Closer Than You Think

Note: This episode is AUDIO ONLY.

Join the conversation between Marc, Kaitlyn, and Justine as we ask the question, What are the characteristics of parents that foster healthy spiritual development for children and teenagers?

Get ready to walk away with many practical, effective questions to use with children, teenagers, and even some adults. We are seeking to foster genuine curiosity and safe conversation for young people to thrive in their spiritual, mental, and emotional development.

We would love to hear your feedback. Please leave us your comments.

We want your feedback. No, I mean it! We REALLY want your feedback and input! Please share your thoughts with us.

The two best ways to support my work are to subscribe to (and share) my Substack and go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ctyt.net/subscribe

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You can also watch the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Join the conversation between Marc, Kaitlyn, and Justine as we ask the question, Who should we go to for important guidance?

We would love to hear your feedback. Please leave us your comments.

We want your feedback. No, I mean it! We REALLY want your feedback and input! Please share your thoughts with us.

The two best ways to support my work are to subscribe to (and share) my Substack and go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ctyt.net/subscribe

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Note: Due to technical problems, there is no video of this episode.

Join the conversation between Marc, Kaitlyn, and Justine as we dig into the concept and practice of prayer.

We would love to hear your feedback. Please leave us your comments.

Here are additional resources:

Core Practice of Praying (about 2 minutes) - YouTube video
CTYT “Marc’s Minutes” Archives: “Sentence Prayers” post (plus my interview with Simon)
School/Community Prayer Walking Guide
Book promo: Where is God? By Frank Viola (thoughts on unanswered prayers from various Christians)
YouTube short (24 seconds)

We want your feedback. No, I mean it! We REALLY want your feedback and input! Please share your thoughts with us.

The two best ways to support my work are to subscribe to (and share) my Substack and go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ctyt.net/subscribe

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You can also watch the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Join the conversation between Marc, Kaitlyn, and Justine as we ask the question, Is everything spiritual?

This one is a doozie. We bet you have strong opinions about this topic. We would love to hear your feedback. Please leave us your comments.

We want your feedback. No, I mean it! We REALLY want your feedback and input! Please share your thoughts with us.

The two best ways to support my work are to subscribe to (and share) my Substack and go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ctyt.net/subscribe

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You can also watch the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Join the conversation between Marc, Kaitlyn, and Justine, as we talk about relationships.

What is the most important question to ask a potential partner? What is most important to learn about them early on?

We would love to hear your feedback. Please leave us your comments.

Here are the resources mentioned in this episode:

The Dating Guide

We want your feedback. No, I mean it! We REALLY want your feedback and input! Please share your thoughts with us.

The two best ways to support my work are to subscribe to (and share) my Substack and go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ctyt.net/subscribe

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You can also watch the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Join the conversation between Marc, Kaitlyn, and Justine, as we unpack our answers to the questions, Who IS Jesus to you?, and, Who WAS Jesus to you? We hope you find someone to share your answers to these questions with, and/or share them with us. Subscribe to the Community and don’t miss anything.

Here are the resources mentioned in this episode:

Lesson 3 from “Simplify the Path” course: The Most Important Question
Lesson 4 from “Simplify the Path” course: The 411 on Jesus
Lesson 5 from “Simplify the Path” course: An Example (Colossians)
Simplify the Path course on Substack
Chapter 7 of my book: Part 1 (podcast episode) Part 2 (podcast episode)

We want your feedback. No, I mean it! We REALLY want your feedback and input! Please share your thoughts with us.

The two best ways to support my work are to subscribe to (and share) my Substack and go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ctyt.net/subscribe

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You can also watch the podcast on our YouTube channel.

Join the conversation between Marc, Kaitlyn, and Justine, as we introduce the purpose of this new podcast. Subscribe to the Community

We want your feedback. No,like I mean we REALLY want your feedback and input! Please share your thoughts with us.

The two best ways to support my work are to subscribe to (and share) my Substack, and go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ctyt.net/subscribe

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This is the first of the LIVE teaching sessions, and we are going to explain a very simple distinction between Bible Study and Theology, which could be a game-changer for your faith journey.

If you grew up in the church, you may have been told to read your Bible, and God will speak to you through the text. Maybe you went to Bible Studies only to leave confused or disappointed. Oftentimes, churchgoers are told to just open their Bible and follow the principles or directions they read in it. We will see how this can sometimes be very bad, even harmful, advice.

There is a way to respect the Bible without the pressure of figuring out “God’s will” every time you open it! There is hope for growing in your faith in a healthy way that allows you to develop theology (your attitudes toward God) with a healthy approach to Biblical studies (seeing how other people developed their theology).

We have been told for years that the Bible will tell us what to do; it is a guidebook for life; it has all of the answers we need. This has caused many of us to “follow God’s word” without any respect or understanding of the design and purpose of the Bible. Some of the most dismissive and disrespectful uses of Scripture come from the people who quote it the most!

PAID subscribers ($5 per month OR $30 per year) will usually get access sooner, be able to participate in future live sessions, and access more community activities.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Each live session is about 20 minutes or less.
Each live session includes the FOUR CORE PRACTICES of healthy Christianity.
Most of the session is the teaching component on a specific topic.
You can hop off the Zoom meeting anytime you want. You can engage by asking questions or leaving comments in the chat.
A recording of each live session will be published about two weeks later for everyone, including free subscribers.

If asked for a passcode…

Join Zoom Meeting https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83041080917?pwd=e3rGWY9n267foQqNVoGhltrbo6paEv.1

Meeting ID: 830 4108 0917

Passcode: 8RtaVx

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ctyt.net/subscribe

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Please listen/read all the way to the end.

Feature Focus

JESUS! He is our Feature Focus!

Look back on 2023 and ask yourself, “Where was God with me?”

As you enter 2024, remember this: You were God’s idea! And God never has bad ideas. Many times we want to tell people, “God put you on this earth for a reason.” Then, we want people to discover that reason, whether it is to raise a family or make a difference or have a successful career. Those could all be great things you do, and they could all be part of God’s desires for you.

But THE reason, the main purpose you have, is because He wanted to have you in His life. Period. He wanted you to exist to receive and know His love. He wanted to create you, adopt you, and love you. He chose you from the beginning of time.

Before you were born, He frontloaded all the grace you would ever need so that you would not have to spend one moment, one millisecond of this life, trying to figure out how you could earn His love or be enough. You already have it, and you already are!

Wow! Is this ever a message I need to hear over and over again?!

My last “Feature Focus” in this final Marc’s Minute newsletter is not a resource, topic, or ministry. It is simply Jesus. Put your focus on Him, to not only find out who God is but to understand who you really are.

Keep It Simple Strategy

If you are meeting with friends, in small groups, or just working on your own faith journey, then check out this week’s simple and reproducible practice tip that you can try anytime.

This one is going to be more of a principle to apply.

Publicize What We Are FOR

Multiple surveys have revealed the number one description that non-Christians use to describe the church is "anti-gay." "Judgmental" and "hypocritical" were also high on the list. I suspect this is concerning, even alarming, to others besides me. Why in the world would followers of Jesus want to be primarily known as anti-anything?!? Is this the best we can do? To come across to people like we are against them when our Guide, Jesus, is FOR all people, is crazy, right?!Too many times, churches will get labeled (often rightly so) because of what they are against rather than what they are for. Many people perceive Christianity only as a religion with a bunch of rules and "don'ts." Unfortunately, the Christian church in America has a reputation for being restrictive and oppressive. Often, churchgoers seem oblivious to how this attitude comes across to the rest of the world, or worse, they take pride in it.

I believe the Bible emphasizes the things that followers of Christ DO and ARE and HAVE, as well. The Christian faith is more accurately identified with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It is more correctly associated with experiencing freedom because of the truth and the Spirit, finding wholeness and peace in all avenues of life, and the renewal of the mind. These are all positive, life-giving aspects that Jesus makes possible for everybody. These should be the main points of our message to the world. Furthermore, the Christian faith is best evidenced by action - serving, helping, caring - that promotes social justice and righteousness.

