(R) Adam Davidson

We tend to have a really good memory when it comes to how we messed up, but a really terrible memory when it comes to God’s mercy.
We remember the wrong things. But God doesn’t.
When it comes to our sin, God has a “bad memory”.

Everybody wants resurrection power, but nobody wants to suffer and die.
You can’t have a resurrection without a funeral.
God doesn’t hand dynamite to dangerous people.

I have a friend who always answers the question “how ya doin’?” with “Better than I deserve.”
Psalm 103:10 agrees.
Can you imagine if God treated us as we deserve? We’re talking about a holy, perfect, glorious God who sees all, knows all, and reigns over all. And here I am, bumbling along in my sin and brokenness. Aren’t you glad we aren’t crushed for our iniquities? Well… turns out someone got our punishment…

Today happens to be Lexi’s 19th birthday. She has changed my life, teaching me to live in harmony with others, not be proud, lose the pride, and associate with everyday people everywhere. This is how we fight evil: not swords and protests, but by flipping the script and doing genuinely good stuff because of Jesus.

Emotionally mature people know that life is not about them but rather others. In this short verse, God challenges us to get our attention off of ourselves and to walk with people — fully engaged — as they rejoice and mourn. Not only does this overcome the evil tendencies in me and you, it encourages and strengthens others in a world where loneliness is at an all time high. Overcome evil — go with them.

About a month ago, I joined the staff of the church my family has been attending for the last year. My job is to work with a team to create a new service, making us a single church with multiple venues. The complexity, artistry, and ecclesiology of launching a new worship service excites me, partly because every church ministry role I’ve had so far seems to lead to this, and partly because I know it’s where God wants me to be.

If there’s one question I’ve gotten from congregants in the last month, it’s this: “who are you and why are you here?” Depending on the setting, I’ll give them a quick sketch, or a detailed overview, usually something in between. Today I had conversations with people about how I’ve been a Free Methodist pastor for 20 years, which puts me squarely in Wesleyan camp. I’ve always been a Wesleyan, and now I serve at Wesleyan church. John Wesley was no perfect theologian, but I align with him more than I do any other churchman/practitioner, particularly his emphasis on reaching people with the gospel. As a follower of Jesus, I believe discipleship should make a difference in how we live, how we think, and what motivates us. John Wesley’s emphasis on the possibility of Holy living in this life is intriguing, and it’s something I chase after every day.

I’m also excited about designing a worship service that is, as I would describe it, convergent. I got the term from the great worship theologian Robert Webber, whose writing and thinking has shaped my theology of worship a great deal. Weber’s use of the word convergent to describe the people of God and their worship of Him is a good one, albeit unfamiliar to many. It means that we are pulling from all over the place, sources ancient, modern, recent, and brand new. More than just traditional or blended, the service that I get to work on will be a mix of everything knitted and knotted together to put voice to our response to Father, Son, and Spirit.

I don’t know exactly what it will look like, but I have a pretty good vision in my head. It really depends on who shows up and what they bring to the table. My job is to work with what’s there, and to lead a service that’s vibrant, intergenerational, and participatory, all in response to the revelation of God. Kierkegaard described worship as a presentation for an audience of One (well, actually Three but yet One). We’re all doing the work of worship.

What we do now on Sundays at Central Wesleyan is just that: vibrant, inter-generational, and participatory. This service, called Chapel @ Central, will have a different flavor to it. Neapolitan, perhaps? You’ll just have to see it to understand, I suppose.

Today I got to jam on the keyboard with the band. It’s fun to not be in charge, and I savor these days where I just got to be a volunteer, so to speak.

John and Charles Wesley were pioneers in their hymnody. We can recover that for a new generation, for, as Webber says, “ the road to the future runs through the past.” it’s not that I want to please Webber, Wesley, Kierkegaard, or the congregation. I want to please Jesus with what we do every Sunday, my prayer is that more people will know him because of what we do in the service.

I’m sitting on my back porch watching Cameron is he swings from monkey bar to monkey bar. It’s a peaceful summer evening. Five months from now, we will be preparing for Christmas, and snow will likely have already blanketed this part of the Earth. I can’t wait to see how far we’ve gotten by then as for now, I’m thinking, praying, planning, and growing in my anticipation of what I believe will be a life-changing worship service.

Back when I was getting ready to graduate college, 21 years ago, I had this passing thought of working at a place like Central Wesleyan. and now, Adley, and by the grace of God, I get to do just that. And everything makes sense.

Today is a day of celebration in the United States — and rightly so, as the freedoms we enjoy are truly something to be grateful for. People gave their lives for us to live in relative luxury, especially compared to the rest of the world.

That being said, here’s a 3 pointer about freedom — and finding our ultimate freedom in Christ (who is, by the way, the only perfect “politician”).

Why would these men, beaten and bloodied, inches from death, turn around and bless their captors? Why would they rejoice on the way home? Why would they thank God as they nursed wounds and now walked with a limp? Jesus said “blessed are you when people insult and persecute you because of me…” which sounds like a foolish way to see it until you see the big picture.
Followers of Jesus — expect to be persecuted. Some of us may suffer to the point of death via persecutor. It happens today.
What do we do with the people who beat us up because of our faith?
We bless them.
Why?
Because we see the big picture.
Persecution is like a skinned knee on the way to the pool. We’ll be having so much fun that, in the grand scheme, it won’t matter.

Many of my friends who watch already do this. Making space for and sharing with people in need is more than a nice thing to do — you are, by your positive, Christ-like actions, fighting evil. Brittany and I have been the beneficiaries of hospitality, and now we try to do the same for others in need.
You thought you were bringing over a pie to a hurting family. What you were ACTUALLY doing was fighting evil. And deliciously so.
Praise God.

Servanthood, eagerness in the mundane, and boiling spiritual passion are the superpowers that fight evil in our hearts and in the world.
Lexi teaches me about this every day — join me for a few minutes to be encouraged (what you do matters) and challenged (keep the right attitude)