Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost: Will All Believer's Be "Left Behind" When Christ Returns?

This Sunday's Scripture Readings

Eschatology - The part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.

Two of the readings this Sunday deal with eschatology. The reading from 1 Thessalonians 4 has been the main scripture that many have used to support a "rapture" where believers will suddenly be caught up to meet the Lord in the sky. However we run into problems when we try to make literal sense of out of passages that use word pictures to describe something that we cannot fully grasp. New Testament theologian N.T. Wright likens it to trying to describe the color red to a blind person.

One of the most popular beliefs about the end times held by American evangelicals is in a rapture which will take place before a great tribulation and apocalypse. The popular book and movie series entitled, "Left Behind" is based on that premise. However, there are those, myself included, that tend to think that all believers will be left behind when Christ returns. That is because of what we see in the final part of the Bible and what we pray for in the Lord's prayer (Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on EARTH as it is in heaven) is a joining of heaven and earth. All things will be renewed and the glory of the Lord will fill the renewed creation. Take a look at this interview with N.T. Wright from ABC Nightline where he says that those who believe in a "rapture" and that our final destination is heaven (as a spiritual sky place) have got it wrong.

Regardless of what our end time viewpoints may be, I doubt if Paul's main point in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 was intended to tell us that we will be raptured up to live with the Lord in the clouds for eternity. He is talking about Christian hope! What is that hope? If we back up to verse 14 of the same chapter, we will see it. Our hope is based in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Put that together with the verses that follow and we have the mystery of our faith which we proclaim in worship and communion: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

When we gather for worship Christ is with us. We receive Him and know His presence by faith. But when we say He is present, we don't just mean that He is present because we are thinking about Him. He is present in a real way. All of Christ, including the reality of His death, resurrection, and second coming are with us. This is especially true when we come to the Lord's table in faith with thanksgiving. His death is brought to the present. His sacrifice to cleanse us from sin and to destroy our death is not just a historical event that we remember with strong emotion. The reality of it is brought to us in the now! His resurrection is also brought to us now. We are restored and regenerated by the reality of Christ's resurrection. And finally, as hard as this is to fathom, I believe we receive a taste of our future at the Lord's table. The reality of His coming and the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9) is on our tongues when we take the communion elements in faith. We are in communion with Christ in His death, resurrection, and coming. It is not just something we think about. It is all made reality in the present by faith.

Paul's point in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 is comfort. Our circumstances will change. Death will indeed touch all of us in some way. But suffering and death are not the ultimate reality. What is ultimately real is God and His kingdom. We experience it when we experience the real presence of Christ in our worship and communion. Our God saves! Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again! Have hope and take comfort!

Check out this video of the Charlie Hall song that proclaims the MYSTERY of our faith.

All Saints

This Sunday's Readings

Two of my favorite services of the year are All Saints and Ash Wednesday. You can't get through either of these services without coming face to face with the reality of death. It's not that I have a morbid fascination with death or anything. It is just that life cannot be fully lived in the way it ought without a reminder that at some point we will all die. In fact life is a series of "deaths" if you think about it. Often one thing must be sacrificed in order to experience another. And of course we, as Christians, understand that even to enter the Kingdom of God, we must put to death our old self in order to experience new life. That is why we practice the sacrament of baptism.

As we prepare for our Sunday celebration of All Saints Day, take a look at this video by Francis Chan. He makes a good point with this simple illustration. Although I would not agree with Chan's assertion that eternity will be spent in some other spiritual place (heaven) but rather here in the new heavens AND earth that we see portrayed at the end of Revelation, his overall point is good.

What Are You Living For? (Video Link)

Finally, All Saints Sunday is one of my favorite because it provides a clear picture of how we are still so close with our loved ones who have died in the faith. When we worship here on earth, we are joining with those who have gone before and are doing the same thing in such a more vivid way (in high definition if you will). I would encourage you to keep those dear "saints" close in your mind and hearts as we worship, and especially as we come to the table this Sunday. As we experience the presence of Christ, we will also experience their presence with us as we are, together, the communion of Saints!

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost: The Pearl of Great Value

Sunday's Lectionary Passages

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46 (NRSV)

The Apostle Paul experienced this wisdom of Jesus first hand. In his letter to the Philippians, he rattles off a list of all the things that he used to treasure; his race, culture, religion, status and accomplishments. This passage echoes the above parable.

