Life's Highways

Lately I’m reminded of a truth I learned in the book The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley (Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN, 2008). The principle is “Direction – not intention – determines our destination.”

In other words, my intention might be for a certain outcome in my life but if my actions and lifestyle don’t match that desire I’ll never reach that destination.

“Direction – not intention – determines our destination.”

For example, I might intend to be debt free at some point but if I don’t begin to take the right steps now – cutting spending, paying down debt, planning ahead – I’ll never see that goal reached in the future. Or, I may intend to live a long and vibrant life but if I don’t eat healthy now, exercise, and generally take care of myself, I won’t live to a ripe old age. My actions must be connected with my true intentions. Wishful thinking is never a substitute for purposeful action – for travelling on the right path.

We need to keep this in mind as we work to plant Church of the Rock Calgary. We have a preferred vision for the church but our actions must line up with those intentions.We must always ask “Is the church on the right path, going in the right direction, so we’ll reach the destination the Lord has for us?”.

In The Principle of the Path, Stanley poses several questions to help with such self-examination in our lives and ministries (p. 31):

1. Are there disconnects in your life?

2. Are there discrepancies between what you desire in your heart and what you are doing with your life?

3. Is there alignment between your intentions and your direction?

May we take the time to examine our lives so we know we’re travelling the right path toward the destiny and future God’s planned for us!

Simplicity  is “The quality or condition of being easy to understand or do . . . of being plain or natural” - Google.  As we work to establish Church of the Rock Calgary, I think this definition accurately expresses what we want as a church – a vision that’s “easy to understand and do” with a culture that’s relevant, “plain” and “natural”.

The importance and benefits of simplicity, not only in our ministry but also our personal life, were reinforced when we lived with the bare necessities for seven months this year. In January, after finishing our ministry at The Bridge in Medicine Hat, we stored most of our belongings and then left for Winnipeg to work at Church of the Rock with only what fit in our sedan and minivan.

When we returned to Alberta and rented our Calgary house we still didn’t take everything with us. And somehow, even with a greatly reduced amount of  “stuff,” we survived. In fact, it felt better to live leaner and realize we could still be comfortable with far fewer possessions.

Now that we’ve moved into our permanent residence we’re looking to get rid of a lot of things no longer needed so we can have a life that’s “easy to understand and participate in” – “plain” and “natural”.

In my quest for simplicity I’m studying two books  - one that applies to church structure and is coincidentally called Simple Church (Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, TN, 2006) and another called Simplify that includes “106 ways to uncomplicate your life” (Paul Borthwick, Authentic Books, Colorado Springs, CO, 2007).

The message of both books is essentially the same – less is more.

For us church leaders, one of the key strategies outlined in Simple Church is to focus on doing only what truly fits our church vision – making choices that abandon everything that falls outside our ministry focus. This ensures church resources are channeled into a few key areas. It’s better to do some things well than to do many things poorly.

In Simplify Paul Borthwick writes that limiting our choices is key in our personal lives. He contends having too many choices in our modern age has left us paralyzed and stressed.

“Each person carries a backpack of choices. As we hike into life, we add more and more to that backpack – choices about which car to buy, who to marry, where to live, and which career to pursue. And on it goes. Gradually our backpacks become so overloaded that we tip over backwards onto them – our arms and legs flailing in the air like an overturned beetle trying to right itself. Eventually our only option is to dump some stuff.” (Simplify p. 10)

Paul and his wife Christie dumped “stuff” by trying to make choices that reflect:

- A God-centred pace of life.

- Proactive steps to manage their clutter.

- A desire to simply their lives to become more purposeful and enjoyable.

- The scriptural mandate to “choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19) – to invest resources “in life rather than in possessions, in being rather than having.”

- Focused lives. Similar to the Simple Church philosophy, Paul writes “Rather than fragment ourselves in a dozen different directions, we attempt to recognize both our opportunities and limitations and ask where we can make the greatest impact for God.”(pp. 18+19)

Throughout the remainder of Simplify, Paul shares his 106 suggestions for living such a focused, uncomplicated life (Simplify can be purchased at www.authenticbooks.com).

