I am sitting here asking myself, “Wait! Is it really August 28?” I find it hard to believe that in a little over a week, it will be Labor Day and students will be returning to school. It seems like only yesterday that students were celebrating the end of the school year and we were gathering on the campus of Rochester College for Elevate. And now, it’s time for buses, bells, and books. Really?

So what am I taking away from this summer? Well, I am still thinking about that. But here are a few things I have learned this summer.

The biggest lesson I have learned is to create space for others, especially my family. I tend to be a very busy person and I fill my schedule with things to do. While I still had a hectic summer, I found myself making more time for things like sitting in the backyard around the campfire with my wife and son. I didn’t do this enough, but I feel like I made some headway.

I have also been challenged to make more room for God and others in my life. Often, I am so busy that I don’t have time or space to stop and listen. That means my time with God often gets pushed aside. It also means I don’t always have time to listen when someone else needs a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen. I have a long way to go with regards to this, but I feel like I have made progress this summer.

I am continuing to learn the value of self-control. Since it’s a fruit of the Spirit, it’s not as self-centered as it sounds. I have been learning that in areas where I lack control, I need to allow the Holy Spirit to invade and assume control. That means I need to make space (this keeps coming up, doesn’t it) for God to dwell in my life. I don’t do that enough, so I often lack the self-control I should have.

However, not everything in the area of self-control is going poorly. Through a variety of circumstances, including self-control, we have paid off our car and we are about to finish paying off some other debt as well. In addition, I have lost over 50 pounds through watching what I eat. I feel like this has been a year of considerable growth in the area of self-control, but I have a long way to go.

I am sure there are more things that I have learned, but these are the things on my mind right now. I look forward to seeing what other lessons God has in store for me as summer transitions into autumn. Seasons remind me that life is never static and always in transition, so I am waiting to see what awaits in the season ahead…

shine!
Jason

Sunday morning we worshipped at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church and then we went to Como Park. Sunday evening was spent with the community of Solomon’s Porch, first in their worship gathering, and then over a Burrito Bol at Chipotle. Our evening ended by settling down at Tony’s house.

Monday and Tuesday were action-packed days spent with Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, and Carla Barnhill from the Porch. We also had a chance to Skype with Nanette Sawyer from Wicker Park Grace in Chicago. Tuesday afternoon was spent at the home of Tim and Jill Geoffrion, where we had a chance to talk about leadership and experience a prayer labyrinth.

After spending the night at the home of a Solomon’s Porch member Tuesday night, on Wednesday, we traveled up here to Tony’s family cabin a few hours north of the Twin Cities. We have spent the last few days reading, discussing, reflecting, praying, journaling, boating, and more. It has been a holistic learning experience around the idea of hospitality. I have enjoyed spending time sitting at the feet of Tony Jones and Mark Love. They, along with my cohort – Doug Sanders, Mark Brazle, Wayne Beason, Ryan Woods, CindyLou Owen, and Courtney Jenko – have challenged me to think about what it means to be a follower of Jesus and extend hospitality to God, others, and creation.

Well, it’s time to go make breakfast for everyone. I am making scrambled eggs and bacon. I’m looking forward to our last couple of hours together this morning as we continue the conversation…

shine!
Jason

From August 7-14, I was in Cincinnati with 26 RCC students, a handful of adults, and a team from the Warrenton (Virginia) Church of Christ. It was an incredible week where everyone worked hard and accomplished a lot for the Kingdom. Our team painted three houses and spent time with children in the community (as well as feeding them a meal each day). Even though the temperatures were in the mid-90’s all week (with a heat index well over 100), everyone worked without complaining. I was amazed by their attitudes and desire to finish the tasks before them. I am pretty sure that Cincinnati impacted most us as much, if not more, than we impacted it. It was a great week!

After a few days home to catch my breath (which really means taking care of all of the details that get neglected when you’re out of town), I left for the trip I am currently on. Last Friday, I spent the day traveling to Minnesota for a retreat and week-long intensive class for MREML program. Over the weekend, I stayed on campus at Luther Seminary, hung out with Mark Love, Sara Barton, and my cohort. We discussed a variety of things and ended the weekend worshipping at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church and then Solomon’s Porch.

The last two days have been spent hanging out with Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, and the authors of the other two books we are reading for this class. (Well, we had to Skype with the one who lives in Chicago.) We have been spending our days at Solomon’s Porch and our evenings enjoying the Twin Cities. (Despite what Ryan Woods says, the Twin Cities have some good coffee and good coffee shops.) One of the highlights of the week so far for me was walking through a prayer labyrinth this afternoon.

The next couple of days will be spent further discussing hospitality as leadership (this is the title of our class). I am still trying to process the things we are hearing and learning, and I am listening to hear what God might be trying to tell me in this season of life and ministry. When you turn 40 – as I did in May of this year – your perspective on life makes a shift. Well, at least mine has. I am realizing that I have (statistically) lived over half of my life.

