I Timothy 1:18, 19a

I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. 

As I was driving home after a great weekend of snowboarding with the senior high students (everyone else was skiing), I was listening to sports talk.  The broadcaster was talking about Michael Jordan, one, if not the greatest basketball player of all time. They were talking about Jordan’s play and how Jordan said that despite his athletic ability when he was younger, he was able to dunk from the free-throw line, he was a much better player when her was older and not as athletic. 

Jordan said when he was young he could jump high and run fast and he with his athleticism could do anything. It wasn’t until he “lost a step” and could no longer rely strictly on his pure athleticism, that he became one of the games greatest players including winning 6 Championships. What changed? How he played the game. Without being able to rely strictly on himself being the most athletic person on the court he relied more on his knowledge of the game. He went on to say that he became a better shooter, passer, rebounder and team player the older he got, because he realized that it wasn’t just about him being the best, but rather being the best as part of a team. 

I mention this because as I was listening to this I thought, how true that was for the weekend I spent away with the Sr. High skiing. For many years, despite having other leaders, I felt as though I had to do everything. I had to try to keep up with the best skiers, while taking care of those who don’t ski as well. I would have been the one waking everyone up and getting breakfast started, we eat hot breakfast not cereal, and upon returning to camp, I would have been the one who made sure dinner was started and cleaned up. I too would have tried to stay up the entire time to talk with students and simply hang out. Making for a very long and exhausting weekend.

However this trip was different. I didn’t buy the groceries. I did very little cooking. I had no notion of trying to keep up with the best skiers, as I am not very good and have the black eye from the mountain to prove it. I also didn’t have to teach those who didn’t ski as well how to ski. Other leaders on the trip did all of that.  In fact, when we got back to the cabin we had appetizers waiting for us, which was amazing, and something that I never could have done while being on the mountain with the students. It helped that we had a great group of students, but the leadership help provide an environment for the best of our students to come out.

These two stories aren’t just two isolated events? This is the story of our lives, careers, parenting, friendships and even our church. Paul writes his first letter to Timothy, as he is getting older in his ministry. Paul is unable to do the things that he used to do, not only because of age, but because his situation, being in prison.  Because of that he realizes that he can no longer continue to do ministry the way he had done it when he was younger, and start training and teaching others who are much younger than him, like Timothy, to continue the work that Christ started in him. In doing so, Paul continues Christ ministry to the next generation of leaders. 

Often times in the church, we think we have to do it all. We continue to do things the same way for years, because we don’t have the same energy we had when we were younger to create something new, so we do what we know. As we get older, we need to realize that we can’t simply rely on our energy and eagerness to make things happen, we need to rely on others, even those who we might not typically think about.  

For me as I walked into this ski trip I had notes from previous trips and two people, one works with the youth and the other who had been on the ski trip before to help make plans and pull the trip together. However our other leader gratefully fell into my lap, weeks before we left. Little did I know before a fateful conversation that our other leader had taught cooking with high school students, had a ministry of hospitality and still enjoys working with senior high students. Our students had a great time on the trip, it wasn’t because of me, I wish it was, but because of the team that came together for the same purpose.

The same is true for the church. As we move forward in ministry together we need to realize that we are in it together. If we aren’t plugged in maybe we need to stop waiting for someone to ask and simply volunteer. If we are involved, maybe we need to start looking for those who aren’t in our circle of connections to find people who are waiting to be asked. We all need to do our part to advance the gospel, if we want to be great, if we want to see the church to continue to grow and reach out into the world, we need so stop doing things all by ourselves, or relying on others to do it for us, and start working together. If we are willing to work together as one church we can become the church that God has called us to be. 

In Christ,
FRANK

Joseph [and Mary] went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David… While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ~ Luke 2:4,6

I can remember a little over 4 years ago our excitement as we anticipated the birth of our daughter Savannah. We would talk about what she was going to look like. We talked about if she would be a boy or a girl, we didn’t find out until she was born. (We both were hoping for a girl). There was a sense of excitement that came along with having a child, but there was also fear.  

We had already had Trey and we were very comfortable in our lives. A second baby was going to change our comfort level. We were just starting to get 7-8 hours a sleep again, but that was going to change. Trey had been the center or our lives for the previous 2 years and that was going to change for him. As parents, we were going to go from two-on-one to man-to-man defense. Despite the fears and the uncertainty that we faced, we also had much joy.  

As Becca’s due date came closer so did uncomfortable nights. The excitement of the day that we would meet our child grew and grew, just like a little child waiting for Christmas, but the day the doctor guessed that Savannah would be born came and went, and she didn’t come. It would be like telling a child that Christmas is on December 25 only to wake up on the 25 and be told you will have to wait another day or two. The excitement of waiting slowly started to fade and the discomfort for Becca continued. As one day turned into two and two into a week, we wondered if this little person inside Becca was ever going to come out. As we passed the 10 days late point, the joy of waiting had all but disappeared. We just wanted the baby to come out so we could meet her. Because we were done waiting, we tried all of the old wives tails you could think of, running, walking, cleaning, walking up stairs, we even started going to certain restaurants that had labor inducing salads or pizza.  Nothing worked. As we were approaching 14 days late, our doctor said that we would have to induce if she didn’t come on the 14^th day. 

On day 13 with no signs of labor we had all but given up on Savannah coming on her own and started to prepare for induction the next day. It was that night that Becca went into labor. Savannah came the next day and all of the discomfort and pain that Becca had gone through seem to fade with the joy that Savannah’s birth brought us. 

