Closed Minds
Jan. 26, 2022.
How open are you to new ideas? Similarly, how open are you to the unexplainable ways of Jesus when they happen? I find I’m quite open to new ideas, but struggle to hold the mysterious decisions of heaven at times.
#JesusStories: Mark 6 records Jesus walking on the water. The back story is that John the Baptist had just been beheaded; Jesus saw the need for the disciples to take a retreat; the people saw where they were going and ran around the lake to meet them; then Jesus had compassion on the hungry crowd and told the disciples to feed all 5000. After that it was now evening when Jesus sent the disciples back across the lake to find some solitude while he went up the hill to pray. But then a storm came and the disciples were struggling to row against the wind, so Jesus cut his prayer time short and walked to them on the water. When they saw him they were afraid, and then when Jesus climbed into the boat and silenced the storm, they were ‘completely confused‘ (vs. 51). In my minds eye I see them sitting in the boat in a state of exhausted silence. John’s beheading, feeding 5000 with only a little bread and two small fish, Jesus walking on water, watching the storm instantly stop, this was all just too much. This is the backdrop that sets up vs. 52: “Their minds were closed, and they could not understand the true meaning of the loaves of bread.”
We all have a breaking point don’t we? Nonetheless, our effectiveness in ministry requires us to do business with the mysteries of heaven and the unexplainable ‘show-ups’ of Jesus. That is our jobs. So yes, our faith is going to get tested against our logic from time to time. Heaven will mysteriously intervene at times, and then go unexplainably quiet at other times. And we will be left to explain the ‘surprises’ and the ‘silences’ to the church family. Equal measures of divine ‘show-ups’ and apparent ‘set-backs’ are on the agenda until the end of time. Will our minds be closed during these stormy times? Probably. Will we struggle to remember the last time an unexplainable miracle happened like a $5,000 bill getting paid with only five loaves & two fish in our bank account? Likely. But then, after a bit of rest, our minds will start to renew; we will remember the unexplainable miracles from our past; we will welcome another storm and another mysterious ‘Jesus show up’. So if your minds feels a bit closed right now, don’t sweat it. It won’t stay that way for long. Before you know it you’ll be on the other side of the storm doing the impossible along side an invisible Savior. That is what we do!
#DinnerChurchQuotes: Interestingly, almost every practitioner has reported there has always been enough food, no matter how many people showed up – a mysterious connection with the miracles of bread and fish. (Christine Pohl)
#PracticalStuff: Is your team expecting miraculous stuff to occur in your Dinner Church? Further, are they expecting miraculous math to occur in their own bank accounts as they help fund your tables? This is our Christian heritage, and are great discussion questions for your next team huddle. Yes?
Blessings & Boldness,
Verlon
Dr. Verlon and Melodee Fosner have led a multi-site Assemblies of God Dinner Church in Seattle, Washington since 1999 (www.CommunityDinners.com). In this decade when more churches in the U.S. are declining than thriving, and when ninety-six churches a week are closing, Verlon and Melodee sensed that a different way of doing church was needed for their 100-year old Seattle congregation. It soon became obvious that they were not the only ones in need of a different path. They joined the FX team in 2016 and founded the Dinner Church Collective. And then in 2019 founded the Dinner Church School of Leadership. There is a lot to be gained when church leaders begin to see open doors in the American landscape that they had previously overlooked. Therein lies the journey for those who will forge a new future for the American Church.
Categories: Uncategorized
01.27.22
By: Nathan Shipley
We should expect the miraculous.Doubt kills faith
01.27.22
By: Kristina Meece
My prayer is always, “I believe. Help my unbelief.” I am always in awe of the miracles that happen all the time. Yet, I don’t expect it to happen.
01.28.22
By: Anthony Johnson
I love the idea that rest provides the backdrop for us to remember what God has done in our lives. It’s easy in our frustration and hurry to forget what He’s done (and capable of), yet the consistent encouragement in both the Old and New Testaments is to remember so we can project His faithfulness and power into the future. God is good even when things aren’t.
