Identity, Mission, Prayer, Spiritual Growth, Vocation
John Beeson
God's Special Calling on Your Life

My heart was still beating fast from the rush of adrenaline from speaking to the crowd of several hundred teens. I stepped off the stage on that hot May night and an older man put his hand on my shoulder. “God has a calling on your life, son. You are going to bring revival to your generation.” I was eighteen years old.

The words churned in my heart and mind for many years. Sometimes they were an encouragement. Sometimes they were a burden. They were always aspirational: how amazing would it be to be part of leading revival?

God's Special Calling on Your Life
Recommendations, Culture, Parenting, Wisdom
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. The class divide over screen time: O. Alan Noble notes that children in lower class households spend twice as much time per day on screens. He explains the five reasons why he believes this is the cases. For instance, “The reality is that the less income you have, the less resources you have to care for your children. This includes having less income to spend on childcare, but also less emotional and mental bandwidth to care for your children because of the burdens poverty places upon you.”

  2. Life will not get easier: Stephen Witmer begins, “There’s a lie we all want to believe — even against all available evidence. It trades on our God-given capacity for hope. It tempts even those with impeccable theology.

This Week's Recommendations
Easter, Death, Identity, Suffering
John Beeson
Behold, the Suffering Servant

Isaiah’s prophetic word to Israel contains four Servant Songs. You are probably familiar with the fourth of these, which you may well have read during Holy Week as we considered Christ’s sacrifice for us. As Christians we hold onto the incongruent truths that Christ was exalted and despised. But we sometimes miss the seemingly paradox that the Servant Songs refer to Jesus and us. What is true of Christ is true of us.

Behold, the Suffering Servant
Death, Easter, Heaven
John Beeson
The Resurrection of Jesus: An Eyewitness Account

Happy Easter!

Today we consider the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. What follows is a compilation of the eyewitness resurrection accounts of Jesus Christ as told by the authors of the gospels. They have been edited together to maintain the flow of the narrative and do not include Jesus’ multiple appearances following his resurrection. The accounts are framed by Paul’s extended reflection on the importance of the resurrection.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

The Resurrection of Jesus: An Eyewitness Account
Recommendations, Easter, Death, Heaven, Nature
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Eagles, fowl, and a Savior with wings: Kevin Burrell’s post makes my heart sing, “And a living, risen savior is still our covering today, to all those who by faith trust in his wings. In fact, we are clothed in his righteousness. He is oh-so willing to gather us under his wings.”

  2. Even to death: Jamaal Williams invites us to consider Jesus at the Mount of Olives, “Jesus models what it looks like to stumble into the presence of God—hurting but hopeful.”

This Week's Recommendations

Church

, ,

Thank You, Great Church Members

, ,
Thank You, Great Church Members

Presidents age poorly. This post on U.S. presidents before and after their terms reveals what we all know. The weight of running a country impacts you. Take a look at George HW Bush after just four years. Barack Obama had nary a grey hair when he entered office. When he left, he had a lot more salt than pepper.

Leadership isn’t easy. We pastors are called to keep watch over the sheep, prepared to give an account to God for their care. That is a heavy responsibility. Many (my former self included) aspire to leadership, not recognizing the burden that comes with caring for people. Many people are hard to lead. They disengage, they wander, they chafe at correction, and they demand that their preferences are met.

Not all church members are hard to lead, though. Some of you make leading easy. I treasure you.

The author of Hebrews has an interesting word to the church he is writing to. He says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb 13:17). Did you catch that last part, “Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you”?

To whom is that comment directed? I’ve always read it as an encouragement to leaders to lead with joy and not groaning or grumbling. I think that’s true. We must lay our anxieties and frustrations as leaders before God and let him carry them. The flock is God’s, not ours, and so we must trust him with those who are difficult. To have our joy sapped by challenging congregants is to reveal the idol of control in our hearts. I have been and continue to be convicted by these words.

I recently heard this preached as an admonition to congregants as well. That had me returning to the text, and sure enough. It’s right there. “Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb 13:17).

The more I read it, the more I was convinced: this admonition is primarily to congregants.

,

Drag Out Your Dumpsters

,
Drag Out Your Dumpsters

Along the route from my house to the church is an undeveloped intersection on three of its four corners. Two medium-trafficked two-lane roads converge (Camino de Oeste and Linda Vista for those local Tucsonans) at a stop sign. A few months ago, inexplicably, two massive forty-yard dumpsters showed up on one of the undeveloped corners. They sat empty for a few days, and then some observant neighbors, likely determining that the dumpster didn’t have another purpose, dumped a ragged armchair in the dumpster.