What am I going to do with the rest of my life? What does God have in store for me? What do I need to learn? How can I listen better to God? What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?

As I reflect on the last couple of weeks, I realize that God is not done with me yet. He has turned dread into joy. He has opened my eyes to new things. He is transforming frustration into hope. And there is so much more He is doing that I am not realizing.

I have more questions that I do answers. I continue to learn that the more I discover, the less I know. God continues to remind me that He is God and I am not. Every time I think I know what I am doing, I realize that I am pretty clueless.

I consider myself a cautious optimist. I try to look at the glass as half full without trying to convince myself that I am promised a free refill. As I consider my life, my family, and my ministry, I am hopeful for the future. I believe that God has great things in mind for the Steckel family and the Rochester Church. I know that the road ahead will not always be easy, but I can find peace in the fact that regardless of where the road leads, God will be there.

Well, I could go on (and I already have too much), but this is just an update on where life has taken me over the month of August. I miss my wife, I miss my son, and I miss my Rochester family. I can’t wait to get back home and reunite with all of them as we continue on this journey of faith that we are pursuing as a family and community.

shine!
Jason

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. (James 3:1-12)

It is amazing how a few words can destroy a relationship, a family, or even a church. Like a bit in the mouth of a horse, a rudder on a ship, or a small fire, this small part of our body can change the course of something much bigger.

The old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is such a lie. We all can likely remember hurtful words that were spoken to us. For some of us, those words may have been spoken years ago, but their sting still hurts. Words have the potential to hurt in ways that sticks and stones never will. Physical wounds usually heal pretty quickly, but verbal wounds can last a lifetime.

When we talk to other people, we must always remember the potential we have to damage someone. We cannot praise God in one moment and curse someone who is created in His image the next. That is an inconsistency that reveals immaturity and contradicts the nature and character of God.

shine!

Jason

When we are baptized into Christ, we experience the already sense of salvation. In baptism we receive the Holy Spirit, the down payment towards our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14). However, we have not “arrived” at that point. We are simply beginning the journey.

The right now aspect of salvation is an ongoing act of transformation. Once we experience the already aspect of salvation, the rest of our lives are committed to God’s continuing transforming of our heart and mind (Romans 12:1-2). If we ever become complacent and stop seeking and growing, we are abandoning God’s desire to save us. But we also know that we will never completely arrive as long as sin exists in the world. So we look forward to a better day.

This not yet aspect of salvation is both the dream we pursue and goal we seek. One day, Jesus will return with a new heaven and a new earth. In this act of restoring Creation, God is promising to make all things new (Revelation 21:1-15). This is the yet unrealized completion of God’s dream. As Christ’s ambassadors, we are called to partner with God in His movement towards the renewal of all things.

When we understand the amazing interplay of the already, right now, and not yet aspects of salvation, we can appreciate the rich relationship between faith and works. James writes in his letter that, “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.” (James 1:26) Good works reveal our reaction to the already aspect of salvation. They engage us in the transformation focus of salvation right now. Works move us towards the not yet act of final salvation that we will experience when Christ returns.

Do our good works earn our salvation? No, but they help us grow in our faith and salvation.

Do our good works reveal our salvation? Absolutely! They are a sign of the change we are experiencing in our hearts and minds.

Faith without works is dead precisely because works are the fruit of faith. Faith, if it is real, must be more than belief. As James says, even the demons believe in God. True faith is active. Active faith is a life-long journey. A tree that isn’t producing fruit is dead. The same is true of a Christian who isn’t producing fruit.

Faith should be producing the kind of fruit that Paul writes about in Galatians 5…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If there isn’t fruit, then just like a body without breath, faith without good works is dead.

shine!

Jason

My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?

For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?

Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.

So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

I wanted to quote the whole passage because there is a powerful message in what James says. As I said on Wednesday night, favoritism can be cancerous to a country, a family, a church, and even a youth group.

Avoiding favoritism doesn’t mean you can’t have close friends. It doesn’t mean you have to have the same level of relationship with everyone.

Avoiding favoritism is much deeper than that. It means that regardless of the depth or level of your relationship with someone, everyone deserves the same level of respect. No one deserves to be gossiped about or treated poorly. As followers of Christ, we are called to treat every person we encounter as a neighbor worthy of our love.

shine!

Jason

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:10-12)

Our battle is real and it is not for the weak-hearted. We cannot win the battle alone, but only when we rely on God, His power, and the strength we can only find in Christian community. Peter also warns us about our enemy when he writes:

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

If we are going to stand and stay alert, it requires us to have a firm foundation. Earlier in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul offered the following prayer:

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)

Following Jesus is not a spectator sport. It requires our involvement and dedication. It requires us to be empowered by the strength of the Holy Spirit, to allow Christ to make his home in our hearts, and to be rooted in the love of God. It is only when we live in the reality of all three of these that we will be made complete. It is not until we daily devote ourselves to time with God that we can find wholeness as God’s mighty power works within us.

shine!