01.29.22
By: David Dalton
“So if your minds feels a bit closed right now, don’t sweat it. It won’t stay that way for long.”
What a gracious encouragement, and one that is needed for us right now. Finances are getting tight, the crowd is growing but offerings are decreasing, and our people are stretched. I was reading the story of Jesus and Peter in John 21 today and reflecting on the 153 large fish that were caught and, to the fishermen’s surprise, the nets were not torn despite the load they were under. Praying that thought for us and for everyone else who is feeling that way right now. Just as the nets were miraculously able to hold the catch of fish, God is able to miraculously hold you, your ministry, and your team together even with everything he is putting in your nets right now.
01.30.22
By: Julie
I understand a bit what the disciples must have felt. When you are walking with the Lord sometimes you are hit with such a wave of divine interventions, miracles, and workings that it is overwhelming, AND difficult to process and explain to your children as they all are happening. BUT, if you allow it, they are exhilarating and exciting and if you catch the wave instead of being taken under it, will allow you to “surf” for sometime with a renewed faith and belief in the omniscient ways of our provider and gift giver!
01.31.22
By: Angel Porubsky
I appreciate the highlighting of solitude and rest modeled by Jesus in this blog. Carey Nieuwhof states that “Many people are overwhelmed, overcommitted, and overworked doing exactly what they thought they wanted to do with their lives.” And wasn’t Jesus doing just that, exactly the will and heart of His Father? It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and grind of ministry and forsake the valuable, leadership lessons that Jesus modeled for us in the still and quiet. We will never outwork or out hustle Jesus, and yet, if we aren’t intentionally mindful of our schedules and pace, we will easily forfeit the renewal He gives us in the slow.
02.1.22
By: Brad Andres
May our hearts and minds be opened as we wait in silence, awe, and wonder before the Lord Jesus.
02.3.22
By: Debbie Wilkerson
“…our effectiveness in ministry requires us to do business with the mysteries of heaven and the unexplainable ‘show-ups’ of Jesus.” I think some of those “mysteries of heaven” have to do with His timing being so different from mine, and His being able to see the big picture when I can’t. I just have to trust He will come through, whether it’s the way I expect Him to or not!
02.3.22
By: Jeremy Veninga
I really appreciate how Jesus cut His prayer time short which is where He got His strength, in order to strengthen others. I think it’s easy for us to lose sight of the miracles in the storm even though after the last miracle we vow we’ll always trust Him😏.
02.10.22
By: Jorge Hernandez
What a sensitive role we play as leaders when we are left to explain those heavenly mysteries to our church families: the ‘surprises’ and the ‘silences’, the ‘show-ups’ and the apparent ‘set-backs’. This calls for a high level of spiritual discernment and maturity. It’s easy to celebrate the victories of our people and be joyful when someone is blessed (even if they’re unexplainable miracles), but it’s such an immense responsibility when we’re approached with a question about an unanswered prayer or an apparent delay of God. People can be so vulnerable in those moments.
I pray that we would have less and less moments of feeling our minds closed. May the Holy Spirit continue to refresh, renew, and empower us with discernment. So, that we can help our people navigate their own storms.
02.10.22
By: David A. Brakke
I totally understand the idea of what we might call “ministerial chaos”. Sometimes the combination of people who are far from Jesus + time ticking away + and bills that need to be paid = an overwhelming race. Often, I seem to acknowledge God’s miracles and activity in hindsight because the moment is just a blur. I am encouraged by a reminder to slow down and expect to see God work.
03.2.22
By: daryl miller
Yes, I reach what “I” think are breaking-points. Typically, they are moments of “flesh” that have reared its ugly head. I’ve personally experienced so many overcoming “Jesus moments”, that these “breaking-points” are almost comical.
God’s faithfulness is overwhelming, even when I am in a pity-party. As I grow older, these distructive thoughts of despair are short-lived and followed by insight. Grateful!