4 even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.
Philippians 3: 4-8 (NRSV)

As we prepare for worship this Sunday, let's reflect on what we treasure. Let's not just reflect on the obvious things that may interfere with our intimacy with Christ, but also on those things that are much more subtle. Examine the things that are good in your life, the things that we might even consider godly, and even our desires to minister and serve. Why do we treasure these things? Is what we truly treasure of eternal value? All other treasures will turn out to be fools gold and will disappoint and leave us empty in the long run.

May our times of worship, both corporate and personal, be times where we come to know more deeply the true pearl of great value and as a result be willing to let go of all else.

The song Lay It Down by Matt Maher is a good reflection on this subject. The lyrics are below.

Verse 1
Ev'rything I am
Ev'rything I long to be
I lay it down at Your feet

Chorus 1
I lay it down
I lay it down
I lay it down at Your feet

(BRIDGE)
Oh pearl of greatest price
No act of sacrifice
Can match the gift of life
I find within Your gaze
Oh what a sweet exchange
I die to rise again
Lifted up from the grave
Into Your hands of grace

Chorus 2
I lay it down
Lay it down
Lay it down at Your feet

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Hunger

This Sunday's Lectionary Passages

As is often the case, I like to read books that my daughter has recently read. On her recommendation, I recently finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. This is a fantastic "young adult" fiction series that is being devoured by adults of all ages, teens, and older children alike. The movie adaptation of the first book is set for a March 2012 release. The stories are frightfully violent but I found them to be altogether much more terrifying on another level. The story is pretty much an allegory about our global society. It is layered with all sorts of meanings. At the center of the story is the theme of hunger and bread, the haves and have nots, and the powerful and those on the margins. It is set in the post apocalyptic empire known as Panem (from the latin word for bread). One of the main characters, who is sort of a Christ figure, is Peeta (sounds like Pita), the boy with the bread. The central conflict is between "The Capitol" (The seat of power in Panem) and "District 13," the rebels who begin an armed revolution to bring down the Capitol. Caught in the middle of this conflict are the poor marginalized masses who are simply trying to find their daily bread. The Capitol and District 13 seem to represent two modern day "Caesars" with the Capitol representing Western libertarian free market capitalism and District 13 representing Marxist socialism.

Our new testament lectionary passage this week is Philippians 1:21-30. In this passage Paul speaks of "fighting together for the faith of the gospel." What is at the center of that faith? It is that Jesus Christ is the crucified and risen Messiah who IS LORD! When Paul wrote this he was in prison and facing possible execution by another lord; Caesar and his empire. Some things never change. This world still has its empires and "Caesars." As followers of Christ we bow down to one Lord. We must find our hope, which is the only sure hope, in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. But when we begin to bow to Jesus alone and live as citizens of God's kingdom, it will almost inevitably put us at odds with "Caesar." We will find ourselves seriously swimming upstream.

One way that Western Christians have avoided this painful road, is by thinking of Jesus as Lord when it comes to matters of the soul, but deferring to Caesar when it comes to matters of the body. After all, isn't the task of Caesar to care for the bodies under his charge? Isn't it Caesar's task to make sure that people have their daily bread and the job of Christ's Body to take care of people's souls? In other words let the church take care of souls and let the government take care of the body.

There are two problems with that way of thinking. First, our "Caesar systems" have pretty much failed at the task of ensuring that everyone has their daily bread. In fact the endless tug of war between left and right is simply over the best way to accomplish the task. Of course government has a role and responsibility in this area, no doubt, but on the whole our modern day Caesars and their systems continue to fail at the task. Secondly, we slice the Gospel down the middle and throw away half of it when the church leaves the task of taking care of bodies completely to Caesar. The idea that the Gospel is only a spiritual message that saves souls for a disembodied heaven when they die is not grounded in good biblical theology.

God lovingly created all of this world including our physical bodies, our hungers, and the physical world by which we can rightly satisfy our hungers. It was created for our enjoyment. Things were in balance. There was sustainability and enough for all. Enter sin and the fall and we get self centeredness and greed. As a result we get the consequences of scarcity and poverty.