So, whether in our churches or personal lives, simplicity is the key to us being all God intended us to be and doing all He intended us to do.

In light of this, my question is, “What are the simple things you need to focus on in your church or ministry and what choices do you need to personally make so some of the stuff can be dumped from your life backpack?”

My hope is all of us will make wise decisions so we can enjoy the wonderful benefits of simplicity – “The quality or condition of being easy to understand or do . . . of being plain or natural.”

About two weeks after our move in late August I ran out of gas – not literally, but rather in a spiritual and emotional sense. I was cranky and tired and it felt like a million details were on my mind. The previous three weeks had been hectic as we packed up our stuff, moved into our new home, and then unpacked and began to get things in order.

At the same time I was finalizing all the details for our COTR Calgary Information Night and, in addition, the whole process was complicated by repairs needed to fix water leaks in our basement bathroom, laundry room, and dishwasher. In the end these weren’t major problems but at the time they were irritating and felt like proverbial straws breaking the camel’s back.

One morning as I woke up and again began feeling overwhelmed and stressed, I heard this phrase running through my mind, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things.” Immediately I knew the Lord was speaking to me from the story in Luke 10:38-42 where Jesus is invited to the home of a woman named Martha.

“Martha, Martha, (Ian, Ian) you are worried and upset about many things.”

Wanting the meal and every other aspect of her hospitality to be perfect, Martha is hurrying around the house making sure things are in order. Meanwhile, her sister Mary is quietly sitting at Jesus’ feet drinking in the wisdom and truth He’s sharing with her. I can just imagine Martha’s angst as she sees her sister enjoying a visit with Jesus while she busts her butt to make sure everything’s ready. “Doesn’t my sister get it?”, she might be thinking. “This is our chance to show our love for Jesus and impress Him with our hospitality and devotion!”.

When she can’t stand the situation any longer Martha says “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” – v. 40 (NIV). Jesus’ response includes the phrase I mentioned earlier. ”Martha, Martha, . . . you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”(41+42)

For us “Martha-type” personalities this response may seem a bit hard to understand. After all, doesn’t Jesus care that Martha’s efforts are for Him? Doesn’t He realize she only wants to please Him and make sure everything’s in order? Shouldn’t Mary also be working to please the Lord and carrying her fair share of the load?

Jesus response, however, is a sharp rebuke to this line of thinking. He prefers Mary’s attentiveness and desire to be in His presence over Martha’s harried busyness – even if the end result is meant to be a show of love for Him. Rather than the confusion of many distractions and concerns he states that “only one thing is needed” – spending time with Him.

Jesus prefers Mary’s attentiveness and desire to be in His presence over Martha’s harried busyness.

That morning I got the hint. The Lord was telling me to slow down, quit focusing on all the house details and how to please Him in the church plant, and take time to be with Him (my prayer times had become anemic and I needed to take a longer period of time to properly slow down my mind and spirit, get my eyes off the problems etc., and truly allow Him to pour in renewed strength and grace).

My Downtown Prayer Spot

So, in the afternoon I drove up to my city prayer spot, read the Word, prayed, and had a wonderful time in His presence. It was glorious and I came home a changed man.

As the famous hymn says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

I was reminded again that doing things for God is never a substitute for spending time with God.

“Doing things for God is never a substitute for spending time with God.”

Even though I have Martha-like tendencies I must learn to be a Mary first and then my efforts for the Lord and His Kingdom will flow from that place of spiritual intimacy. I won’t get cranky, my blood pressure will remain normal, and I’ll live with a supernatural peace and strength.

I pray you too will choose the one better thing that’s needed and find that place at Jesus feet!

Buying a house can be a stressful event. This was confirmed recently when we searched for a permanent home here in Calgary. Since May we’ve been renting a home in trendy Marda Loop but we always knew that couldn’t continue past the end of August because the owner was tearing the house down and building a brand new one. With this in mind we began our search at the end of June.

After about a week of hunting we were thrilled to find a home that seemed to fit the bill. It was in a beautiful part of the city and excitement began to build as we entered negotiations and the gap began to narrow between the seller and our purchase price. As we neared completion of the deal, however, I began to get this strange feeling in my spirit. It was a sense of unease I’ve had before when the Lord’s cautioned me about a decision. From experience I’ve learned disobeying such a check can have serious consequences.

