Simple Faith

Happy New Year! I know we have one more day of 2007 left, but I couldn't wait. Since today is Monday of the first week of 2008, we're starting the year early. I recently completed my first annual teaching calendar, which begins with our service on 1/6, and I'm excited about what this year holds for us.

A fellow pastor in town "invited" me in 2007 to join him in accepting responsibility for the spiritual welfare of people in our community. While there are limits to the amount of responsibility that any person can accept for another person's spiritual welfare, I knew immediately that God was challenging me through my friend's statement. It has been a sobering thought as I've prepared the teaching calendar for 2008. I haven't just been picking topics I like to teach, or topics I think will "put butts in the seats" in our services. I've been asking God to help me envision a spiritual process in people's lives--a process that I hope our teaching content will propel forward. This will be the year that some people cross the line of faith and become followers of Christ. This will also be the year that many of us will look back on as a landmark year in our spiritual lives. For all of us at the Springs, the term "follower of Christ" is going to take on real, practical meaning this year: Christ is going to ask us to follow him to places we haven't been before.

The first such place may be a simpler life. We're starting the year at the Springs with a series called Simple Faith. In January and February, we're going to orbit around the Great Commandment, Jesus' simple summary of what had become very complex religion for 1st century Jews. Jesus responded by condensing the 10 commandments down to 2, and defining faith with 'do' commandments instead of 'do nots' and relationships instead of tasks. Love God and love your neighbor. Simple. Not at all easy, but simple.

We're going to live with "Love God, love your neighbor" for about 60 days. It may take us that long or longer to start to "get it." I'll be writing about it, and I look forward to hearing from you as we let Jesus redefine faith for complicated 21st century life just as he did for 1st century life.