Jason

I appreciated the level of research and reflection that was obviously put into this book. It challenged me to consider some of my own biases and presuppositions. It also challenged me in my own faith. I see areas of my spirituality where I am lacking in faith and zeal.

In the first chapter of his book, Foster shares some thoughts that both convict and comfort me:

One of the best things we can do for one another, then, is to encourage regular immersion in the Gospel narratives, helping each other understand Jesus’ perceptions into life and his counsels for growth and then making constant application to our daily experience. The dimensions of this task are infinite, of course. However, for the sake of our concern here we want to consider how Jesus in his living provides us a clear paradigm for our living, especially as Jesus’ living relates to the several streams of devotion that frame the structure of this book.

I am convinced that we must dedicate a significant amount of our time to the study of the Gospels. This is where we can intimately get to know God in a way that is unlike any other portion of our Bibles. Yes, God’s story and God are the main character throughout the words of Scripture. But only in the Gospel narratives do we encounter the God-Man. It is in these four renderings of the Jesus story that, “the Word became human and made his home among us.” (John 1:14)

If we are going to be Christians, we must know Jesus. The Greek word Χριστιανός (christianos)—meaning “follower of Christ”—comes from Χριστός (christos)—meaning “anointed one”—with an ending borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to, or even belonging to, as in slave ownership.

If we are truly going to be followers of Christ, people who belong to the anointed one, we must devote ourselves to knowing the One whom we follow. This must be the primary task in our lives.

For many of us, following Jesus can often seem more like a hobby than a calling. Like a pick-up game of basketball or scrapbooking, we might do the “Jesus thing” when we have a little spare time. This is not what it means to be a Christian. It means that our devotion, our allegiance, is first and foremost to God. It means that everything else we do, every word we speak, and every thought we entertain, must be in allegiance to the One who we follow. And while we may not reach that goal with perfection, it should be our goal and purpose every day.

shine!

Jason

• Is it possible that even though teens today have more freedom than any other generation in history, we’re actually missing out on some of the best years of our lives?
• Is it possible that what our culture says about the purpose and potential of the teen years is a lie and that we are its victims?
• Is it possible that our teen years give us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for huge accomplishments – as individuals and as a generation?
• And finally, what would our lives look like if we set out on a different path entirely – a path that required more effort but promised a lot more rewards?

I am impressed with the wisdom, maturity, and spiritual depth of these two young men. They are challenging their peers to consider something outside themselves and pursue a path that can change the world.

If you have not read this book yet, I would recommend getting a copy and reading it. I am strongly considering a teaching series on Wednesday nights this fall built around the material in this book.

If you want to learn more about Alex and Bret, you can visit their website: www.THEREBELution.com. There you will find their blog as well other information about their life, dreams, and passions.

One of the verses that Alex and Brett quote is 1 Timothy 4:12: “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” Often, Christian teenagers are more often being told what not to do than they are what to do. Alex and Brett would argue, and I agree, that Christianity needs to be as much – if not more – about what we do as it is about what we don’t do.

Are there certain behaviors and habits we need to avoid? Absolutely! But if all we do is live to avoid poor choices, we won’t discover the abundant life Jesus speaks of in John 10. Instead, let us consider the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 2:22: “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.”

shine!

Jason

This got me to thinking. How many of us really are in “The Lord’s Army?” You might wonder what I mean, so let me explain.

When you are in the Army, you enlist and basically commit your life to the cause. You spend time training every day and focus on preparing for the battle.

There is also an option to join the Army Reserves. This group commits to one weekend a month and two weeks every year to prepare in the event they are needed.

The question I want us to consider is this: Which one of these reflects our situation in God’s Kingdom?

Are we people who are enrolled in Lord’s Reserves? Do we show up for some weekends and take part in a few weeks of serving on a mission trip or camp.

Or, are we serving in the Lord’s Army? Do we dedicate time every day to training? Are we engaged in spiritual disciplines on a daily basis? Do we seek to make the Kingdom of God our number one priority throughout every day?

When he was writing to Timothy, Paul said the following: Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

Paul’s words are as relevant to us as they were two thousand years ago. We have to decide what kind of soldiers we want to be in God’s Kingdom. We can be in the reserves, showing up once in a while in the event we might be needed sometime in the future. Or, we can be committed to the army. We can be the kind of people who look for opportunities every day to further the cause of the Kingdom of God.

As Paul finished some of his last recorded words to Timothy, he offers the following words of encouragement…

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

Paul lived in wholehearted devotion to the Kingdom. It was his first priority, regardless of where he was or what he faced. His words were backed up by action. Let us be the kind of people who don’t just sing about the Lord’s Army, but ones who live it as well.

shine!

Jason