Isn’t our foundational belief that the Kingdom of God brings an entirely new reality to the life of a Christ-follower? As the Bible teaches, the veil has been removed by Christ so that we can now reflect God's glory. Through Jesus, we enter into existence that sees life differently. God should be able to be seen in us, and we can see God more clearly in others. The last can now be first. The weak can now be strong. The poor can now be rich. The least can now be the greatest. Everything that devalues a person is turned on its head. The new life that Jesus makes possible is radical and unmistakable!

Simple churches, and individual Christians, may need to take time to reflect on the legacy they want to leave. Rather than wasting time causing divisiveness by only concentrating on what we stand against, there must be devotion to what we stand FOR. After all, let's remember that the gospel is the good news, not bad news!

There is not much evidence to show that New Year’s Resolutions are all that effective in changing our long-term behavior or establishing new habits, but what you could do instead is take a few minutes to make a list of the things that you are for, the values you want to promote in your life and think of how you could reflect on, or measure, your capacity to show up that way consistently in 2024.

For those of you who are parents, educators, or church leaders, imagine the implications this could have on children and youth.

Envision a faith community that trains young people to be DO-ers of the Word rather than focusing on a long list of DON’Ts.

So, I leave you with this question: What are you for?

Recommended Resource & What’s Up

I’m going to combine these two sections (Recommended Resource and What’s Up?) for this last edition of the newsletter. Of course, I do want to plug my book one more time, but I have to use this chance to tell you the big news about what is ahead for us.

To say there will be substantial changes in 2024 for CLOSER THAN YOU THINK is an understatement.

Just as 2023 ended, I filed my DBA (Doing Business As), or Assumed Name, with the County Clerk to take step one of creating the business side of Closer Than You Think. Earlier this year, I filed for an EIN with the federal government and opened a new business account. This is more real for me than anything I have done before. In the past, I have dabbled with different ideas and projects, but this is the greatest commitment I have made. Besides writing and publishing my book in 2021, this is the biggest risk I have taken.

Currently, I am working with Thinkific on a platform to design my first online course. I am working through a training program to help me navigate the course development process, business management, and social media as I step out as a solopreneur.

Right now, I have begun sharing some of my plans and getting feedback from people on course content and promotional copy. In the coming weeks and months, you can expect to see new videos and posts on our YouTube channel and other places, including a new website.

So, let me transition into the final section of this newsletter as it relates to this endeavor.

Superhero Support

With this new direction for Closer Than You Think my biggest ask is for your support through prayer. I need heavy doses of wisdom and encouragement to turn intention into action every step of the way.

If you are reading or listening to this, then you are already one of my strongest supporters. I appreciate you and I take nothing for granted. Your time is a precious commodity and choosing to spend even a second of it on anything I produce is humbling.

Now, I ask for your support and cheerleading with these new efforts. As I release information and resources, I appreciate any way you can promote and share them with others. Reposts, shared links, word of mouth, and all that good stuff are so important.

Side note to those of you who are paid subscribers here on Substack as of this recording, you will have FREE access to all content and resources ever produced by Closer Than You Think from here on out. That means the online courses, tools, coaching materials, videos, community memberships, etc. will all be available to you for FREE.

It’s scary for me to say this out loud for the first time, but here’s the dream. This is my “WIG”, the Wildly Important Goal, with some 10x thinking mixed in. I want to help and equip 1000 people transform their spiritual lives by Christmas Day, December 25, 2024, THIS YEAR!! I want people to discover freedom in Christ and overcome the confusion, stress, guilt, shame, and emotional baggage they carry as a result of toxic, religious methods.

Ultimately, I want to grow the CTYT business to reach 100,000 people with the life-changing truth: GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK! The plan and hope is to expand our community through more courses, materials and activities for groups, individual coaching, and more.

I invite you to join me and be a part of this journey. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, buying the book, YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT, is always a way to show your love. Giving it a 5-star rating on Amazon is super helpful too.

In closing, I just want to say dealing with my own fear and anxiety and limitations has been a barrier for me for many years. This is frightening to me. All of it. I know the statistics. I know most business endeavors fail. I know most courses don’t perform well. I know most people have trouble building an audience. I know the odds of me falling flat on my face are greater than me succeeding. I know.

But I also know, just like publishing my book, this is one of those times it is worth it to fail. It is okay to be embarrassed if this dream stumbles out of the gate, if instead of 100,000 people I only reach a dozen, if I lose money, if I make a fool of myself…it will be okay…because I will be fulfilling my purpose and living with meaning. Sharing this message is what I am meant to do.

I want my daughters to know what a successful, meaningful, profound life looks like, one that is used up and spent when you get to the end of it, as it should be, and there is no way to show them that kind of success without risking and embracing and learning from failure to become the best version of myself.

I have quite the road ahead and it has already been a daunting process and hard work. I ask for your prayers and I thank you for your support! I believe it will all be worth it in the end.

To my family, thank you for putting up with me and all my quirks. I love you!

So, HERE WE GO!!! LET’S DO THIS!

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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Feature Focus

How we define the commonly used word “church” affects so much about our approach to faith and God. It’s worth seeing if we are defining it in ways that help or hurt us.

In this issue, we feature a short article I posted in July 2022: “The Dictionary Got One Wrong”

If you do a quick online search for the definition of church, you will immediately find phrases like “a building for Christian worship” or “a religious organization or denomination.” This is so unfortunate because there is a much better way to understand church, especially from the original intention and meaning of this word.

This is no matter of mere semantics. What we believe influences how we act, and as long as our primary conception of church is as a place to bring people for services and events, we will have a misguided approach to Christian identity and practice.

Check out this quick read.

Keep It Simple Strategy

If you are meeting with friends, in small groups, or just working on your own faith journey, then check out this week’s simple and reproducible practice tip that you can try anytime. Remember, you can always find many more FREE materials at Grace In Motion.

How do YOU keep things simple?

I thought I would try turning the tables and asking readers and listeners if anyone had simple strategies of their own, especially for the holidays.

Just last weekend, our simple church group met in a home and took the passage in Matthew about Jesus’s birth and applied a simple and reproducible strategy. We identified 3-2-1.

3 interesting items

2 questions

1 main takeaway

We had tremendous conversation and it was as though we were realizing parts of the story for the first time. Each of us came up with different items and questions. There was some overlap, but each person’s unique perspective helped inform the group’s response and vice versa. It was biblical. It was communal. It was simple. It was reproducible. Anyone, anywhere, with any level of Bible knowledge could engage in the activity.

But what I am curious about today is what you have found that works well. What is a simple practice that you have done with family, children, friends, or on your own? Do you have any strategies or activities that help you during the holiday season, in particular?

Recommended Resource

If you have lost a loved one, then you know the holidays can be especially difficult. Now may be just the right time for you to take advantage of the available support.

“GriefShare is a network of thousands of grief recovery support groups meeting around the world. GriefShare is a program with direction and purpose. With GriefShare you will learn how to walk the journey of grief and be supported on the way. It is a place where grieving people find healing and hope.”

I have attended GriefShare sessions myself and I have written about that experience here. I also discovered that they have recently revamped their material with new research and insights. They feature experts in grief and recovery from all around. I just cannot say enough about the high quality of the GriefShare program.

Even if you don’t feel like you are ready to join a group, I want to highlight a specific event GriefShare offers called “Surviving the Holidays.” It is offered in person and online, and I have included a short 3-minute video with information about this program. For more information about events in your local area, go here.

What’s Up?

I have some big dreams for 2024 and I hope to share some of them soon. One thing I can share now is that I have created a customized coaching process that I plan to launch next year. It is a holistic approach that will help clients reflect on their lives from multiple angles, Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social.

Through the coaching cycle, I work with the client to develop a profile, identify priority areas, set goals, and overcome barriers with tools and resources for their particular needs. While it could be helpful to anyone, my ideal client is someone involved in K-12 education, whether it is a student in high school, a parent/guardian, or an educator working at any level in the system.

Because of my experience for the past two decades in multiple roles and at all grade levels of public education, I can bring a unique element to this kind of coaching relationship. I will help the client distinguish between personal and systemic factors affecting someone’s journey in the education system so that the client can focus energy where they have the most control.

