It makes sense that we would think the key to success in life is belief and behavior. They’re both measurable. One by what we say. The other by what we do. But when it comes to discovering and living spiritual truth there is a far more important practice than belief and behavior. It’s the way Jesus did it and it’s far less complicated than we want to make it.

Jesus says, “Follow me.”

When Jesus approached Peter, James and John, three fishermen on the shore of the sea of Galilee, he didn’t give them a list of qualifications. He never asked for their résumé. He simply said, “Follow me.” Later Jesus goes to Matthew. He’s working in the tax office. Jesus doesn’t look at Matthew and say, “Believe this, obey that.” Instead, he looks at Matthew and says, “Follow me.”

We see this pattern in the Old Testament too. God goes to Noah and later Abraham and essentially says, “Follow me.” And they do. Most people think of religion as a list of rules and regulations. When I say Old Testament I’m guessing one of the first things that comes to mind is the 10 Commandments. The 10 Commandments were first given to Moses. Moses lived about 600 years after Abraham. For 600 years there was no list, only one explicit request, “Follow me.”

When asked what made Jesus tick he responded simply, “I do the things I see my Father do. I say the things I hear my Father say.” In other words Jesus said, “I follow him.”

We get it backwards. We try to convince ourselves and everyone else that if we will believe the right things and behave the right way only then we can follow Jesus. But that’s not what Jesus said. He said, “Follow me.”

Follow him long enough and belief will come. We see that in the Disciples. Following leads to belief. Belief leads to changed behavior.

We understand this. We do it everyday on Facebook and Twitter. We click “like”. We press “follow”.  And suddenly we receive regular updates about the thoughts and actions of the people we find interesting. We may agree or disagree. But either way, the people we follow influence the thoughts we have.

I don’t know what you think about Jesus or Christianity. Maybe you don’t put a lot stock in anything spiritual or religion related. Maybe you grew up in church. Maybe you’ve been burned. Maybe you’re doing all the right things, all the right way. No matter where you are, you’re in a good place to start. My challenge for you today isn’t that you would change your beliefs or behavior, but that you would, for a season try one simple thing.

“Follow him.”

Let me be clear. I don’t mean follow his followers. I mean follow him. Go to Biblegateway.com or YouVersion.com. Search for the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John in the New Living Translation and start reading. Read a little every day. Let’s say, one chapter each day. It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not. I read things online or in the newspaper everyday I don’t believe. Just like checking Facebook or Twitter get in the habit of reading a chapter from the Bible each day. Follow him.

These thoughts inspired by Andy Stanley.

I sometimes wonder if that’s how the world works. Yesterday was a day of tragedy.

• A tornado passed near the city of Wewoka.
• Last night Oklahoman’s were shaken by 5 different earthquakes felt from Oklahoma City to Owasso and beyond.
• In 2011 Officer Chad Peery was partially paralyzed while breaking up a bar fight. This past weekend Officer Peery was involved in a car accident. He died yesterday.
• Monday afternoon at the end of the Boston Marathon two explosions took the lives of three people, including an 8-year-old boy, and injured hundreds.

Words are never adequate to the task of expressing condolences, compassion or the depth of grief associated with events like these. Our hearts and prayers are with those affected by each of these tragedies. More than that, really. Many will donate blood or give money, resources or time to help advance the healing. Most people stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary to bring justice, peace and some sense of meaning to each of these twisted tragedies. Some will search for those responsible for the bombing. All will search for answers.

Days like yesterday cause people to ask questions. Why? Who? What? How could anyone possibly do something like this? These are legitimate questions with surprisingly few genuinely satisfying answers. My only feeble explanation is the swing.

This life we’ve been given is precious. It’s valuable. We’ve also been designed by our Maker to enjoy life a certain way. Like the swing, there is a back and forth to life that, when rightly handled, can be a remarkably exhilarating experience. It can be the kind of experience that makes you believe you can fly, that ‘anything-is-possible-moment’ when the swing reaches its highest peak and for a brief second you rise above the bar to move faster, rise higher and see farther than ever before. Getting there takes time, effort and energy. You’ll never experience such a moment if you don’t use the swing the right way.

And that’s our challenge. Instead of experiencing life the way it was designed we go our own way. We sit still on the swing thinking we’ll never get anywhere. We get bored. We get distracted. We begin twisting the swing in ways it was never designed to work. The pressure increases as the chains get tighter. The effort required to simply rest and sit still becomes  more difficult to manage. The tension builds until we can’t hold it anymore. The twisted chains spin us out of control. You might think once the tension is released the ride is over. But it’s not. You never spin back to center. The swing always goes past where you started. Things get all twisted and the tension builds again.

I wonder if this is how the world works. It often seems that way.

When tragic times come there are no truly satisfying answers, only one relevant question, “What’s next?”

• In light of the new circumstances, how will I pray?
• As facts come to light how will justice be satisfied and by whom?
• Am I experiencing life the way God designed or am I somehow increasing the tension?
• How can I use who I am and what I have in this moment to straighten out the twisted things of this world?

Psalm 62:1-2 say, “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation my fortress where I will never be shaken.”

What is your next step of faith?

• Sunday, April 28, 4:00—5:30pm
• Tuesday, April 30, 6:00—7:30pm
• Sunday, May 5th, 4:00—5:30pm.

Meet in the Yellow Room, 602. Lead Teachers, Partners, and Shepherds are encouraged to attend. This training is required for all paid preschool workers. Seasoned teachers come encourage new volunteers. Potential volunteers come discover how you can influence our next generation!