The proverbial floodgates opened. Old TV sets, broken dressers, bikes, and couches filled the two dumpsters to overflowing. Over the next two months, the dumpsters were emptied multiple times and then quickly filled. I still have no idea what the intent of the dumpster was. But all it took was putting the dumpster out to attract untold tons of junk to emerge from Northwest Tucson.

I think we all ought to drag metaphorical dumpsters out to the intersection of our hearts with others.

How do we put our dumpsters at the intersection of our hearts?

To put out dumpsters at the intersection of your heart and others begins by creating space for them.

, , ,

6 Ways a Pastor Should Respond to a Departing Congregant

, , ,
6 Ways a Pastor Should Respond to a Departing Congregant

I sat across the room from the couple, trying to slow down my mind and open my heart to the criticism they were leveling at me. They had been offended by my sermon and had reacted on Facebook, indicating they were leaving the church. I reached out privately and asked if we could meet to talk. They agreed to do so. When we met, he was relatively calm, but she was very upset and I knew that I needed to hold my own emotions in check to be able to listen to the heart of what she was saying and respond in love, not hurt. As I had prayed to prepare for the meeting I genuinely didn’t think I was going to be able to ask for forgiveness for anything as I didn’t think I had done anything wrong. But in the midst of the meeting God opened my heart to see an area of blindness. I was able to ask and receive their forgiveness for the way this blind spot had injured them. I then asked if they would be willing to ask for forgiveness for their slander. They were willing to do so and I forgave them.

These are not the meetings that you anticipate when you sign up to be a pastor, but there are few moments more important in your ministry than these tense conversations.

Over the course of this series, I’ve reflected on a congregant’s responsibility, but pastors and leaders bear a responsibility to help congregants navigate departures well.

One friend wisely said, “I think the pastor needs to do his part in hearing the discord, attempt to reconcile, and when reconciliation is not the solution for continued membership, to ensure a good relocation.” She’s right. Here are six ways a leader should respond to those who are leaving:

, ,

I’ve Missed You

, ,
I’ve Missed You

Life comes at us fast. How do our calendars get so full? Birthdays and conferences and vacations stack up. We miss church one week, and that turns into two, which turns to a month. Ever so sneakily, new rhythms have crept in and getting to church feels like a challenge.

“How much is it really hurting my spiritual life, anyway?” you wonder. “I still read the Bible. I listen to sermons online sometimes.”

I’m so glad that you are pursuing God on your own. But your spiritual life isn’t intended to be lived out alone. It’s not even designed to be lived out with just you and your family. Part of God’s purposes for you are only found in the context of the gathered family of God.

What if the church is missing you, not just for you to fill a chair, but for the gifts that you bring? What if the church isn’t whole without you?

, ,

4 Questions to Ask When You Shop for a Church

, ,
4 Questions to Ask When You Shop for a Church

After Angel and I were married, we moved to Phoenix, a town new to both of us. We began a several-month-long journey of finding a church that would be repeated again in two-and-a-half years when we moved to New Jersey. I have vivid memories of both church shopping experiences: of the sweet little Anglican church in Phoenix where we were the youngest in attendance by at least four decades and mobbed afterward by kindly congregants who begged us to stay for coffee and cookies; of the 1,000 square foot church on the Jersey shore where our friends and we doubled the size of the congregation and the accompaniment was played by means of a 1980s style boom box which the pastor turned around to push the button at the beginning and end of every song.

It wasn’t long ago that the idea of having more than one church in your lifetime would have been completely foreign. Virtually the entire world died where they were born and rarely left their hometown.[i] In contrast, the average US citizen today is expected to move 11.4 times in his or her lifetime.[ii] Even if you never leave a church for another reason, you will most likely look for a church roughly a dozen times in your life.

Shopping Well

No one likes to church shop.[iii] I certainly hope you don’t enjoy church shopping. Church shopping is a dangerous activity. By its very nature, it places the shopper in the position of being an observer and a critic and not a participant and member. The faster you can shift from critic to member, the healthier it will be for you spiritually and the healthier it will be for the body of Christ.

And yet, sometimes it is necessary. When you look for a church, here are four questions you should ask.