Before formally launching this service, I am looking for anyone interested in participating in one coaching cycle for FREE. Instead of paying for the coaching, I would ask for your honest feedback about the process so I can continue to refine my skills.

If interested in this customized coaching plan, leave a comment below or reach out to me through any of our social media platforms.

BOOK SPECIAL!!! Get You Don’t Have To Do That FREE!!!

I am giving away a limited number of copies of my book. The catch: You make a promise to write a review (as long or short as you want) on Amazon after reading the book. If you want to take me up on this offer, then please comment below or reach out to me through any method available. (Some conditions apply.)

Superhero Support

You can use your superpowers to serve and bless others while supporting the work of CTYT. The quick and easy thing to do is SUBSCRIBE or SHARE.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here are other ideas…

Write a guest post. (Contact me in the comments about featuring your writing in a future CTYT post.)
Join me for a podcast episode. (I’m always looking for people to interview and chat with.)
Leave feedback in the comments.
Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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Feature Focus

I am so excited to share this interview with you all! Educators, parents, community members, pastors, youth pastors, and students should all tune in to this one. Before you return to work after Thanksgiving break, give a quick listen to this conversation with Lorie Goggin, Executive Director of Reset Mentoring in Williamson County, Texas, and take in some knowledge, inspiration, and practical resources. Be encouraged in the work you do with young people. All of our students are trying to figure out life in this complex world, and teenagers in the juvenile justice system are no different. They have hopes and dreams, too, but they also carry a lot of trauma and face significant challenges.

Please, please…I sincerely ask for your feedback…after watching or listening to this episode with Lorie.

GO TO THE INTERVIEW WITH LORIE GOGGIN

From their website:

Working exclusively with Williamson County Juvenile Services, Reset Mentoring is a non-profit organization that was created to help teens RESET their lives... Whatever that looks like for them! Over the past 10 years, we have found that one size fits all just doesn’t work. The teens we work with are as different as you and me. They have their God-given talents, dreams, and future and we have found that for them to succeed long-term we need to walk alongside them in their next best step.

Lorie’s bio:

Lorie is a mom to three grown children, Maggie, Mason and Sarah and a nana to her two sweet grandbabies who she absolutely adores, Frankie and Maxton! In addition to raising children of her own, Lorie is a published author and has worked with teens in both church and school settings. When she began volunteering inside the Williamson County Juvenile Justice Center in November of 2009, she never imagined that God would call her to begin a faith-based mentoring program to help youth at-risk in our community. However, over the last 14 years, she has used her degree in education plus her background in managing call centers and instructional design to help create programs and build teams to come around the youth once they have been released back into the community. Besides nana and mother, it has been her favorite role, and she hopes to continue building bridges and safety nets that will allow the teens that Reset Mentoring serves to continue to develop, learn and grow into their full potential.

Keep It Simple Strategy

Measuring Success - Sending Capacity

Church reformer, Reggie McNeal, has talked about the need to change metrics for success when considering our faith and church paradigms. One key shift I want to focus on today is Seating Capacity vs. Sending Capacity. This admonition isn’t so much a specific action to take but a strategic mindset to hold.

Conventional church structures are largely measured with one question: How many people are coming? In other words, seating capacity is a priority. The aim is to fill seats, or pews, and use that metric to determine effectiveness. If a church can say it is "drawing a crowd" and has the numbers to back it up, then it is viewed as successful by many standards. Over my time in pastoral ministry, I attended more than enough conferences, retreats, and seminars to know this is true. Church growth models and methods have become an industry unto themselves in our part of the world. Making a congregation larger, by whatever means necessary, has become the prime directive of many church leaders. I have been personally entrenched in this mindset before.

To change the scorecard to what I believe is a much healthier metric, we attempt to measure our effectiveness by our sending capacity instead of our seating capacity. Now, rather than counting how many people are coming, the key indicator is how many people are GOING. The church is meant to be missional, on the move; a living, breathing organism. Therefore, the church is people - followers of Jesus - that are influencing the world in which they live.

A critical shift, then, is to move from judging ourselves by how often we are taking people out of their natural contexts, such as work, home, school, the marketplace, etc. so that they can have "church" experiences; and move to judging ourselves by how effectively we are equipping one another to minister and serve IN their natural contexts, like at their job, in their marriage, on their campus, with their neighbor, and other arenas of life. Wouldn’t this be a more common sense, real-life approach?

While many conventional churches work to avoid what are called "growth barriers" (those obstacles to certain levels of congregation size), simple churches are most effective when they are working to overcome "impact barriers" (obstacles that interfere with missional living in various real-life contexts). We want to address what it is that is preventing us from making an impact in our community and our ordinary, everyday lives.

It is also important to realize that bigger is not always better, and 'mega' is not always the ideal. The truth is that Jesus usually had much more intimate interactions with people. The early churches that we know of in the New Testament met in homes mostly. There is a connection between 2 or 3 (or 12 or a household) and spiritual growth. In other words, my argument is that a group of 4-5 believers that are effectively serving in their world and living out their faith on mission is as effective and biblical (perhaps, more) than a church of 400-500 attendees that is doing little more than showing up for services.

Recommended Resource

As a follow-up to this week’s Feature Focus and my interview with Lorie Goggin, I want to be sure you all know how to find out more about RESET Mentoring and support, or connect with, this awesome ministry.

Follow Reset on Facebook.

Explore the Volunteer Opportunities with Reset.

What’s Up?

PRAYERS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE

I share one of my “Prayers for Everyday Life” in the audio recording of this issue.

Superhero Support

You can use your superpowers to serve and bless others while supporting the work of CTYT. The quick and easy thing to do is SUBSCRIBE or SHARE.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here are other ideas…

Write a guest post. (Contact me in the comments about having your own writing featured in a future CTYT post.)
Join me for a podcast episode. (I’m always looking for people to interview and chat with.)
Leave feedback in the comments.
Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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I am so excited to share this interview with my audience. Get ready to be inspired, challenged, and encouraged. This is a great follow-up to our series on “Finding Your Voice” with young adults.

In this episode, we hear from Lorie Goggin, Executive Director of Resent Mentoring in Williamson County. Reset Mentoring works with youth in the juvenile justice system in central Texas.

From their website:

Working exclusively with Williamson County Juvenile Services, Reset Mentoring is a non-profit organization that was created to help teens RESET their lives... Whatever that looks like for them! Over the past 10 years, we have found that one size fits all just doesn’t work. The teens we work with are as different as you and me. They have their God-given talents, dreams, and future and we have found that for them to succeed long-term we need to walk alongside them in their next best step.

Lorie’s bio:

Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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Feature Focus

In issue #6 of this Marc’s Minutes newsletter, I featured part 1 of the article entitled, It Is Good to Question. I encourage you to go back and read or listen to that if you haven’t already.

Today, I share Part 2. As I have said before, “Unquestioned answers are often more dangerous than unanswered questions.”

Curiosity. Questioning. Reflection. These are essentials to spiritual and personal growth.

Here is an excerpt from part 2 of “It is Good To Question”:

Whether Jesus was interacting with religious authorities, His own disciples, disabled individuals, government officials, men or women, He could meet them where they were and take them somewhere else at the same time with just a question. His questions were differentiated to apply to their unique situation because of who they were, and His questions also demonstrated a supernatural capacity to lift them above their circumstances because of who He was. … Jesus was exceptional at asking the right questions in the right ways.

The full post is actually short, but it contains a very practical way to use the questions of Jesus in your own devotional or prayer time. I did this over a period of several months and it was great.

Check out the article here.

Keep It Simple Strategy

EVERY MEMBER FUNCTIONING (Participatory Model)

Today we look at another principle behind the strategies for simple church meetings or gatherings.

In the movie Patch Adams, the main character (played by the late Robin Williams), declares his belief that every person is both a doctor and a patient. Likewise, we believe every person is a teacher and a learner. Based on the "priesthood of believers" philosophy presented in the New Testament, it is appropriate to expect each follower of Christ to be both giving and receiving ministry. The goal is to focus on a participatory model that involves and engages everyone (all ages included) as much as possible.