I had a certain price in mind and the seller came within $2,500 of that figure but was unwilling to move further. Only  $2,500! In today’s market that’s a small difference and my mind screamed at me to take the deal. The check in my spirit persisted, however, and so Val and I decided to stand our ground and decline the seller’s final price. In the end we lost the home to another buyer.

We didn’t realize how much that would hurt. The house, with certain modifications and renovations, was everything we thought we wanted and it was in a part of the city we really liked. Now, it was gone.

We started our search all over again but after several days found nothing even close to the first house. With renewed hope and optimism we’d leave with our realtor to look at homes only to return discouraged and feel the increasing pressure of our looming deadline.

I started thinking, “Lord, am I going to be forever mourning the house that got away? Is this a blunder that even you can’t fix? I was sure I sensed a check in my spirit about going ahead but maybe I was wrong? Maybe we didn’t hear you right and we’ve missed our big moment – our ONLY moment to have the house we need!”

Thankfully, I began to encourage myself in the Lord like David did when his men were wanting to stone him after their wives and children were taken by the enemy at Ziklag (no, my wife and kids weren’t starting to pick up any rocks).

In particular, I began to pray and recite Romans 8:28 where it says:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (NIV)

I was warring against my feelings of discouragement, fear, and hopelessness by declaring God would work this situation out for our good. He had a house in mind and  we would have peace and joy when we found it. There was no plan B but only a plan A and He would make His will clear to us because we were His kids and called by Him  to plant Church of the Rock Calgary.

Just when we couldn’t see anything on the horizon there was a sudden breakthrough! Our realtor was working late one night and around midnight noticed a brand new MLS listing – a home in the same area as the one we’d lost except it had one additional bedroom, was in better shape with no required interior renovations, and was the bi-level style we prefer.

The next morning she notified us and we immediately raced over to view the house (another one wasn’t going to get away). That afternoon we made an offer and eventually the seller accepted a price below what we submitted for the first house. Praise God! Plus, the lack of major renovations meant less additional expense and, overall, a house more to our liking. Is God in control or what!

Through it all I was reminded Romans 8:28 is for real and I can truly trust the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life. Was it stressful at times? Definitely. Did it cause us to grow and give us another testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness and provision? Thankfully, yes.

May the Lord continue to help all of us trust that as we are sensitive to the leading of His Holy Spirit He will truly make all things work together for our good and fulfill His purposes through our lives!

Last Wednesday was a significant moment for Church of the Rock Calgary – our first official meeting. Three families, a total of ten adults and nine children, got-to-gether  at our house for dinner and fellowship. It was wonderful to see the new connections being made as the Dows from Winnipeg, the Fergusons from Calgary, and the Byrds from Medicine Hat (formerly), hung out and began to “do life together”.

Aimee and her baby sister Sara

We didn’t have a time of praise and worship and there was no message spoken or offering taken, but nevertheless that evening saw the birthing of a new church. People met together in the name of Jesus and He was truly there in our midst.

I’m reminded of  Zechariah 4 where it mentions that Zerubbabel, who laid the foundation of the new temple, would also be the one to complete the structure. In verse 10 a rhetorical question is asked: “Who despises the day of small things?” Even though establishing the temple foundation may have looked insignificant and small in itself, the verse implies it shouldn’t be taken lightly because an impressive structure would eventually be completed to the Glory of God.

Likewise, we won’t despise this “day of small things” in the life of Church of the Rock Calgary. A strong foundation is being established upon which a mighty church will be built for God’s Glory and Honor. We believe this and will keep working to fulfill the vision the Lord’s given us.

James, Dan and some of the Kids

I’m believing what is stated in Job 8 verse 7 where it says, “Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.” (NIV)

May that be the case for those of us pioneering Church of the Rock Calgary and also for you in whatever venture you are starting for the Lord. Let’s keep our eyes on His promises and complete the great work He’s called us to do – even if the start may seem humble and insignificant!