Welcome to MPC Connected! With our church family separated, we will be communicating with you throughout the week in a more intentional way, including emails from Max and Jeff, opportunities to serve others, and more. Enjoy!
Hi everyone,
Jeff here. I hope you are well. Easter is over, snow flurries just blew through, and I'm not sure what to think anymore.
Last week, I quoted from John Starke's new book The Possibility of Prayer. It's been super helpful as I think through not just my "prayer life" but my life in general. In particular I was helped by a paragraph he drew from another author, Eugene Peterson:
We perform in order to get God’s approval . . . religious or moral activity designed to save our own skin. Good behavior that is performed because someone else is looking or because God is looking. It is a life by performance, show, achievement. And of course it imprisons us because someone is always looking. It makes us into calculating people, not free people. Calculating what my actions will produce in others. What will they think of me? Do I fit into what others expect? How will God reward us? What penalties will be avoided? This is not freedom. Calculating your actions is not freedom. Freedom is coming into every moment, every situation, every room with the reality of already being loved, accepted, and approved.
Starke goes on to show the difference between a life that is driven by freedom vs. one that is driven by calculation:
A calculating existence means we live our lives making decisions, walking into every room and every meeting with a whispering voice: You’re nothing without this! What will people think of me? You cannot let them truly see you. You are forgettable. That voice is always in charge.
But a life that grasps who we are in Christ hears another voice whispering in our ear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” “You are my beloved child, in whom I’m well pleased.” “I love you.” “Enter into my joy. You’ve got nothing to prove. You’re free.” That voice is in charge because we know in our heart of hearts that what is true of Christ is true of us. The determining factor in our lives is not our past, present, and future, but Christ’s past, present, and future. That is what it means to mature in Christ: to learn to hear the voice of Christ more than any other.
Honestly, I'm not sure whether or not social distancing has increased or decreased our penchant for living in a performing, calculating way. But I've definitely noticed in my life, possibly especially as a full time "Christian worker," a temptation to want to be seen in a certain way. Honestly, when this pandemic started, and there was a ton of confusion about what the church should do, I realized that I was starting to be driven by the desire to be seen as someone who was making wise decisions for the church, rather than simply desiring to honor God and love the church well through wise decisions. It's a subtle shift, at least to our own perceptions, but it's an important one.
Because you're human like me, I bet you can relate in some way - calculating how your words will come across, being overly concerned/consumed with what others think, etc. This is something that Jesus wants to free us from. This doesn't mean we simply don't care how we come across and just adopt a position of insensitivity, but it does mean that we are free from a life of calculating how we can earn God's favor and make others like us.
Everyone is trying to figure out how to walk through this season. It's tempting to feel like we're doing it wrong, not being productive enough, not teaching our kids enough, not exercising enough, and so on. Of course, we want to walk through this season well. But we have the privilege of walking through it as beloved children of God, not as frantic people who need to show God and the world how great we are. Christian, you have nothing to prove. Hear the voice of Jesus rejoicing over you.
Worth Reading
Super-interesting and challenging article by Tommy Keene, a seminary professor who was once a Presbyterian pastor in our area. He talks about two of Jesus' shortest parables - the back to back parables in Matthew 13 of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price. I've always read these two parables as saying basically the same thing, but Keene says otherwise:
On the surface, it might appear that not much is happening in the second parable that isn’t already more clearly stated in the first. In both, the searcher sells all he has to gain the prize—but there seems to be a bit of a twist in the pearl parable.
What's the twist? You can read the whole thing here.
Worth Watching
Hugh Wessel, one of our supported missionaries in France, passes along this wonderful "slice of life" Easter video from the denomination he partners with. I was really moved by seeing so many French believers in their own context, remembering that they celebrated Easter just as we did!
And speaking of moving, a couple of church members passed along this incredible video made by a group of churches in Pittsburgh:
Worth Hearing
Indelible Grace is working on a new album, and they've released a demo version of a new song called "A Present Help"
Worth Tweeting
Worth a Laugh
If you're a fan of The Office, you'll enjoy this insanely in-depth breakdown of the famous "warehouse basketball game." Includes player rankings, with a few surprises!
That's all for now. Love you and miss you.
Jeff
Though we are separated during this unique season, we want you to know we are available. We will be doing our best to stay in touch in many ways, but if you need prayer or just need someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. You can always send a prayer request to Donna (mpcadminteam@gmail.com). You can also email or call Max or Jeff or any of our elders. Max's email is mbenfer@meadowcroftchurch.org and his phone # is 484-886-7726. Jeff's email is jeff@meadowcroftchurch.org and his phone number is 540-818-6215.