This may differ significantly from some people's perception of "church" if it has been shaped by an experience of an identified clergy (pastor, priest, worship leader, etc.) preaching to a mostly passive audience during a church service. While that can be effective and very beneficial at times, in my opinion, it should not be the norm as all parts of the "body" are needed to contribute for healthy growth and true service to occur.

There are no spectators. (Keep in mind that levels of participation will naturally vary for any number of factors just like they would in any family activities. The point here is not that every person is equally active in every meeting at all times, but that the structure itself is not meant for a hierarchical system where one person leading the group is the norm.)

Recommended Resource

Instead of sharing a resource in this issue, I just want to take a moment to thank our Veterans. Serving in the military is a sacrifice that I have not personally made. I am grateful and appreciative of those who have demonstrated that level of discipline and bravery to serve our country in this capacity.

I frankly wish we were in fewer military conflicts around the world, but that in no way diminishes my respect and admiration for the men and women serving our nation through the armed forces. To my friends and relatives who are Veterans, thank you!

Regardless of the political and social challenges we face, I am still very proud to be an American! Our freedom is precious. Happy Veterans Day!

What’s Up?

PRAYERS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE

I share one of my “Prayers for Everyday Life” in the audio recording of this issue. This one is called “The DMV.”

Superhero Support

You can use your superpowers to serve and bless others while supporting the work of CTYT. The quick and easy thing to do is SUBSCRIBE or SHARE.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here are other ideas…

Write a guest post. (Contact me in the comments about having your own writing featured in a future CTYT post.)
Join me for a podcast episode. (I’m always looking for people to interview and chat with.)
Leave feedback in the comments.
Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.
We have a new YouTube channel! (Just getting it off the ground.)
Online community coming soon!
Online courses coming soon!

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

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Feature Focus

Here is PART TWO of my conversation with Lindsay. She helps me understand another perspective on how young adults are finding their voice, how they have been affected by the school system and church along their journey, and what they believe about God’s voice.

Please send me your feedback on Substack or any of our media platforms and let me know what you think of these interviews.

If you missed part 1, you can find it at the link below.

You can also go to YouTube and watch the entire interview in one episode.

Much appreciation and gratitude to Lindsay for participating in this interview!

Keep It Simple Strategy

The D.N.A. of the Church

Today, we are doing something a little different. Instead of sharing a specific strategy, I want to share a principle that is the foundation for many of the strategies we do share here. The credit for this concept goes to Neil Cole who originally fleshed it out about 20 years ago in his book, Organic Church, which is really one of the best and most basic introductions to church being done simply.

The idea is that the church, meaning the body of Christ, as Jesus developed and explained it, is made up of essential “DNA.” These three elements are present in any genuine faith community, and you don’t need other components added on to make it “real church.”

DIVINE TRUTH: It is important and necessary for people to interact with the Word (Jesus) and word (Bible) directly themselves. Additional curriculum or resources may be beneficial supplements at times, but should never replace direct engagement with the "curriculum" already divinely provided.
NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS: Face-to-face fellowship where everyone has an opportunity to interact and participate is important so that all members of the group can build up, learn from, and minister to one another.
APOSTOLIC (ACTIVE) MISSION: Our identity as the church comes from the fact that we are empowered and sent by God to bring a specific message to the world around us. The purpose of any true church does not end with how they treat the people in their group but also includes how they are representing God to those outside of the group.

If you read or hear these aspects and think to yourself, Wait a minute! I have these already with my family or friends. These don’t require me to “go to church.”, then you get it! Services and structures that we have made may be supplemental at times to our faith, but they are not necessary to produce it like this DNA.

Recommended Resource

One of the hot-button issues that gets a strong reaction from most people is DEI, or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. A major component of DEI initiatives is often an effort to promote anti-racism. Some people hear these words and are immediately triggered (another word we like to use a lot these days), but there is a way to engage in civil, honest, productive dialogue around these issues. Believe it or not! The key is finding the right people who are willing to listen to diverse voices and perspectives, and who also have the platform to influence many others.

One of those people is Chloe Valdary, and my recommended resource is her Theory of Enchantment. If this is a topic of interest for you, or if you are skeptical of programs that address this topic, I suggest checking out some of her work. I have a thorough write-up about the Theory of Enchantment and Chloe’s approach here.

What I will briefly share here is that I have been exposed to a variety of DEI programs and equity initiatives over the past few years, which I outline here, and Ms. Valdary’s work is unique in this field. The philosophy, if you will, behind the Theory of Enchantment is based on three principles.

Principle 1: Remember that We are human beings, not political abstractions.

Principle 2: Criticize to uplift and empower, never to tear down or to destroy.

Principle 3: Root everything you do in love and compassion.

What’s Up?

PRAYERS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE

I share one of my “Prayers for Everyday Life” in the audio recording of this issue.

Superhero Support

You can use your superpowers to serve and bless others while supporting the work of CTYT. The quick and easy thing to do is SUBSCRIBE or SHARE.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here are other ideas…

Write a guest post. (Contact me in the comments about having your own writing featured in a future CTYT post.)
Join me for a podcast episode. (I’m always looking for people to interview and chat with.)
Leave feedback in the comments.
Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.
We have a new YouTube channel! (Just getting it off the ground.)
Online community coming soon!
Online courses coming soon!

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

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As part of our podcast series on Voice, Marc interviews Lindsay to discuss the process for young adults to find their voice, how religion and education systems have helped or hindered that journey, and if there is such a thing as the voice of God.

This is part 2 of 2. If you missed part 1, find it here.

The entire interview is available on YouTube!

Follow CTYT on Instagram.
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This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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Feature Focus

My special guest, Lindsay, joins me to continue our podcast series on Voice. How are young adults finding their voice, how has the school system and church affected that journey, and does God have a voice? We get another perspective on these questions from Lindsay.

Lindsay’s interview is divided into two parts on the podcast. However, the entire interview can be viewed on YouTube as one complete interview. Part 2 of the audio interview for the podcast will be released soon. Hope you enjoy it and remember to like the episode or send me feedback.

Keep It Simple Strategy

Today’s strategy is the BYE BYE BLESSING. You can certainly come up with a less cheesy name, but the simple point with this practice is to close out any meeting or gathering with a chance for people to voice out loud how they were blessed, encouraged, challenged, or inspired by another person in the gathering.

EXAMPLES:

I was really moved by Hannah’s story. Thanks for sharing it.
I appreciate the question Simon asked about… It made me think I might not be crazy because I have been confused by the same thing.
I learned something new from Kaitlyn.
Thanks, Josh, for praying for me earlier.

As with all of these strategies, we want to reinforce the reproducibility of any of these practices to show that it is the body of Christ, with all of its members, at work to produce growth and health. People can often underestimate their impact on others and this “bye-bye blessing” to just take a brief moment before everyone scatters can help ordinary people, like you and me, realize we are making a difference. It is one more small way to counter the mindset that you have to be a professional theologian or clergy to be able to share profound spiritual insights.

Recommended Resource

With the terrible events unfolding in the Middle East, I am reminded this week of the work of Carl Medearis. Instead of sharing one recommended resource, I invite you to check out any of the books, articles, or video courses offered on his website.

What’s Up?

PRAYERS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE

I share one of my “Prayers for Everyday Life” in the audio recording of this issue.

Superhero Support

You can use your superpowers to serve and bless others while supporting the work of CTYT. The quick and easy thing to do is SUBSCRIBE or SHARE.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here are other ideas…

Write a guest post. (Contact me in the comments about having your own writing featured in a future CTYT post.)
Join me for a podcast episode. (I’m always looking for people to interview and chat with.)
Leave feedback in the comments.
Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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This is part 1 of 2. Please stay tuned for the release of part 2 of this interview soon!

OR you can watch the entire interview now on YouTube!

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Feature Focus

Unquestioned answers are often more dangerous than unanswered questions. This is something I truly believe, especially when it comes to faith and religion.

