Gratitude

In my last post, I shared some of the experiences I am grateful for since coming to VPC. As I have been reflecting on my time here, there are several ministries that have given me a deep sense of joy and gratitude.

While enjoying lunch with someone recently, I recalled that only months after my arrival, a group of us attended the Willow Creek Leadership Summit at McLean Bible Church. I can still recall Marcus Buckingham, one of the speakers, asking, “What is the one thing you can do (using your strengths) that will make a difference?” The leadership team had decided not to start any new initiatives because we were in a time of transition, but in that moment I felt the best thing I could do was begin the ministry of Growing Your Soul, which I had led at my previous church. When I shared this with other leaders, they encouraged me to do it. That first year I led three groups. The next year I led several more with participants of the first year serving as apprentices. Then the third year those apprentices became leaders of new groups.  And so Growing Your Soul was launched and began to multiply.

It’s been a joy for me to journey alongside so many others (leading at least one group every year for my first ten years) and also equipping and supporting other leaders in doing the same. GYS is a very intentional community in which group members commit their time and energy to exploring a variety of practices including reflection on scripture, reading and journaling about great books by great authors, and engaging in a variety of prayer practices. They also commit to being present weekly for the group gathering, willingly sharing honestly and openly about what they are learning about God and about themselves. Over the course of nine months trust is cultivated, conversations go deeper, and a lot of transformation happens.

Of course, this is not something that happens only in Growing Your Soul. It can happen in any group. What is important is the willingness to engage in personal practices and community practices. You might say this intentional process is a kind of immersive experience that leads to a deeper experiential knowledge of God and his love, grace, and power.

I recently had the joy of attending the closing of the most recent Great Banquet weekend, and I was reminded again of why I have loved being involved in this ministry. Over and over we heard people say, “I have been a Christian for some time, but I have never felt God’s love so deeply or experienced his lavish grace pouring over me.” I often tell people that I see more happen in three days than often happens in a year of ministry in other settings.

There is no magical or secret reason for why that happens.  Again, it’s the intentional design of the weekend. Those who attend set aside their everyday routines and family and work obligation to participate in this immersive experience. Not only do they hear great teaching and transformative witnesses of God’s work individual lives, they engage in intentional practices, relationship, and experiences that lead to a greater experiential knowledge of God and the abundant life. Like a caterpillar crawling out of a cocoon, many come out of the weekend transformed.

Perhaps the least understood and utilized ministry in the church that I value is Renewing Prayer. I have shared before as I did in a recent Sunday sermon that “Pain that is not transformed will be transmitted.” Sadly, many hold on to their pain not knowing what to do with it.

We also experience anxiety, fear, frustration, and sadness.

Emotions are part of our lives, and they tell us something about what we believe. We all have uncomfortable emotions. Our usual strategy is to deny them or distract ourselves, or blame others for what we are feeling. Difficult or even annoying emotions can keep us from enjoying the good life God has already given in Jesus.

Renewing Prayer is not about giving advice, diagnosing problems, or sharing opinions. Renewing Prayer is about having a personal, transforming, renewing encounter with the Lord. It is an intentional process that leads to a deeper experiential knowledge of God. It is another ministry where I have experienced God’s truth moving from my head to my heart and the ability to live with greater freedom. I have witnessed this transformation in many others as well.

Another great blessing for me has been serving as the pastoral liaison to several CenterPoint Discovery Journeys. Many in our church travel, so someone had the great idea of traveling with others from our faith community. This was not only an opportunity to learn about our faith but to do it with others with whom we would continue to have a relationship after returning home. In the fall of 2009, I had the joy of traveling to Israel with about 40 others. We walked where Jesus walked and saw significant places in his life and ministry.

I also had the joy of traveling to Italy to see some of the best religious art in the world, and then to Ireland where my interest in Celtic Christianity was first sparked. These trips were such a lavish gift of grace for which I am grateful. But even more, I am grateful for the luxurious time with members of the church sharing meals around tables, conversations on the bus, seeing remarkable sights, enjoying amazing experiences, and simply making blessed memories together that have lingered and will continue.

In 2017, I began to teach the two Women’s Bible studies. This has been such a blessing to me because I really do love to study and teach.  So this gave me a regular outlet for doing so. Over the course of the last five years, I have taught books of the Bible that followed the sermon series including Ephesians, Luke, Acts, Exodus, Romans, Matthew, Philippians, Psalms, and Nehemiah. I have taught series on passages related to Lent and Jesus’ passion and most recently one on the Holy Spirit. Being immersed in the study of God’s word in community with sisters in Christ has led me (and I trust others as well) to a deeper experiential knowledge of God.

I have also enjoyed preaching and teaching about movies. In 2015-16, I taught a nine-month class first on Pixar movies, and then Les Miserables coupled with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. A year ago I was so enraptured with the amazing truth in the Disney film Encanto, so I decided to teach a class on that.  Connecting faith and film is a way of combining my love of stories—God’s story and stories in great movies and using that to help others make connections with the story of their lives. That gives me great, great joy. I love it!

Of course, I can’t share all the wonderful ministry opportunities I have enjoyed here at VPC. These are just some of many. But I want to emphasize that it’s not the programs that matter. It’s the people with whom I have shared the journey. It’s seeing how God uses community and intentional processes and practices and the truth of God’s word to bring about deep transformation. I have been able to get to know people up close and personal and to see God at work. I have had the chance to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. Being with others is a sacred gift. I’m grateful for all the moments I have enjoyed and will truly miss these regular interactions with the people at VPC.

I have not only witnessed change in others, God has used these immersive experiences involving intentional practices, relationships, and experiences to change me. I have grown and matured in my faith as a follower of our great Triune God. Not only am I filled with overwhelming joy and gratitude for his goodness to me. I too am overwhelmed with a deeper experiential knowledge of God and his steadfast love and faithfulness to me through these 16 years at VPC.

All I can say is thank you. I thank you, God’s people at VPC, for calling me to be your pastor and to follow Jesus with you for so many years. And thank you, God, for showering me with so many blessings—friendships, deep transformation, the privilege of serving and leading such a loving congregation. I give glory to God alone for the great things he has done in and through and for me and the congregation in the last sixteen years of life and ministry.