Salvation then is about undoing ALL of the effects of sin and not just spiritual effects. The good news is not just meant to satisfy spiritual hunger, but physical as well. God has always been in the business of salvation of body and soul. It just so happens that our Old Testament lectionary passage this week is a case in point. Jesus announced his ministry by reading from the prophet Isaiah these words:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.

Now we could spiritualize what Jesus meant by "the poor" all we want but it did not seem as though the early church did. Their gospel was wasn't chopped in half. Take a look at what is described in Acts.

"All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." (2:44-45) "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.... There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need." (3:32; 34-35)

I think these early believers understood something very important. Their Lord was Jesus Christ, the bread that came down from heaven. His kingdom was not of this earth where it is about "me and mine." The kingdom of God is about an expansive compassion that embraces both the haves and the have nots and teaches us that it is not about "me and mine." It is a love that it is only fully realized when it is shared in real physical ways. It is about a Messiah who gave his physical body as a sacrifice in order to bring us into the life and love that is found in the Trinity (a perfect community of sufficiency). It is about us giving up what is "ours" (it really isn't ours to begin with), in order that good news of God's compassion is brought to life in real flesh and blood ways. When that happens, the lines between the haves and the have nots, the powerful and the powerless are erased because the haves voluntarily become poor to share with others and the powerful give up their power by cutting any strings that might be attached to their compassion. The Gospel evens the playing field and paves the way for friendship and reconciliation.

We must admit that this is not the kind of Gospel we readily see being proclaimed in word and deed in our culture of individualism. We've exchanged the whole Gospel for lopped off version that is weak. How might we "preach the good news to the poor?" Before we are quick to answer that question with pat answers, I think we need to be reminded of the exhortation of James.

¹⁵ If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. James 2:15-17 (NASB)

I recently read Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Father Greg Boyle. In this book he made a statement that has stuck with me. He said that if we are going to begin to have true compassion for people, we must learn to stand in awe of the burden the poor must carry and stop judging them for the way in which they carry their burden. Perhaps when we stand in judgment over the way the poor carry their burden it allows us to back away from the Gospel. It keeps us from simply being obedient when it comes to following marching orders from our Lord about clothing and feeding. When we stop judging, we can move from callous indifference to sorrow, and then on to empathy, and finally to friendship, compassion, and communion.

What might this look like today? In other words, how can we, as Paul exhorts, live a lifestyle that is worthy of the gospel (Phil. 1:27)?

The more I think about this, the more I am convinced that there is no way except for radical changes in the way in which we live and interact with each other. But to live under the Lordship of Christ is often to reject the ways in which we have bought into and grown comfortable with business as usual.

The next time, we sing about the Lordship of Jesus, let's begin to think about the implications of such a truth. Let's begin to live in ways that reject the Caesar narratives that divide the Body of Christ and keep us from truly proclaiming the whole Gospel in word and deed. That is when our hungers will begin to be satisfied.

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: More Dialogue and Less Debate

This Sunday's Lectionary Readings

I was watching a video by John Michael Talbot and was struck by a couple of things he said.

"I think there is too much debate going on, we need more dialogue."

"There needs to be dialogue and even difference, but we don't want that difference to lapse into division."

Keep those two quotes in mind as you read Romans 14:1-12 (our New Testament reading for this Sunday). Then reflect on the questions that follow.

1 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him judge whether they are right or wrong. And with the Lord’s help, they will do what is right and will receive his approval.

5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. 6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.

10 So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say,

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.’”

12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.

Reflection Questions

1. How has worship become a "war" in many churches? How could that war be avoided?

2. How can corporate worship that focuses on the Lordship of Christ, promote unity in the Body of Christ?

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: A New Look

Sunday's Lectionary Readings

There is an old picture hanging in my office by my bookshelf. It is a picture of me with my family taken about six or seven years ago. I probably should take it down now because we all look quite different. But I think I enjoy the occasional double take that people do when they happen to catch a glimpse of it while they are on their way back to Pastor Kevin's office. Recently someone took a look at it, and then at me sitting at my desk, and then back at the picture, and then back at me and asked, "Is that you?" I jokingly I gave my standard response, "Yea, that was me when I looked like a Republican." That was me before my hair got shaggy and I let the stubble on my face get out of control. Pastor Kevin often jokes that I take being transformed into the likeness of Jesus literally! Actually, it has nothing to do with trying to look like Jesus and everything with me not liking to shave or cut my hair very often. The fact that my wife tends to like the scruffier me is the only excuse I need to sport this look.