Closer Than You Think is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The key to great learning and spiritual development can be found in our questions. Check out part one of this article I wrote on the power of questions. I hope you find something practical that you can use in your life.

Let me know what you think of “It Is Good To Question” (part 1). Here is an excerpt to get you started:

Few things in the Bible paint so clear a picture of our condition as the questions we ask. In encounters with Jesus, people asked questions that revealed their religious tendencies, meaning their inclination to judge, impose upon others, label, categorize, and be superficial. Examples of questions that are asked with impure motives, absent of genuine curiosity, include:

Why does he (Jesus) eat with tax collectors and sinners?
Why do your disciples break the law on the Sabbath?
Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating food with unclean hands?
Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?
Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

We find a pattern of religion in these kinds of questions. They are posed with the intent to change the other, not oneself. They deal with who is in or out, labeling people as superior or inferior based on what they do. The above inquiries seek black-and-white answers that maintain a hierarchy. Their intention is to establish rules for how the “in crowd” lives while making everyone else subordinate. There may be something valuable in some of these questions, but true enlightenment is not the impetus for asking questions in this manner.

Find a better and more useful way of asking questions in the rest of the article here.

Keep It Simple Strategy

POTLUCKS

This one is a quick and easy suggestion for any small group or simple church or house church gathering. It is always great to have food when you can. The best fellowship and bonding and learning often happen around a table while sharing a meal.

The key to keeping it simple and easily reproducible is to share the responsibility for meal prep. Avoid making it one person’s job to prepare a full meal and avoid the habit of having the host do all the work. Each person brings a small dish or a snack.

This way individuals can choose what to bring and account for their own food allergies and preferences. In the groups and church meetings I have been a part of since leaving the institutional church, we have never required anyone to bring anything. This is an important component, as well. As much as possible, you want to make everything optionaland always allow people to participate at their comfort level.

Good food. Good meat. Good God. Let’s eat. Potlucks!

Recommended Resource

For this issue, I am actually recommending a resource that my very own simple church group is reviewing together in the coming weeks. It is a podcast series from Tim Mackie, one of the founders of The Bible Project, called Exploring My Strange Bible.

For so many of us, the Old Testament is a confusing piece of ancient writing. Without some basic understanding of context and writing styles of the original authors, we don’t see any relevance to the teachings of Jesus or to our own lives today.

Tim Mackie is one of the best at opening up Scripture so that it becomes easier to understand while still maintaining its complexity and literary genius. This particular recommended resource is a free podcast (3-part series), which offers a crash course on the Torah. You will learn what Jesus and the apostles thought of this section of the Hebrew Bible and how they used it to present the good news about what God is really like.

If you are a Christian wanting to deepen your appreciation of the story of the Bible or if you are a skeptic who is tired of hearing some Christians quote Scriptures and turn them into cliches and platitudes, then I think you will enjoy, and benefit from, Mackie’s series.

What’s Up?

I’m turning the tables this time. Instead of saying what’s up with me and Closer Than You Think, I would like to hear what’s up with you.

What is a question you have about faith, God, Christianity, etc. that has always bugged you?

Superhero Support

You can use your superpowers to serve and bless others while supporting the work of CTYT. The quick and easy thing to do is SUBSCRIBE or SHARE.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here are other ideas…

Write a guest post. (Contact me in the comments about having your own writing featured in a future CTYT post.)
Join me for a podcast episode. (I’m always looking for people to interview and chat with.)
Leave feedback in the comments.
Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.
We have a new YouTube channel! (Just getting it off the ground.)
Online community coming soon!
Online courses coming soon!

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Closer Than You Think is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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Feature Focus

My special guest, Simon, joins me to continue our podcast series on Voice. How are young adults finding their voice, how has the school system and church affected that journey, and does God have a voice? We get another perspective on these questions in this episode.

Listen to the whole episode!

Keep It Simple Strategy

Today’s strategy is SENTENCE PRAYERS. Keep in mind the whole point of these strategies is to offer simple, easily reproducible ways that someone can create meaningful, spiritual connections. We don’t want to water down our faith experiences, but we do want to recognize that they don’t have to be complicated events that require professional religious officials to facilitate them.

One thing I have observed over the years is a huge reluctance by most people to pray in front of others out of fear. People often don’t feel they will pray correctly or they will sound silly. This is unfortunate, but completely understandable given our traditional church structures and practices. This strategy is one more way to counteract the apprehension, keep it very simple, and still have meaningful prayer (even if it only takes seconds to do).

The strategy is to simply pray one sentence. Here are some helpful prompts:

God, give me more _____ today. (Fill in the blank with a fruit of the Spirit or character trait, such as joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, or grace.)
Lord, I feel _____ right now because….
God, one person I hope you bless today is _____.
Lord, thank you for my _____. (Examples: Thank you for my wife. Thank you for my job. Thank you for my lungs. Thank you for my co-worker’s great idea for our company. Thank you for my air conditioning.)

It literally only takes a moment, but it is not without profound meaning because it still requires personal reflection.

Recommended Resource

My recommended resource is related to my previous Marc’s Minute “Feature Focus” on God’s Will. It is a FREE book available from Frank Viola, called Rethinking the Will of God. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is short, easy to read, and absolutely FREE!

What’s Up?

PRAYERS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE

Just for fun, I will occasionally be sharing “Prayers for Everyday Life.” These are brief thoughts and prayers of a modified spoken word variety. I am doing this mostly because I need to exercise the muscle of risk-taking with creativity, and it helps me express thoughts and feelings in a different way. I welcome your comments and invite anyone to share their own “prayers for everyday life.”

Superhero Support

You can use your superpowers to serve and bless others while supporting the work of CTYT. The quick and easy thing to do is SUBSCRIBE or SHARE.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here are other ideas…

Write a guest post. (Contact me in the comments about having your own writing featured in a future CTYT post.)
Join me for a podcast episode. (I’m always looking for people to interview and chat with.)
Leave feedback in the comments.
Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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As part of our podcast series on Voice, Marc interviews Simon to discuss the process for young adults to find their voice, how religion and education systems have helped or hindered that journey, and if there is such a thing as the voice of God.

Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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Feature Focus

How do we figure out God’s will?

The focus of this issue is a post I wrote one year ago that helps us answer this question, but probably not in the way you have usually heard it answered. I hope you take a few minutes to read or listen to the article and let me know your thoughts.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart because I think we have inadvertently led many young people astray with our advice about what God wants them to do with their lives.

Here is an excerpt:

“I want to know God’s will for my life.” Have you heard someone express that sentiment? Have you thought it yourself? The Church has been happy to answer this question for people. We have books, sermons, and resources telling us how to find God’s will, answer God’s call, and live in such a way that we miss neither.

The problem is the popular notion of answering God’s call or finding God’s will is so strongly tied to our contemporary condition of occupation obsession. We live in a context that has young citizens go to school for years where they have to decide on a career path for life. Then, they go off to college and spend tons of money to specialize in a particular field of study. We are hyper-focused on having everyone figure out their career, and what they will do for the next 40 years, and this context drives our teaching on God’s will.

What we end up with is a series of conversations about whether it is God’s will for a person to be a doctor or a teacher, to attend this university or that university, to devote their lives to this occupation or that one. There are enough current sociological reasons why this is unwise, including the fact that the job market is ever-changing and many of the jobs young people will occupy may not even exist yet. Thanks to technological advances, more work is remote and the workforce is more mobile, switching from one role to another or from one company to another more often. Also, there is the proven fact that our metrics for ranking students and colleges (grade point average, SAT tests, college ranking reports, etc.) are all based on misleading, inaccurate junk data. For these reasons alone, we should abandon much of how we direct young people to discern God’s will for their lives.

But I am here to argue an even more significant reason. God doesn’t work this way. It is bad theology from the start. All the problems listed above are society’s problems in general, but this concern is ours as Christians to resolve. Pastors, teachers, parents, and youth leaders, we can and must do better.

Read or listen to the rest of the article here.

Keep It Simple Strategy

PRESCRIPTION vs. DESCRIPTION

Today’s simple and reproducible tip that you can apply anytime you are reading something in the Bible, whether you are alone or in a group Bible study, is to ask the question, “Is this PREscriptive or DEscriptive?”

