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I've always had compassion for coaches. They pour their guts out into their team and expect their athletes to compete at the highest level. Every competition finishes with a report card of sorts. The scoreboard tells it all. One team goes home dejected, another elated. The number of evaluations differ depending on the sport, but when the season starts they are frequent and unrelenting. When the season is over, the final tally of wins and losses is added up and their is a champion crowned. Then comes the off-season where they regroup to do it all again next year. Pastors and coaches have a ton in common… with one exception: pastors don't have an off-season. Week in and week out a pastor (or any other Bible teacher) pours their guts out in preparation. They study, refine, prepare, process, and prayerfully labor. Each week they stand and compete. They may not be competing against an opponent; instead they are trying to win the crowd, stay faithful to the text, and present the word of God in a compelling fashion. There may be no visible scoreboard, but individuals silently declare the winners and losers. At times groups assemble over a meal to hold court and discuss their own personal scorecard. Sometimes the pastor is declared a winner; other times he is declared a loser. Regardless, he lives in the reality that Sunday is coming… again!
It is this relentless flipping of the calendar that keeps a pastor under the gun a bit. It also forces a quick turnover from one message to another. You cannot dwell on the past; good or bad you must move on. At times this is actually helpful. Some sermons fall flat, fail to inspire, or distort the text in some way. However, some seem to pierce through space and time and invade our spiritual lives without warning. These messages carry with them the power to transform. The problem is that the ceaseless movement of time not only allows us the privilege of forgetting the non-desirable messages but robs us of the joy of a long leisurely walk through a text that has disturbed the proverbial peace in our lives. Due to the nature of the days steadily clicking by we create the unfortunate pattern of quickly engaging a text and quickly moving on to what is next. Our sights are set on the next to the detriment of the now. This tendency to move on cheats us of the opportunity to really allow the text to impact us at the deepest level. It's like a steak that is only marinated for a short time… it's still good, but not as good as it could be if it sat in the marinade and was saturated by it over time.
So what do we do when a message has had an impact, but we've been forced to move on? In the recent past you were left to piece together soundbites captured in your memory, pull up old notes hastily taken on a tithe envelope, or hope for miraculous recall from a word scribbled in the margin of your Bible. Now, with the advent of technology, we not only have audio archives, but video as well. We have the unique opportunity to sink back into the moment afresh and marinate our hearts once more with the teaching of the word of God. Sure, most of usprefer a movie as it is first released, but there are always the classics that have earned a second look. Maybe it was the storyline, the acting, the cinematography, or the overall presentation, but at some point, we have all given some movies a second shot. The interesting thing about the rerun is that the experience matures. The initial draw to the film still speaks powerfully, but it's the subtleties and nuances that grab you the second time. The initial viewing had its impact, but the rerun brought with it a more seasoned experience. You were able to anticipate the crisis and enter in at a deeper level. The dialogue has more color and the characters are easier to follow because they have already been developed in the initial viewing. Now you are able to enjoy the experience with a new sense of discovery.
In 2009 we taught through the book of Nehemiah. The series was one of those classics that deserves a rerun. The fruit from the experience was tremendous to the extent that we are still witnessing the impact of it today in reoriented lives in pursuit of their "Holy Discontent." The series framed the life of Nehemiah, a high level servant of the king of Babylon with a dislocated heart. Though he lived in prosperity in Babylon God opened his eyes to see what God sees. In the moment of revelation, Nehemiah learns that his heart should break for what breaks the heart of God. In these life altering moments God gives him eyes to see injustice and ignites a passion in him to be a part of the solution. The awareness of the despair of God's people becomes an area of personal involvement for this tenderhearted leader. Sensing God's calling on his life, Nehemiah throws himself into the restoration of the city of Jerusalem and the resurrection of the glory of God among his people.
As we look back at the series we are convinced that it's worth a second viewing. Our team has put together a Nehemiah series and resources page. The purpose is twofold:
- We want to give those who were on the journey with us an opportunity to slow down and let the series sink in a bit.
- We realize that many have joined us since we have moved on from Nehemiah and have missed a rich experience in the Word that has shaped the culture of The Well. So we encourage you to engage or re-engage in the series and spend some time processing your "Holy Discontent."
Why would we put this series up now? We are convinced that God is doing a great work in our city and we are also increasingly more aware of the fact that the models are changing. The old model was an institutional model where the church, para-church, or other institution served the unique needs of our city. The shifting sands of culture are decentralizing ministry and empowering the individual to live on mission with the Lord. This means that the pursuit of a personal "Holy Discontent" is a key factor to the Gospel being communicated and the people of God "being the church" in our city. If we continue to defer to the institutions, we will miss the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing in each of our lives individually. However, this jump from spectator to active participant with the Lord is a difficult step for many. Our hope is that the series would provide a launching pad for people to actively pursue their "Holy Discontent" and that the ministry of God's church would leap beyond the walls of the corporate gatherers and find a place of expression in every neighborhood.
Walking through the series for the first time was life altering for many. Our hope is that the encore of the series will light the torches of revolution and hundreds or thousands will embrace God's calling on their lives to move from comfort to obedience.