Sporting a look. Style makeovers. New clothing. That is where we will focus this Sunday. Paul tells us, "The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.... clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 13:12 and 14 (NLT)

I often like to pray from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. In the service of morning prayer, there is a prayer petition that says:

Clothe your ministers with righteousness;

Let your people sing with joy.

Every time I pray this prayer, I direct it toward the upcoming Sunday and our worship services. I remember one of the "brothers" at the monastery where we hold our Monastic Retreat telling us that they put on their white robes when they enter the chapel for prayer service as a visual reminder of this very thing. They are covered in the righteousness of Christ as they go to do their work of prayer and intercession.

As worship leaders, we too are ministers. We need to clothe ourselves in the presence of Christ as we do the work of prayer and worship in song. It is more important to prepare ourselves spiritually for the task than to prepare musically (although we need to spend a good deal of time doing that as well). Yes, we need to plead the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, but we also need to begin to throw off known unrighteousness like dirty clothes. We then need to put on brand new attitudes that are shared with Jesus Himself. We can then do our work with humility and compassion. We want people to see Christ and not us. That is when we will sing with joy!

How do you clothe yourself with Christ when you are tasked with the responsibility of leading God's people in worship?

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: Betito

Sunday's Lectionary Passages

Worship that is only designed for our comfort and entertainment isn't worship at all. When we do the true work of worship and prayer together, it somehow opens up new windows into the heart of God. We find ourselves standing with our feet wet in a vast ocean before us. That ocean is the compassion and love of God. And we find that it is way too big for just each of us, for our own church, denomination, culture, race, or country. It doesn't just extend to Christians, but to people of all religions, and even to those who have no religion. In fact it is often those who we tend to think are at the margins of the water who are really the ones engulfed in the ocean. And those of us who ignore or look down upon those who we think could not possibly be anywhere near the water, are really the ones who are standing high and dry on the shore, stranded on an island of our own religious ideas and notions.

I hope that you are able to listen to the following audio clip about a boy named Betito. It is from the book Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. It is by Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries. Listen to this clip with this passage in the background.

⁹ Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. ¹⁰ Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. ¹¹ Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. ¹² Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. ¹³ When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. ¹⁵ Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

¹⁷ Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. ¹⁸ Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

¹⁹ Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.

²⁰ Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”

²¹ Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. Romans 12:9-21 (NLT)

Listen to the story of Betito as told by Father Boyle.

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: Self-esteem or Christ-esteem?

Read this Sunday's Lectionary Passages

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Romans 12:2-5 (NLT)

Paul exhorts us, as Christ’s followers, to be critical thinkers. We are not to simply swallow the conventional wisdom of the day but are to examine it carefully. I think the idea of self-esteem is something we need to put under a microscope.

Isn’t self-esteem something that we are constantly told to esteem highly? Schools spend a tremendous amount of time, trying to promote self-esteem in children. Parents are paranoid of damaging it in their little ones. Popular songs teach that, “Learning to love yourself, is the greatest love of all.”

But it seems the more we have focused on self-esteem, the more insecure we all have become. Could the reason be that we are not created to focus on self? Could it be that a foundation for esteem that is built on self, might be a shaky one? Perhaps the self-esteem focus is just one symptom our hyper-individualistic paradigm that puts each one of us at the center of our own universe. If you think about it, that is a scary place to be. No wonder we all tend to be so insecure!

As followers of Christ, our identity is to be found in Him, the real Master of the universe. If that is the case, we don’t have to go around thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought and trying to get everyone to agree with a high self-appraisal in order to maintain our self-worth. We are free to be realistic about who God created each of us to be. We don’t have to be it all and do it all.

We can then take our place within the Body of Christ. We have each been given gifts to share. ALL OF THEM are important! EACH ONE OF US is equally important no matter the gifts we have to share. When we think we are more important than someone else in the Body, we do it damage. We take on roles that are better done by others or we simply ignore the importance of “lesser” roles. On the other hand, if we think our gifts and roles are less important, the Body can be harmed as well. We can tend to drop out and simply stop contributing because we feel we are not needed anyway.