It is important to note that most, or all, of the letters in the New Testament are occasional letters, meaning there was an occasion, or cause, for them to be written. None of the writings occurred in a vacuum, but rather each is responding to a very particular context. With that in mind, just because something is being described for us to know what happened then does not always mean it is being prescribed for us to know what should happen now.

In fact, more often than not, that is probably not the case. Most of the issues we encounter warrant more research and deeper reflection than just plucking verses or stories out of the Bible and saying, “See, this is what we should do. The Bible says so!” That can actually be a dismissive way of handling such a sophisticated historical and spiritual text as the Bible.

Recommended Resource

What’s Up?

Join my Chat!

https://closerthanyouthink.substack.com/publish/post/136224048

Superhero Support

You can use your superpowers to serve and bless others while supporting the work of CTYT. The quick and easy thing to do is SUBSCRIBE or SHARE.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here are other ideas…

Write a guest post. (Contact me in the comments about having your own writing featured in a future CTYT post.)
Join me for a podcast episode. (I’m always looking for people to interview and chat with.)
Leave feedback in the comments.
Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.
We have a new YouTube channel! (Just getting it off the ground.)
Online community coming soon!
Online courses coming soon!

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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Feature Focus

My special guest, Hannah, joins me to continue our podcast series on Voice. How are young adults finding their voice, how has the school system and church affected that journey, and does God have a voice? We get another perspective on these questions in this episode.

Listen to the whole episode!

Keep It Simple Strategy

Today’s strategy is BREATH PRAYER. It is very simple and based on the realization that our faith is an embodied faith. In other words, Christianity, correctly understood, is a physical spirituality in that our mind and body are fully integrated. All of who we are can respond to all of who God is, so we can benefit from finding ways to engage God’s Spirit through our physical senses as well as our thoughts, feelings, and spiritual awareness.

At the most basic level, we are simply going to breathe in and out slowly with a focus on our breathing. Note how you can control it and use your breath to your advantage to slow your heart rate and ease your anxiety. You can thank God for the breath, the life, that He has given you.

Next, you can visualize something going out from you with each exhale (fear, bitterness, jealousy, etc.) and the fruit of God’s Spirit coming into you with each inhale (love, joy, peace, kindness, etc.).

You can provide even more structure with a routine known as box breathing. Picture a box (square) in which you mentally trace the outline for 4 seconds on each side. So, you will breathe IN for four seconds across the top of the box, or square, HOLD your breath in for four seconds down the right side of the box, breathe OUT for four seconds across the bottom of the square, and HOLD again for four seconds while visually tracking up the left side of the box to end. A great method is to repeat this pattern for one minute.

There are many great tools and apps that can help you with breathing exercises and visualization, such as Neuroflow or the recommended resource I featured in the last issue of Marc’s Minute, the Christian Meditation Podcast with Chaplain Jared.

Breath prayers can be done anytime, anywhere with no planning or preparation. It really is one of the simplest things you can do.

Recommended Resource

The Rule of Life podcast from Practicing the Way is a FREE, powerful series of themed discussions hosted by John Mark Comer. Each episode is done in a way to offer both information (you will learn) and transformation.

My best recommendation is for you to simply visit https://www.practicingtheway.org/practices and explore the page. Personally, I have just listened to the podcast series as episodes have been released on various topics, including worship, Sabbath, which I wrote about in my Substack article entitled Rest for the Weary, and fasting, which I wrote about in my Substack article entitled Fasting.

You can engage the content at your comfort level, whether it is only listening to the podcast on your own or participating in the practices with a group of people. So, check out Rule of Life at Practicing the Way.

What’s Up?

Please comment or reach out to me if you have an idea for a guest post or someone to interview.

Superhero Support

You can use your superpowers to serve and bless others while supporting the work of CTYT. The quick and easy thing to do is SUBSCRIBE or SHARE.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here are other ideas…

Write a guest post. (Contact me in the comments about having your own writing featured in a future CTYT post.)
Join me for a podcast episode. (I’m always looking for people to interview and chat with.)
Leave feedback in the comments.
Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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As part of our podcast series on Voice, Marc interviews Hannah to discuss the process for young adults to find their voice, how religion and education systems have helped or hindered that journey, and if there is such a thing as the voice of God.

Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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Feature Focus

Is a chaplain coming to a school near you?

What are your thoughts about chaplains being in schools?

To put my cards on the table, I gladly support having chaplains in schools, but I also understand why many people have reservations about this idea. If a school or district is going to have chaplains serving staff and students, then it is necessary to proceed with caution.

Go here to find the feature focus article for this issue.

NEXT ISSUE’S FEATURE FOCUS: INTERVIEW WITH HANNAH

Keep It Simple Strategy

For our second issue, it’s back to school time! Staff are already showing up for professional development and students are getting ready to kick off the 2023-2024 school year. Today’s simple strategy is PRAYER WALKING. Here is a one-pager full of ideas for how you can pray for a school in your area. No preparation is required and ANYONE can do it! You can spend 10 minutes, 10 hours, 10 days, or 10 months (the whole school year) on this. You can do it alone, with a partner, a small group, or your whole church.

Recommended Resource

If you want a calm way to ease into meditation, the Christian Meditation Podcast with Chaplain Jared might be what you need.

I have listened to an episode on many mornings over the past few years to slow down and refocus for 10-15 minutes.

What’s Up?

My book is available for checkout at the Leander Public Library. This is your FREE way of reading it! Check it out here.

Superhero Support

You can use your superpowers to serve and bless others while supporting the work of CTYT. The quick and easy thing to do is SUBSCRIBE or SHARE.

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here are other ideas…

Write a guest post. (Contact me in the comments about having your own writing featured in a future CTYT post.)
Join me for a podcast episode. (I’m always looking for people to interview and chat with.)
Leave feedback in the comments.
Follow CTYT on Instagram.
Follow Marc on Twitter.
Buy the book: YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT
Like our Facebook page.
We have a new YouTube channel! (Just getting it off the ground.)
Online community coming soon!
Online courses coming soon!

Thank you for reading Closer Than You Think. This post is public so feel free to share it.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closerthanyouthink.substack.com/subscribe

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I have often told my wife that my dream job would be a public school chaplain. Well, the Texas legislature passed a bill to allow chaplains in public schools and it was signed into law by Governor Abbott this summer. School boards all over the state must decide whether to have chaplains in their schools and have a recorded vote of yes or no within six months. The reality is that I am in no position to leave my job to become a chaplain, but nonetheless, this is a real-time current event that has implications for us, our kids, and our schools.

You can read the full text of the bill. Let’s take a look at a couple of parts.

Sec.A23.001.AA SCHOOL CHAPLAINS. (a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may employ or accept as a volunteer a chaplain to provide support, services, and programs for students as assigned by the board of trustees of the district or the governing body of the school.

This tells me that school boards are going to have significant power and authority in establishing, defining, and overseeing the work of chaplains. The law only states that schools are allowed to have chaplains, not that they must. All of the criteria for what this service or program will look like are left to each school board.

SECTION A2.AA Section 48.115(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows: (b)AA Funds allocated under this section must be used to improve school safety and security,…

Interestingly, for any districts that decide to compensate chaplains or pay for their training, the money will come from the budget for safety and security.

What are your thoughts about chaplains being in schools?

As the bill was being debated and revised along its way to eventually arriving at the governor’s desk, Representative James Talarico was one who raised some questions and objections. Here is my take on the anxiety some have toward the idea of public school chaplains and why I think it is actually an opportunity for unity. For example, one fear is that chaplains will come into schools and start pushing their religion onto others. Another fear is that chaplains will degrade other religions or make someone feel bad for not believing at all. An understandable fear is that extremists, such as Christian nationalists, will try to enter the schools by becoming chaplains.

So far, these fears I have mentioned should be the same fears Christians have about this initiative. As a follower of Christ, if I had the choice of having a chaplain in my school who would constantly try to persuade people to believe like them or having no chaplain at all, I would choose to have no chaplain. If a chaplain came into the school with an agenda to legitimize a Christian nationalist ideology, then it would be better to have no chaplain. In other words, what makes an atheist apprehensive about such legislation should be the same things that would make a Christian apprehensive about it.

