Pew Ponderings {Having a Heart for the Church}

 

As I type this post, I'm reflecting on the introductory sermon to Bro. Gary's new Sunday night series from Revelation 1-3 titled, "What Does Jesus Think About the Church?"

I've realized in the weeks since I started thinking about this series that I'm a bit defensive when it comes to the church.  I think I've been so disturbed over the last few years by the disdain (and sometimes downright anger) that some professing Christians show toward the church that I struggle with admitting to some of her weaknesses. 

In that, I've done what I so hate to see others do in other areas: I've swung the pendulum much too far the other way (and in that,  become a too-subjective cheerleader.)

I've lost my objectivity and come to see the church through my own eyes rather than Christ's (which is exactly what I would caution others against.)

As I've counted the blessing of godly friends and true church families during this series, I am realizing anew that not everyone has those blessings.  For some that may be because they have shut themselves off from close, transparent, accountable relationships, or because they've succumbed to negative attitudes toward the church in general.

However, I know that there are others who have prayed and sought out diligently a "living and functional" church (as Anne Ortlund describes them) and deep, healthy, intimate friendships, only to find themselves lonely and hurting when those things seem completely out of reach.

Please know that this series doesn't flow out of my having it all together in these areas, being some sort of super-friend (just ask mine...I have a LONG way to go!), or being part of a perfect church. 

Instead, it flows from my having a passionate heart for the church, having been blessed with some pretty incredible super-friends over the years, and having also been blessed to be part of churches which were in no way perfect, but definitely "living and functional" parts of the body of Christ. 

God has given me a deep love for the church.  Not just the church families I've been part of (although they are definitely part of that and I love them dearly!), but the Church as a whole...the Bride of Christ, whom He cherishes. 

My hope and intention as we progress through this series is to share that love with others, and to encourage and challenge each true believer to be a vital part of a living and functional church.  We need to love the church, be encouraged and encourage others in obeying Christ and ensuring that our local bodies are what He wants them to be, and be challenged and challenge others in that pursuit.  

Are you part of a living and functional church body?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments or via the contact widget in the sidebar!  Are you blessed with heart-friends...those iron sharpens iron friends?  Tell me about them! 

Or are you struggling in these areas?  Praying for deep heart friendships, seeking a true Bible-teaching church family?  I'd love to pray for and with you.  Please leave a comment or message me through the contact me form. 

Need some encouragement or perhaps a bit of a challenge in this area?  Sign up for our email list or follow me through any or all of the social media links below so you don't miss any of this series.

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Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email. 

 

Social Media with a Mission {Come Join Me!}

" Just as a hammer can be used to build a house or tear one down, so social media can be used to build up or tear down…people, relationships, reputations, etc."

I'm over at Women of Worship today, sharing about Social Media with a Mission. Come join me? 





I'm excited to be part of the new contributor team at Women of Worship! Lots of exciting things happening there...be sure to like our Facebook page so you don't miss anything! :)

{Pew Ponderings} Unexpected Friends

There is just a bit of irony in the fact that as I write a blog series on the church, I've missed more church in the last six weeks than I've missed since our three girls had the chicken pox several years ago. (They succumbed consecutively, rather than concurrently, so that we had someone with the pox for seven weeks straight.  Not the best fall ever. ;-))

However, I'm pressing on with the series, and praying that this season, as those crazy weeks of chicken pox, will also pass.  If anything, missing as much as I've had to recently has made me realize even more the importance of the church.  It's hard when we miss! 

(Author's Note: This is another post that has been sitting in draft for a month or so. :) We've actually made it to church as a family for most of the last month. Yay!  Again a bit of irony...I was home again this morning after waking up with a horribly sick headache. I've finally had enough Excedrin that I can do something other than sit with my head in my hands, and I'm looking forward to getting back to church tonight!) 

In Placing Ourselves Deeply, we stopped in the middle of chapter 1 of Anne Ortlund's Love Me With Tough Love.  As I pick up there now, the first thing I see are these underlined words:

We need to learn to love!

Yes! We do!  I do!

I tend to feel as though this is something I'm pretty good at, and then I am hit with reminders of how far, far, far I have to go in this area. 

I can definitely say with Anne, however, "Thank you, Lord! You have made me rich in friends.  They're friends who know me well--my sins and failures, too--and they still love me."

She goes on to pray for her readers to be given the tools to forge this kind of Christian friendships, the kind that make us courageous to live for Him as we could never otherwise do.

Then she talks about Paul, a writer and traveler who "could easily have been a loner".  She points out that in spite of this, Paul "made his way deeply into the lives of many other believers."  He talks about some of them by name in his epistles. 

Paul talks about all kinds of people, and it is obvious that he was deeply involved with them.  He knows their strengths and weaknesses, and he talks about his great love for them. 

