Only a Jesus Follower would celebrate the Death of their Savior
It’s always seemed a bit odd to me that we call Good Friday GOOD. I get it in the grand scheme of the Redemptive Story. I get that there is no Sunday without Friday. I get that there is no life without Death. I get it. It’s just a little odd. On that very Friday…as it happened in space and time, there was not a single Jesus follower on the planet who could have uttered the word “GOOD“. In their eyes, from their perspective at that point in the story, there was nothing “GOOD“. Everything had gone to hell. Their hopes. Their dreams. Their Master. Their Friend. Their Brother. Their Son…was dead and gone. And despite everything he had said and done to prepare them, they were utterly unprepared for their the grief, despair, and fear that infiltrated their little movement and their little faith.
We however have the perspective of time that those first followers did not. We can see the greater narrative. We can see the fruit of that seed falling and being buried deep into the soil of humanity. And so….we celebrate. Odd as it may seem, we celebrate the Death of Jesus, because just like in OUR OWN STORY, it is not the END of the STORY! Death is really only the beginning. By celebrating his Death we are actually celebrating the LIFE that comes from it. That is why this is not merely a good thing…this is the greatest thing we have afforded to us in the time we have in this life. We must remember. We must tell the story. We must tell our story. We must celebrate.
This is why Soul City Church is so excited to CELEBRATE Good Friday, this Friday at 7.00p. This death and resurrection is at the Center of our Story as a Church and we pray at the center of your Life and Story as well.
If you live in Chicago and are in any way interested in being a part of Soul City Church, please make change plans to join us this Friday Night as we Celebrate Good Friday.
All the details you need can be found HERE.
When You Only Know People Just Like You…
Recently at a gathering of Church Leaders in the city, Professor Soong Chah Rah (North Park Seminary) asked a simple question that continues to mess with me almost a week later. He asked those of us who gathered there, “How many of you have ever been Lead or Mentored by someone of a different Race, Gender, or Theological Background than yours?”
It’s a very simple question that reveals for many of us, a lack of diverse and different voices speaking in to our lives. It reveals that it’s entirely possible that you have, without even realizing it, been shaped, lead and developed by people who look and think just like you. That you have surrounded yourself with…more of you.
No one does this intentionally of course. We honestly don’t even realize that most of the voices in our life sound just like ours until you hear a question like that of Prof. Rah’s. And it may not even seem like that big of a deal to you, but you have to wonder – What would happen to your body if you only ate from ONE of the Four (Five?) Food Groups? What would happen to your muscles if all you ever did was Curls? What would you know of the the world if you never left your street?
So. How about it? Have you been largely led by people just like you? Why do you think that is? What do you think you should do about that (if anything)?
How can you intentionally position yourself as a learner from those who are different from you? Maybe you could start with a cup of coffee. Come with great questions. Humble yourself. Listen and Learn. See what God does.
Running Sideways
I’m not sure how long it’s been since you’ve tried to Run Sideways (or run at all), but it is a wildly awkward endeavour. Like 7th Grade Boys at their first Basket Ball Practice. Just clumsy, awkward, and utterly ineffective.
As the focus and intensity of Soul City Church intensifies, I find myself daily battling my incredible ability to Run Sideways. I am amazed at my ability to not only distract myself, but BUSY myself with little things that feel like work. They FEEL like work and may even be connected to the work that God has created me to do, but often times they are sideways distractions and decisions that keep me from running into the work that God has given me this day to do.
Here are just a few completely fabricated numbers to reiterate my point.
- 87% of the time you spend coming up with your most clever Tweets is time spent running…walking…gazing Sideways.
- 63% of the time you spend composing, reading, and deleting Email is sideways.
- 42% of the time spent in Meetings is spent talking about what you should talk about at the next meeting – Sideways.
- 138% of checking Facebook Status Updates is Sideways (although it is important to know that Samantha had a rough time falling asleep).
- 62% of time spent Reading Blogs Posts is time spent Sideways (48% if you use an RSS Feeder).
- 54% of time spent Writing Blog Posts is time spent Sideways (Irony just gave me a very disappointed look).
- 63% of looking at your Google Analytics is time spent sideways (and can mess with your head and heart).
- Oddly enough, 2% of time spent Reading the Soul City Blog is time spent Sideways (the numbers don’t lie people).
None of these things are innately bad in and of themselves (with the exception of Status Stalking). It’s just that they distract. They derail. They fool you into believing that you are getting something done.
I say all of this by way of confession. I am a master of looking busy and convincing myself that I actually am. And the crazy thing is – I May Actually Be Busy…Running Sideways. I don’t have time in this day and in this life to waste it Running Sideways. Neither do you.
I commit today to moving (yes, even running) FORWARD. As an act of Stewardship. As an act of Gratitude.
It’s as though we gave up Blogging for Lent…
It’s been a couple weeks since we posted up here at Soul City Blog.
It’s not you…it’s us.
The Stevens Family has had a few things going on these past couple weeks:
- We packed up an entire house in Atlanta
- Jarrett replaced the Mother Board on our fridge (yep. The Mother Board!)
- We drove two U Hauls from ATL to CHI (Special thanks to Eric Edwards and Amy Lawlor)
- We moved in to our new place in Chicago
- Unpacked
- Hung some shelves
- Kept unpacking…
- Wrote this post
We’re excited to finally be up and running here in Chicago and are so grateful to God for our friends and family who helped us throughout these last couple weeks.
More to come.
So much more…