, , , ,

Always Reforming

, , , ,
Always Reforming

Ecclesia semper reformanda est: “The church must always be reformed.” It is the unofficial motto of the Protestant church. This week we celebrate not only Halloween, but the start of the Reformation. In celebrating the Reformation, we don’t merely look back at an event that took place 500 years ago, but consider the spirit of reformation that we pray remains in us as followers of Jesus Christ.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his document, the 95 Theses, to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg. For that reason, October 31st is still celebrated as Reformation Day by Protestants. The 95 Theses were Luther’s attempt to exhort the Roman Catholic Church to submit itself to the teachings of Scripture and re-align its practices with God’s revealed truth.

, , , ,

6 Things You Should Do Before You Leave Your Church

, , , ,
6 Things You Should Do Before You Leave Your Church

So, you’ve decided to leave your church: you’re moving, or you’ve come to a doctrinal impasse, or there has been conflict that you’ve tried to navigate, but the church has been unwilling to biblically walk through a peacemaking process to bring about reconciliation.

As a pastor, every person who leaves the church hurts. As a pastor of ten years, there have been hundreds that have left the churches I’ve served at and I can only think of a very small handful that I was glad to see go. Every goodbye is painful.

But, as we discussed last week, there are times to say goodbye (although a lot fewer than we are encultured to believe). When you say goodbye, say goodbye well. Sadly, in today’s culture, most of us say goodbye very poorly (usually by not saying goodbye at all, just slipping away). We’re called to say goodbye in a harder, but better, way.

, , , ,

Disney Shirts and Being Part of Something Big

, , , ,
Disney Shirts and Being Part of Something Big

My daughter’s wish for her senior-year fall break was to go to Disneyland. Once we reserved our hotel, bought tickets for Disneyland, and arranged our schedules, I thought the planning was over. It was not. Camille (my daughter) and Angel (my wife) began spending quite a bit of time perusing Disney apparel online. It turns out we weren’t just going to show up at Disneyland in any old outfit, we were going in style. And we were going to match.

I was handed my Mickey Mouse shirt as we packed and told this was what I would wear (I would be matching our son, Soren). Camille and Angel, meanwhile, wore matching Minnie ears and red tank tops. It seemed a little over-the-top to me, but I’ll do anything for my family. On the day of our Disney adventure, we woke up early, got into the virtual queue for the Star Wars ride (which happened to be the best ride at the park—don’t miss it!), and strode out of our hotel down Disney Way. It was then I began to notice something: we were not alone. We passed group after group in matching outfits. “Ahhhh,” I thought, “this is what people do!”

The phenomenon is startling. No less than half of those at the park were decked out in Disney paraphernalia, and most of those who are wearing Disney gear are doing so in coordination with those they came with. On top of shelling out a few hundred dollars to enter the immersive world of Disneyland, people pay Disney more money to buy their shirts, ears, and princess dresses to show just how much they love Disney.

And, of course, the spending doesn’t stop there. There are Disney pins, lightsabers, and hats (the one with Donald Duck’s bill doubling for the cap bill had me smiling) to be procured. Disney turns the apathetic into consumers, consumers into fans, and fans into ambassadors.

How? And why are we all too willing to follow along?

, , , , ,

10 Reasons Why You Might Leave Your Church

, , , , ,
10 Reasons Why You Might Leave Your Church

It’s that time of year, when transitions happen: seasons close and new seasons begin. Maybe you’re a student who just headed off to college. Maybe you got a new job. Maybe your employer transitioned you. Those are some of the many natural reasons that you might have just left or might be leaving your church in the coming weeks.

Maybe you’ve left or are planning on leaving your church for entirely different reasons, though. Maybe your pastor is in a rut. Maybe the worship grates on you. Maybe you feel like you just don’t know anyone there any longer. Maybe you were injured by someone at the church and you tense up at the awkwardness of returning. Maybe you feel like you’re not getting spiritually fed there any longer. Maybe you are frustrated with how your church has handled Covid-19.

In this four-part series we will explore appropriate reasons for leaving a church, how to leave a church, how to choose a church, and how to join a church.

Let’s explore some of the most common reasons[i] people leave the church and reflect whether they are appropriate or not.

1) I feel disconnected

“The church doesn’t feel like home any longer. My friends have left and I feel like I’m at someone else’s church when I arrive.”

It’s not appropriate to leave: losing friends is hard, but we shouldn’t leave a church because our friends have left. Part of the joy of the church is that God brings together strangers into community. Do the hard work of starting a new small group or serving in a new ministry and God will surely bring about new relationships.

Sign up to get The Bee Hive delivered to your inbox and receive a free 50 Books That Changed My Life (and Might Change Yours, Too) download!