Although I know from other writings that Anne and her husband Ray put a priority on family time, they also felt strongly that serving the Lord in front of and alongside their children was a vital part of raising them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  Anne tells of her encouragement to a young wife who was hesitant about her husband being involved in a certain area of church work.  Anne said, "Let your husband go....let him plunge into all the church life he wants to.  His heart may need it.  Encourage lots of exposure to godly people.  He'll be a far better husband and father as a result!"

(She is careful to say here that she couldn't have said that if their church wasn't "living and functional"-- being in the right church is crucial here. )

The input of our brothers and sisters in Christ should make us better spouses and parents.  It shouldn't take away anything from our families, but should add richly to them.

"The miracle of the church! Who can explain it?  We need all the relationships God will give us.  Each believer represents a different facet of Jesus Christ, and as we are baptized into a life of fellowship in the Spirit, we are plunged into Christ Himself.  Doctrinally, we are baptized into Christ at the moment of our conversion.  Experientially, you might say that we are 'baptized' into Christ as we are daily immersed in our fellow believers."

Years ago, I was exposed to some teaching that I unfortunately didn't check carefully against Scripture.  It was teaching that elevated the family to a place far above the church, and which encouraged a type of isolationism for families within the church.  It discouraged close relationships within the church with those who weren't "like-minded" in even minor areas. 

God has done much in my life to show me how wrong (and even dangerous) that teaching was.  I still believe strongly that parents have ultimate authority and responsibility for their own children.  I still believe strongly that a measure of sheltering, especially in the early years, is important.  I still believe that our very closest relationships should and will of necessity be with people who have very similar standards and beliefs.

However, God has blessed us tremendously with relationships  with those in the church with whom we agree on the "majors" (salvation and major points of doctrine), but from whom we may be worlds apart in other ways.  He has filled the gaps in our ever-shrinking extended family with people who have become very precious to us over the years....people who in earlier years I would kept at a distance. 

What blessings we would have missed if I had! 

He has also blessed us abundantly with people who've become "unexpected friends" in other ways.  People of different generations...older and younger...and people from all different walks of life have entered our lives and hearts in amazing ways. 

What blessings we would have missed without those unexpected friendships! 

How have you seen God work through unexpected friendships within the church?  How have you seen God make you a better spouse or parent through relationships and service within the church? I'd love to hear in the comments! 

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Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email. 

Fitness Friday {By the Skin of our Teeth}

I've missed a few Fitness Fridays lately.  Actually, I haven't just missed Fitness Fridays...I've been completely MIA from my blog for most of July! However, during those weeks, I've composed a number of Fitness Friday posts in my head. :) I definitely want to update on my progress and share some of what I'm learning. 

(Author's Note: I actually started this post on July 21st. Content in black is from that original date. Content in blue was added today. :)

First, a disclaimer:  I know that many of you have way more experience and success with this than I do, and that many of you have much more knowledge of fitness -related subjects than I have.  I share not from the perspective of an expert at all, but as someone who is learning along the way.  Over the last few months, I've been challenged and encouraged greatly by others who are further along this journey than I am who have shared via blogs and other social media.

Second, the "in a nutshell" update:  Since the first of June, I have fulfilled my goal of getting to the gym at least 3 times a week.  My preference is four times, but some weeks it's a challenge to make it three!  I have finally, after losing 35+ pounds and keeping them off for two years, actually gone down two pant sizes. (Yay!!)  And this week, after a long, long plateau period where my weight has wobbled a point one way or the other but never begun to drop again, I was down two pounds this morning!  That was an exciting turn of events, even though I've intentionally not been focusing on weight during this time.  Hopefully now that I'm over that hump, that trend will continue.

In the meantime, I'm still looking forward to workouts at the gym and missing them when I can't get there.  I'm back "up to speed" with cardio after recuperating from last month's minor ankle injury, although fitting it in timewise has been a challenge lately.  My original plan was to alternate days between circuit cardio/weights and working out in the pool.  I'm enjoying the pool and the weights so much, though, that with only getting there 3 times a week some weeks, I hate to miss either!  I'd love to do 30 minutes of cardio, 20 minutes of weights, and 40 minutes in the pool each time I go, but we never seem to quite have time.  I end up getting in 20 minutes of weights and 30-40 minutes in the pool most workouts, with another 20ish minutes of cardio on "good" days. 

A couple of weeks ago I got to attend a water aerobics class.  What fun that was!!  I'd love to do that more often, but it doesn't fit into our current family schedule very well.  I'm glad I got to go that once, though, as I made some delightful new friends and learned some good exercises to add to my pool repertoire.

Here it is August 15, and I have yet to finish and publish this post!  It's been a crazy summer here.  I said that to a friend the other day, and she said, "And why would anyone who knows your family expect you to have any other kind?" Okay. Point taken. :) But it really looked like heading into it that it was going to be a peaceful, productive, relaxing summer. I realize now I was highly delusional last spring. :)

Despite it all, however, we've still managed to make it to the gym at least 3 times a week.  Some days, like today, our whole schedule has had to be changed to make that happen (we're planning to go right around lunch time today, which was NOT in my original plan :)), but we've made it (by the skin of our teeth!)