Often in our lives we don’t like to wait. We want things to hurry and get here. We are so ready for the end to arrive that we forget to enjoy the journey along the way. With just one week left until we celebrate Christmas, it won’t be to long before stores forget about Christmas and point us to Valentine’s Day. Let’s us not rush through Advent, let us enjoy what time we have left as we anticipate with great joy the coming of our savior. Let us enjoy time with our family and friends and truly savor the moment, and not just rush through the motions. Because if we take a step back and take in our surroundings, who knows where joy might come this Christmas season?

In 2 Chronicles 20, on the verge of war we read, “After consulting the people [The Israelites], Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

Like the Israelites, we often have to be reminded to give thanks to God. When I think about it, I wonder if we forget to give thanks because we take God’s love for granted because it endures forever, it is always there, and it doesn’t cost us anything.

While I was in seminary I purchased my first car on my own.  It was not a fancy car, a 1996 Ford Explorer, but it was mine. I had worked hard for it and because of that I took care of it.  I took care of it because I knew how much I had worked to get it. I knew how much it would cost to replace it. I never had the luxury of taking it for granted because from day one I had problems with it. Including dropping the transmission in it the first week I owned it… luckily I had a warranty. Every time I got in it and it started, I was grateful for a car that I could use. When things cost us something or they are unreliable we tend to not take them for granted. However, when things always work or they are always there, we tend to do the opposite. It happens with cars, employees, co-workers, our jobs, our health, our significant other, and yes-even God. 

Often times in our lives we spend so much time dealing with the chaos and brokenness, that we sometimes neglect the things that deserve the most attention.  It really becomes apparent over the holidays. During the holidays, not in the normal chaotic week, we bring out our “good” dishes.  We unbox the real silver and use the nice place settings. Three or four times a year we use the “good” stuff, the rest of the time we use the not so “good” stuff. Why is it that the people we eat dinner with every day, those we care about the most, only get our “best” stuff once in a while?  The answer seems to be that most days we are dealing with chaos and when we get home all we have to give those who are closest to us, those who are always there, those who love us the most, are the leftovers. 

For some of us the same might be said about our relationship with God.  We know God is always going to be there. We know that God is always going to love us. It is because of that we often find ourselves taking God for granted and only giving God our “Best” a fraction of the time. 

So here is what I am proposing…What if this Advent we switched the paradigm?  What if every day during Advent we used our “good” dishes every day with the ones we love. What if we give our best energy to our families and friends and not just the leftovers?  And what if we make God the true reason for this season?

I propose that this can be accomplished in three simple steps. 

1. Start your morning with prayer. Set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier than usual. Spend time with God. Even if you are struggling. Even if you are dreading facing the day. Say, “Hello.  Good morning God. Please be with me today and guide my decisions in every way.”

2. Pause before responding. Holidays often make us frantic and words may at times escape us before thoughtful concern. I do not know what your family is like but when mine gets together teasing sometimes ensues. It is meant out of a comfortable feeling with each other but things quickly escalate when outdoing one another becomes the game. I suggest a pause and a gentle laugh. Let your words be true and sometimes the best way to do that is to be silent.

3. Most importantly, really look at your loved ones. I am not talking about a creepy stare that will make others wonder what you are doing. As your kids are playing, as your sitting around the table, take a theoretical step back and observe the simple beauty that is sometimes hard to recognize.

This holiday season let’s not simply give God one or two days of thanks, but every day. Let’s make every day a day that we say thank you to God, because in the chaos of our lives one thing is for certain, “God’s love endures for ever,” and that is something we should never take for granted. What is stopping us from giving our best to the most important things in our lives every day? Only us. 

Since Becca and I got married we have moved eight times. This is a lot since before we got married I hadn’t moved since I was 5 years old, not including college and seminary. Most of our eight moves occurred before we had children, but Trey, our oldest, moving to Arizona makes it his 3rd move in 6 years. With our last four moves we changed our home address but everything else stayed the same…same phone number, same doctors, same schools, same friends, same restaurants and same church. If we had a late meeting we knew our dinner options.  If one of our kids got hurt we knew where to take them. So when God called us to Pinnacle it was the first time in 9 years that everything around us changed. We could no longer take for granted the things we had for so many years.

As I wonder where to find a good dentist, or doctor for our children. As we drive around trying to find the best Mexican restaurant and find a pizza place that delivers every day is a new adventure. As I reflect back on my first week at Pinnacle I wonder how many people find themselves comfortable with their faith? How many people have become so comfortable with their faith and their routine of “church” that we start taking it for granted and we stop seeking new faith adventures? We find ourselves sitting in the same pew, talking to the same people, doing (or not doing) the same things we have always done. Why, because it is comfortable.

But being a Christian isn’t always about comfort; it is about loving and being loved. Despite leaving everything we had known, when we got to Pinnacle there was something very familiar waiting for us here…Love. We have been showed love by those who helped us purchase our house, to those who endured longer than normal meetings to educate me and to answer my question. I felt love from those children who participated in the Children’s Sabbath to the Jr. and Sr. High Youth at our first meeting together. I have especially felt love by those who have checked in me about how my children are transitioning to life in Arizona. In everything I have done this week I felt God’s love from God’s people here at Pinnacle. 

I know that the longer that I am here the more comfortable with things I will get. I will find a doctor and the best place to eat Mexican food. The pizza places I currently have on speed dial from California, will switch over to Barros. My hope is that despite being comfortable with our surroundings, we will never get to comfortable with our faith. That Pinnacle will never forget how important it is to love and be loved, and not just those around us but those beyond the entrance of Pima or Happy Valley. So thank you for the love that you have shown me during my first week here at Pinnacle and I look forward to being apart of this church as we share that love with the rest of the world.

In Christ,
FRANK