I am using Christianity as the example here, but the truth is there will potentially be Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and Buddhist chaplains serving in schools, as well. All of the same fears and arguments hold regardless of which faith or religion is being represented.

One of the organizations that testified in favor of the bill and is promoting the initiative to school boards for implementation is the National School Chaplains Association (NSCA). In a recent email to constituents, the NSCA recommended readers to remind local school boards of the alarming levels of stress that teachers and students are under. Valid point! The message emphasized the need for additional mental and emotional health support for educators. Also true!

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Here is an excerpt from the NSCA’s suggested email for school boards to consider:

School chaplains are trained professionals who offer pastoral counseling, guidance, and support to teachers and students of any faith or no faith at all. They are not there to proselytize or impose their beliefs, but to listen, empathize, and help us cope with our struggles and find meaning and purpose in our work. Thousands of school chaplains have proven to help create a positive and inclusive school culture. Research has shown that spirituality can reduce stress, increase happiness, enhance self-esteem, and promote physical health.

If this is an honest appeal, then it is a wise approach. As both a follower of Christ and a veteran public school educator, I do not see anything but more headaches for school administrators if chaplains come into schools to “proselytize or impose their beliefs,” but I do see an enormous potential benefit if chaplains come into schools to “listen, empathize, and help us cope with our struggles and find meaning and purpose in our work.”

To my fellow Christians with any hopes of becoming school chaplains, if the work is done as Jesus would do it, then the result will be a more positive and inclusive school culture. The Spirit would still insist that we serve in order to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The stage is set for a beautiful opportunity because this fruit is exactly what our schools need. Everyone’s job and student learning would be easier with more peace, patience, kindness, and self-control on display. All stakeholders would benefit!

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOL BOARDS

It will be tempting for school boards to enter into the fray of the age-old separation of church and state debate or the politics of this bill. I anticipate that we will, unfortunately, see and hear fearmongering from both sides to support or oppose chaplaincy. I’m going to sidestep those issues here because I think it will be much more productive if school districts could discuss expectations and metrics around three themes for the work of chaplains: Voice, Victory, and Vision.

VOICE

How could chaplains help more people in our system find their voice? Often there are systemic barriers to people exercising more choice and giving input or feedback. Administrators needs to address these issues. But many times, there are personal, emotional, or psychological factors holding a person back from healthy self-expression or communication with others. Through active listening and reflection, chaplains could be additional support to counselors, social workers, and leadership coaches.

VICTORY

How could chaplains encourage and celebrate more people in our system toward their successes? Chaplains could positively impact school culture almost immediately by being cheerleaders for the wonderful things happening that may often get overlooked. Chaplains could learn practical ways to highlight the personal and collective gains of all stakeholders through conversations, goal-setting, progress monitoring, and other means. In fact, if chaplains were on campuses doing nothing more than bragging on people “behind their backs” it would go a long way to building better learning environments.

VISION

How could chaplains challenge individuals to move toward their vision or picture of a preferred future? The ethics, norms, and expectations within schools are the perfect areas to ground chaplaincy work. Chaplains could help students and staff with their dreams and identity formation, what they are pursuing, what they want to become, and discover why it matters.

I believe that students who are able to find their voice, experience victory, and shape their vision will not only have happier days during their formal education but also will be better equipped for their life after it. Chaplains could have a tremendous positive impact on students, staff, and families.

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My special guest, Kaitlyn, helps us kick off our podcast series on Voice. How are young adults finding their voice, how has the school system and church affected that journey, and does God have a voice? These are some of the questions we tackle in this episode.

Here is a quick preview.

Watch or listen to the whole episode!

Keep It Simple Strategy

For our first issue, let’s look at a basic illustration of how simple church differs from a traditional, institutional structure. Roy McClung explains in less than two minutes.

Recommended Resource

If you want an honest, real, and helpful resource for marriage, then visit Anatomy of Us and go to Season 1 of their podcast.

What’s Up?

I recently had the privilege of speaking with Seth & Melanie Studley on their amazing podcast, Anatomy of Us. Check out the episode.

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As part of our podcast series on Voice, Marc interviews Kaitlyn to discuss what the process is like for young adults finding their voice, how religion and education systems have helped or hindered that journey, and if there is such a thing as the voice of God.

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When I was in college I had to take a few Religion courses to meet the requirements of my university. In one course I wrote a paper about the teachings in the New Testament related to the rapture, which is the idea that Christ-followers (believers) are going to suddenly be transferred from earth to heaven at the Second Coming of Jesus. As a young Christian, the rapture was presented to me as a fact. My assignment was not to judge its validity as a doctrine but more so to argue for or against the biblical claims related to it. I don’t remember many of the details, but I do recall the difficulty in reaching a conclusion. Decades later I don’t feel any more confident in understanding what the Bible teaches about this topic.

I have, though, learned two important points since my “baby Christian” days. One, ideas around rapture theology, dispensationalism, and end-time prophecies are fairly new in terms of church history. Many of the popular claims about how Jesus will return or how the world will end have surfaced within the past 200 years! Two, certain end-time (aka. eschatological) doctrines have been significantly instrumental in national policy and world affairs to a degree I never realized.

There are two outstanding podcast episodes (Part 1) (Part 2) from The Holy Post that cover this topic well through interviews with Daniel Hummel.

Coincidentally, I recently finished reading The Delusion of Crowds by William J. Bernstein. Bernstein writes (p. 238):

“To get a ground-level sense of America’s current cultural polarization, watch Left Behind, a B-movie starring Nicolas Cage as airline pilot Rayford Steele. On a flight from New York to London, Steele’s plane suffers the inexplicable disappearance of dozens of passengers and a collision with an apparently pilotless airliner and is then improbably guided by Steele’s daughter to a fiery emergency landing on a stretch of abandoned highway.

The film, which chaotically shifts between scenes of mayhem in Steele’s aircraft and on the ground, neatly separates its viewers into two groups: those who find the plot line bizarre and kick themselves for watching it, and those who consider it an entertaining version of a story as familiar as Ocean’s Eleven or Casablanca.

Nowhere is the nation’s cultural divide more noticeable than that cleaved by dispensationalism: To one side lie those to whom it supplies the very real prospect of salvation from a fearsome Tribulation and eternal damnation; and to the other side it seems a belief system that, to the extent they’re aware of it at all, echoes the incoherent jumble of Left Behind.

As you can infer, Bernstein is critical of dispensationalism and the Left Behind series, and for good reason. Coincidentally, although this perspective had become, and continues to be, wildly popular among many mainstream evangelicals in the latter half of the 20th century, it is almost universally dismissed by scholars and seminaries. The negative effect of this end-times obsession has raised confusion, fear, and deception to fever pitches, which fits the theme of Bernstein’s book of mass hysteria resulting from crazy teachings.

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Bernstein briefly chronicles the contribution of Robert Anderson in the late 19th century because of its foundational influence on 20th-century prophecies among dispensationalists. Anderson’s work, Bernstein contends, can be seen as the basis for many predictions from people like Jerry Falwell, Hal Lindsey, and Tim LaHaye. As many others have done, Anderson drew from his interpretations of the Old Testament book of Daniel (chapters 8-9) to create a timeline with quite fanciful calculations for events in the late 1800s. (p. 205-207)

Hal Lindsey perpetuated the idea of the world ending by 1988 because of his interpretation of Matthew 24:34, thinking that “these things” will happen within a generation of the 1948 establishment of Israel. (p. 248) Lindsey took the end-time prophecy of dispensationalism to the masses with his book, The Late Great Planet Earth. It was the best-selling non-fiction book of the entire decade of the 1970s, so much so that the Mutual Insurance Company of New York began to offer policies that would pay off left-behind beneficiaries of raptured policy owners. (p. 250)

The Moral Majority, founded by Jerry Falwell and Paul Weyrich, “burst onto the national scene with their opposition to abortion and gay rights, determination to ‘clean up’ television and the movies, and fervent support for the state of Israel.” (p. 253) At the same time, other influential factors included the late Pat Robertson’s 700 Club, Christian Zionism, and the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ).