One of the things I'm learning is that I don't do well when I go more than two days between workouts. I talked about that a bit in a previous Fitness Friday post, and it's become even more evident since I've gone 3-4 days between workouts a couple of times. I'm looking forward to getting on a more regular schedule with the beginning of the new school year. 

Speaking of the upcoming school year, that is presenting a bit of a challenge with our gym plans. We joined the gym the first of June, rather on the spur of the moment, and we've made a priority this summer of getting there at least 3, and preferably 4, times a week by just working it in wherever it would fit. There have been days we've ended up eating supper at 9:00 because that was the only way we could get to the gym before it closed, and days that we've skipped chores or otherwise left things undone in order to fit in our workout time. 

With the new school year starting, however, that kind of helter-skelter isn't going to work. We've got an intense school year ahead. Billy and I are also serving as activity directors for our homeschool group this year, which is an added demand on our time, and I've started working a few hours a week. Along with working out, we're trying to eat healthier while also trying to manage our food budget more wisely, which means more time spent in planning and food prep (and less driving through Eureka Pizza for $5 pizzas...eek!)

So, I need not just a plan, but a PLAN. That's one of the top priorities on this week's list. (Well, top priority after celebrating a couple of girls' birthdays, that is!)  Making that an additional challenge are the facts that we can't go early in the morning (while that would be optimal in some respects, it just isn't possible right now due to factors beyond our control), and Sundays are out (the only time we could go on Sunday would be from 1-3, and the pool is used for family swim time during that time, which would make it almost impossible to do our usual water workout.)

It's time to move our workouts from "by the skin of our teeth" to part of an orderly flow of our weeks. (Yes, I'm working on that orderly flow in all areas this year. We really, really need it!)

I would love to hear how you fit fitness into your schedule. What works for you? I hope to share more about our new fall schedule, as well as additional progress updates and things we're learning about getting healthy, in the next week or two. In the meantime, please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments here or on Facebook!  I'd also still love to hear any tips for gym newbies, or experiences with losing significant amounts of weight and keeping it off over a long period of time.

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If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you!  

***
Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email. 

I LIke to Go to Church! {Pew Ponderings}

"Do you know how exciting it is to be here this morning?"

Those were Bro. Gary's words just before the sermon on a recent Sunday, and as he said them, I couldn't help but nod and smile.

I'd been excited all morning. It was the first Sunday, if I was calculating correctly, since June 1 that all six of us had actually made it to Sunday morning worship together. That's a highly unusual situation for us...an odd combination of illness, my mom having a minor accident, and our "big kids" needing to be at our "old church" one Sunday. 

Most of those weeks, I was among those absent.  My main goal for the weekend was to get to church all day Sunday myself, and for the entire family to make it as well. 

And we had.  And I was excited.

Bro. Gary wasn't referring it being exciting just to those of us who'd been out for a while, though. And he wasn't referring to what many would think of as an "exciting" church service.

We're a small church. We sing hymns with piano accompaniment. There is no smoke, no light show, no "entertainment".  We don't even have a choir (yet! :))  Our focus is on true worship, and the preaching of Truth from God's Word.

So where's the excitement, you may ask?

True worship, even in its simplest form, is exciting.  Hearing the truth of the Word preached and sung is, in and of itself, exciting.

Or it should be. 

That same morning, I had posted this quote from Paul David Tripp on Facebook:

Corporate worship is not meant to be a burdensome duty, but a gift from the God of grace who welcomes us to come to Him again and again.

The God of the Universe invites...commands...us to come into His presence and worship, together, in fellowship with other believers.

That's exciting!

The God of the Universe has given us a letter...His very own words to us...and charged preachers to preach and Christ-followers to listen.

That's exciting!

Many years ago, I learned a little song in preschool Sunday School..."I like to go to church. I like to go to church.  I like to learn of Jesus there, I like to go to church."  

And then "I like to go to church.  I like to go to church.  I like the happy songs we sing, I like to go to church."

And I have liked to go to church ever since. :) 

(And I just have to say...recently I saw on Facebook a photo of my 2-year-old class Sunday School teacher and my 3-year-old class Sunday School teacher doing mission work together in Romania!  These two dear ladies had such a huge impact on my learning to love church and God's Word, and now so many, many years later they are serving the Lord doing missions on the other side of the world!  What beautiful examples of a lifetime of faithful service. :))

I know you may be saying, "That's a sweet little song, but..."  I know, it's not always quite that simple.  Churches aren't perfect, and things get complicated.  But really and truly, I think in some ways, we just need to get back to that little song.  We need to decide that Christ loves the Church...His bride...and gave Himself for her....and we are going to love her, too.  

Because that's exciting. 

Do you like to go to church? Is it exciting to you to be in God's house? 

Please tell us about it in the comments!

If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you! 

***
  Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!   Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!   If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!   You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email.