Last week —

• 162 individuals and/or families gave $58,233.98 to provide for ministries that touched at least 2679 individuals during 137 different classes, special events, and ministry opportunities.
• Last Sunday we had:
  • 753 adults in two services
  • 99 Children in Pre-teen Worship & Kid’s Church
  • 852 people participated in Worship
  • 911 people in Sunday School

Budget Planned Year-to-Date: $684,923.12

• Budget Received Year-to-Date: $743,768.23
• Budget Spent Year-to-Date: $641,010.75

James 3

“Am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, has, have, had, do, does, did, shall, will, should, would, may, might, must, can, could.”

Those are verbs of being. I learned the list in 5th grade from a teacher named Mrs. Hoggard. She was a teacher from the old school. I’ll confess. There are times I inflict the same grammatical punishment on my kids she inflicted on her students.

“Can I go to the bathroom?” They ask.

“I don’t know. Can you? I think you mean may I go to the bathroom. ‘Can’ is about ability. ‘May’ is about permission.”

Every time I hear that question I receive a double benefit. I get to torture my children with a lesson on proper grammar and remember a teacher who influenced me. Other teachers in my life have had a similar effect.

Mr. Arato was the teacher who led the Junior Police in my elementary school. There was a rumor he had an electric paddle to punish trouble makers. In 6th grade I was one of his Junior Police and in his home room. He was never as scary as the stories we told the younger kids. He was really a lot of fun and one of the student’s favorite teachers. I sat at my desk the last week of school. He snuck up behind me and poured a cup of cold water over my head. I was soaking wet. It was good-natured retaliation for a practical joke I and several of my friends had played on him earlier in the year. (He’s in the picture. Doesn’t he look kind of like the Family Guy?)

There was also Mrs. Tapscott. She was one of my teachers for two years because she moved from teaching one grade to another. One of her sons was an entrepreneur who owned a restaurant in town. Her other son was a member of the U.S. Secret Service. Before Mrs. Tapscott it never really crossed my mind that teachers have a life and family outside of school. I assumed they lived at the school somewhere inside that secret wonderland called ‘The Teacher’s Lounge’.

In High School there was Mr. Correll, my band director. He was one of the teachers that helped me become the musician I am today. Every time I play the piano I use the blues scale he taught me.

Mr. Peak and Mr. Fleming were the cool teachers. They played together in a rock band. Mr. Peak taught biology. Mr. Fleming, psychology. Mr. Fleming had long hair and owned a t-shirt print shop. He hired me to make t-shirts. For our semester final in Mr. Fleming’s psychology class we watched a movie, “The Lost Boys”. It’s a vampire movie. We had to write a one page summary on the psychological effects of fear on one of the characters.

Some jobs have the benefit of keeping the curtain closed until the product is ready. Apple has mastered this art. We’ll only hear rumors of the next iPhone until the day Apple decides to reveal the finished product. Another blockbuster movie is about to be released. After its success in theaters we might see a bloopers reel on DVD or YouTube. We might hear funny stories from the actors about crazy things that happened on set, but the public will only ever really know the finished product.

Teachers don’t have this luxury. Their work isn’t ever really a finished product. It’s a process under construction and that process is on open public display. We see the work they do. It makes us think we understand what it takes to be a good teacher. It gives people the false impression that they could do better. Because the process is public we feel the freedom to offer up our opinion of success or failure even before the process has reached its intended goal. Like walking in on a surgeon in the middle of open heart surgery we enter a classroom and shout, “Put that back in! That’s not where that goes!” It’s tempting to criticize the manufacturer before they get the battery in the phone.

James 3:1 says, “…let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

That verse tells me not everyone has what it takes to be a teacher. It also tells me that those who have become teachers deserve special respect. They rightfully receive a level of scrutiny most professions will never know. They are judged, not for their finished product, but for the work under construction.

That judgment comes in a variety of forms. It comes in the form of public criticism. Teachers should expect it. That criticism may be useful. It may not. It may be informed or ignorant. Whatever the case, it’s natural. As a teacher, find a way to leverage that public criticism to your advantage. You’re an educator. Use those teachable moments to train up parents, students and the public about where you are in the process, where you’re headed and how we should all measure success.

That judgment comes in another way. It comes in the future choices of the students you teach. You are not fully responsible for their actions, but you are an accomplice in the process.

I’m thankful for those who taught me. I hope today you will take time to reflect on those teachers who helped shape you into the person you are. I hope you’ll take time to say thanks to the people who taught you and that you’ll give extra honor to those who teach your children.

Teachers are the secret sauce. They are the difference between ignorant and informed, wise and foolish, skilled and unskilled. Their responsibility is great. The honor they deserve greater.

For those of you who want to become teachers, well done. Remember this. There is a difference between prominent and significant. My nose is prominent. My heart is significant. Everyone I meet will see my nose. It will be in every picture taken of me. I hope no one ever sees my heart, not even my doctor. I may be funny looking, but I can live without my nose. I can’t live without my heart. One is prominent. The other significant.

As a teacher, you may never be prominent. But be you can be confident of this. You are significant. You are in my heart.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for teachers. More specifically, thank you for the teachers who have shaped me. Thank you for the teachers I entrust with my children. I pray that you would bless them with wisdom and patience. Let them and their families know your favor and loving-kindness. Give them the courage and strength to receive the stricter judgment. We need more people with that kind of courage.

I love you, in Jesus name -
Chad