the way I learned the untruth that doing is more valuable than being. That what I produce and accomplish is more important than who I am at my core. Part of that is the societal pressure that comes from us always introducing myself by my degrees, accomplishments, educational milestones and who I am connected to as a person. 

What if we flipped those societal pressures upside down? Could you imagine how different conversations would be if I introduced myself with this elevator speech: 

“I am Rachel, created and beloved by God, passionate about relationships, I enjoy church history, I hum when I am carefree, I am not interested in fashion, but very interested in helping others belong. And most of the time I am tired and a little bit of a hot mess, but I love to laugh and not take life too seriously…

What would your ‘being not doing’ elevator speech be?

The point is this. When we are authentically living into the person we are at our core, we are more open to resting in the Presence of the one who created us. We don’t have to put on a show, we can be vulnerable and still valued. 

When I think about why it is hard to just be, there is this sense of needing to prove that I am doing a good job, that I am a capable pastor, a competent leader, a gracious servant, a relatable friend. I look around at my other colleagues and clergy friends and feel sometimes that I am not enough. And then I remember that comparison is the thief of joy and I check myself again. When I get in a rut and push myself too hard and too fast that I miss the chance to slow down and be, I also miss the chance to really be loved on by God. 

Maybe this illustration will help. I think about how my children enjoy being loved on. Right now, our 11 month old is so busy exploring the world, crawling and almost walking that she doesn’t slow down and will only snuggle right at the end of the night when she is beyond exhausted, so much so that she fell asleep today in her highchair! She doesn’t rest well either because she is too busy. But my older two really savor their hugs from Ryan and I. They crawl into our lap, or ask to be snuggled before bed, they still hold our hands and they just want to be close to us. As I process my invitation to rest more as an adult, I think it is more like the second scenario. I think God invites us to hold God’s hand, or climb into God’s arms and slow down a bit. When we are that secure in the love of our Father, we feel fully known and still fully loved.

I want to rest like that and I want to get to a place where the world isn’t constantly getting in the way. Of deep and meaningful rest. I pray you find that rest too both physically and spiritually.

If you would like to talk more about the idea of spiritual rest and contemplation, I invite you to bring your own lunch and join me this Thursday, July 20^th anytime between 11am-1PM at the church. We will talk through the practices of spiritual rest a little deeper and learn from one another.