One reason why I think good church worship music is so important, is that it illustrates this concept of unity and diversity. Good worship music takes an ensemble approach. Those on stage are NOT performers, but are facilitators that recognize that the full ensemble includes each member of the congregation. We are to share our individual gifts and talents in ways that contribute to the whole and encourage others to contribute what they have as well. One person will skillfully play the drums, another the bass, another the guitar or keyboard each blending with the others. Singers won’t just sing what ever they want when they want, but listen to the others, carefully harmonizing and singing dynamically. The congregation is then encouraged to sing along joining with the team. The whole becomes much greater than the each individual part.

The Body of Christ, functions the same way. It is healthy and strong when each of us simply dedicates ourselves to sharing our gifts. When everyone is fully exercising their gifts, it is not any individual that is built up, but it is Christ who is made known. Christ is esteemed!

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost: Getting Out of the Boat

Lectionary Passages

The main theme this week: Jesus saves. He's got our back. We can move forward to do what God has called us to do. Yet, there are two main obstacles that work against faith. They are fear and doubt. Last week pastor Kevin talked about our spiritual vocation and challenged us to see the needs of this world with Jesus' eyes of compassion, to stop dwelling on our lack of resources for meeting the needs (and using that as an excuse for staying on the sidelines), and to hand over what we have to Jesus so that HE can bless it and give it back to us. He is the miracle worker. We are only the facilitators of the miracles once we step out and act in faith. Yet FEAR often keeps us back. And if we take the initiative to step out and get started then the next obstacle to overcome is DOUBT. The story of Peter walking on the water well illustrates this. That is probably why this story is so well loved. We can all relate to it!

In terms of our own roles in the worship ministry, I wonder if any of us ever struggle with doubt like I do? We obviously have all overcome the initial fear of getting up in front of people to make music together, but I wonder if we sometimes wonder why we, of all people, are up there doing what we are doing. I know that there are far more qualified people to do what I do. Most Sundays I feel spiritually inadequate as well. Inside I think, "Who am I to lead all of you?" When I am up in front it can be a struggle to keep my focus where it needs to be; on Jesus! When we get our eyes on ourselves and our own inadequacies, we often respond in two ways:

1. We try to maintain our pride. We hide our insecurities and inadequacies. For instance, if we screw up on our part of the song, we might feel we have to offer an excuse that says, "I'm really not that bad." We probably are not be that bad, but none of us are perfect either. But our pride tends to tell us that we have to make others think we are, at least nearly, perfect. So when we don't live up to perfect, we may feel we have to save face. At that point our focus is no longer on Jesus and what He can do with whatever we have to offer him that day. It is totally on me and what I am able to do.

2. We are too hard on ourselves. Of course excellence requires us to be constructively self-critical. We must be able to give ourselves an honest listen to see where we can improve and what we need to work at. However, healthy criticism is not overly harsh and demeaning. Sometimes our internal voices can be way more harsh on ourselves than we ever would be toward others. We don't give ourselves any grace. Healthy criticism is about being realistic and working on what can be improved. Harsh criticism simply says, "That's the way it will always be. You will never get it right! Why even try?"

To be an excellent worship team, we must be willing to jump out of the boat! We have got to hand it to Peter. Although, he doubted himself, got his eyes off of Jesus, and ultimately failed to keep walking on the water, he at least did way more than the other 11 scaredy cats back in the boat! We can't allow our insecurities and fears (and the pride and/or negativity that goes with them) to keep us back from stretching ourselves and taking risks. Will we fail at times? Absolutely? Will Jesus be there to give us a hand when we do? For sure! And can we be Jesus to each other by praying for, and encouraging one another in ways that pull us back up on our feet to do things we never thought possible? I pray that we will!

Finally notice the result of Peter getting out of the boat. The other disciples realized who Jesus was and worshiped him. If we are not willing to risk getting out of the boat, others who sit on the sidelines, may not see what Christ is able to do. It is comforting to know that WE don't have walk on water by ourselves. If we could, then people would worship us. As worship leaders, we must be willing to display that real off balance feeling we often get when we are leading. If we aren't feeling like we are walking on water up there, we are not risking enough and we are not depending on Jesus enough! And if we are not depending on Jesus enough, then He won't get the glory. So yes, let's work hard and be ready to give Jesus our best, but let's never depend on that alone. When a service begins, we must jump over the side of the boat and begin walking by faith.