Christian Zionism supports a return of Jews to the Holy Land, and the rights of the nation-state of Israel as formed in 1948, and sees these things as necessary fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. So, for many Christian Zionists, what happens with Israel is inextricably linked to end-time predictions. More specifically, as Bernstein points out, “A small piece of land, the site of the Temple Mount, takes center stage in many eschatological theories among Jews, Christians, and Muslims” (p. 218-219).

**Note for full disclosure: Currently, I fall into the camp that sees the rebuilding of the Temple as unnecessary since Jesus Christ came and finished the work of the sacrificial system once and for all. His followers became the living temple since His Spirit is in, and among, us wherever we are. God is not bound to a location or structure.

I am a novice when it comes to these theories of end-times prophecy and apocalyptic literature so I won’t try to explain them any further here. I leave that to the experts like Hummel. What I do want to reiterate is just how much Bernstein and Hummel and others have reinforced my concern with the way Christian doctrines are presented to children and youth. Because of our misguided attempts to be faithful to the gospel, we make up stuff about heaven, hell, the rapture, and how the world will end. We scare a lot of people at a young age or turn a lot of people off to God altogether. We major in what we don’t know (how things will end) and dismiss what we do know (Jesus says His followers will be known by their love.) to get people “saved.”

The focus on what if over what is presents enough of a problem, but we have made things worse by hitching all of this bad theology to politics. Some people are deceived into thinking only one political party has this all figured out. They think it is worth fighting for and anyone who believes differently or even doubts it, is an infidel.

This post is largely for my own brain to process this information. It is complex and I am not the best at making perfect sense of it all. But I will end by contending that we are better off teaching our children to see the needs and people around them here and now and focus their energy on these things. I may not know how the world will end or what exactly happens to a person after they die, but I do know that Jesus clearly taught and commanded us to love.

What does all of this have to do with how we teach and raise the next generation? Quite a bit, actually. See, modern evangelicalism has run with this theme of getting people to heaven after they die as the prime objective of the Christian faith. More than anything else, they present this as the top reason for knowing and following Jesus.

As I write in my book, “I submit we would be better off, as would our children, if we spent more time on what is right before our eyes in this life than on the unknowns of the afterlife.” It is with humility that I acknowledge I, and really we, know almost nothing about what happens to us after this life. The late Dallas Willard wrote, “The damage done to our practical faith in Christ…by our confusing heaven with a place in a distance space…is incalculable.”

Knowing that our concept of heaven is a source of great hope for many people, professing Christians or not, I don’t enjoy giving this caution. But to be honest, we need to resist obsession with the afterlife as an escape from this life. Not everything about believing in God comes down to getting our ticket punched to go to heaven when we die. There is real work God is doing in and through His creation here and now in this life.

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The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups

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The Rule of Life podcast team with Practicing the Way has done it again. They released another series on a spiritual practice, fasting, that has challenged me. The episodes are filled with a good combination of information and inspiration. Here is my reflection and summary of my learning.

First of all, simply put, fasting is not eating. It is going without food. Many times, people will say they are “fasting” from shopping or electronics or some other activity. That may be a form of abstaining, but it is not fasting. Only in the West do we seem to confuse this point when we really know better. If your doctor tells you to fast before a procedure, then we all know they mean to not eat. You don’t show up at the hospital the morning of your operation and say, “I am prepared. I fasted from Facebook last night.” This basic and fundamental point is important because fasting only makes sense if we have a theology of the body.

Fasting introduces “whole body hungering” for God. The body is not just a shell. We are holistic beings and our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit. In the West, we tend to overemphasize our mind in discipleship and spiritual formation (I am totally guilty of this!), but the harder reality to comprehend is that we also receive spiritual formation through our body, including our stomach specifically. This realization aligns with my understanding of a person as a whole and an integrated being. We are spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, and social. (I often use the acronym S.P.I.E.S. to highlight this point.) The stomach, with its physical needs and desires, ties these dimensions together.

Fasting is the physical act of going without food as a spiritual practice of consecrating ourselves to God. It is, therefore, good for our body, mind, and soul.

I cannot skip over the fact that fasting is often unpleasant. Fasting humbles me precisely because it is physically challenging and exposes my limitations and weaknesses. As I offer my whole self to God through fasting, He can change me in a variety of ways. For example, He uses my regular biological processes, such as digestion and ketosis, to impact me. After a substantial time of fasting, autophagy begins to take place within the body. This word literally means “self-eating.” Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells and reusing old cell parts. It is basically our “cellular recycling system.”

Having said that, a Hebraic understanding may mean that fasting is more of an affliction of the soul than the body. While a fast has physical benefits, our focus is on spiritual renewal to grow in holiness. God can show mercy to us while meeting the brokenness in our bodies. Fasting may humble us as it brings us to the end of ourselves in a very real way. It weans us off of the pleasure principle (“Just do what feels good at the moment.”), reveals and reorders our desires, and draws on God’s power.

Diet can change the way you look.

Fasting can change the way you see.

Next, fasting has been a common Christian practice throughout church history. It was the norm for the earliest believers to fast twice a week. (This was something I had never heard before!) Fasting unites me with others. One of the mindset shifts for me, while listening to this series, is that fasting can be much more communal than individual when I recognize the spiritual way it bonds me to others. There are literally Christ-followers around the globe fasting right now. This is true on any given day at any given moment. Fasting is a way to have a shared practice with believers who may be very diverse. It reminds me that I am part of a universal church body. Not only that, I am also building on the legacy of Christians who have gone before me. I am critical of so much of church history because of its misguided pursuit of power and domination in many cases, but the connection to previous generations of the church through fasting fosters humility.

Jesus felt the need to fast regularly.

Third, and most importantly, fasting can help me unite with God. This is the ultimate objective. Fasting and prayer must be understood in terms of relationship and formation, not transaction. Fasting is not “performed” to get God to do something for us as much as sharing ourselves with God to allow Him to do something IN us. It provides a tangible opportunity to have our inner being shaped by Him. What nourishment can my soul find in Him while my body is deprived of physical nourishment? When my flesh is in submission to my will by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, then is it possible for my spirit to be more alert and attuned to God’s will?

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It is also important to consider a gentle warning here. Fasting is not about trying to work this out for oneself. Dr. Cook cautioned about the use of fasting to gain control of something in one’s life, almost as a form of self-help. Fasting is not a tool to make you a better you apart from Christ.

The enemy may not be able to possess you, but he can address you.

Fasting is another way, similar to prayer and worship, for us to partner with God so that He can protect and provide for us in ways that only He can. He can fight the enemy on our behalf. We can find forgiveness for sin and strength for holiness. This is especially true when we are down. In our society, when we have something go wrong, even the death of a loved one, we tend to turn to food for comfort. Strangely, the body often does not even want or need food while grieving. How many times does a person express they have no appetite while suffering, yet we usually hold up food as the answer? Scot McKnight is referenced in the podcast for making the point that “body grief” is one of the purest examples of what fasting is all about. Sometimes the first step in making something right is to lament or feel sorrow in the body.

Finally, fasting gives us a chance to uphold justice. Tyler Staton was interviewed in the last portion of the series. Tyler discussed the relationship between fasting and justice. “Justice is not abstract and cannot be done from a distance,” he said. Justice is not independent of righteousness. In fact, this raises another Bible translation issue for us because often the same original word is used for both justice and righteousness. (I have even heard before that entire cultural groups, like Hispanics and Latinos, have the word translated “justice” in their Bibles because they already have a social, communal perspective of life. Holy living is expressed through relationships. At the same time, many English Bibles translate the word “righteousness” because it carries more of an individualistic - between me and God - kind of feel to it. We overemphasize a personal, private relationship with God as the avenue for holiness.) The truth is justice flows from intimacy with Christ and it requires proximity to others.

Having a refrigerator full of food that gives us a choice of what to eat makes us a sociological anomaly.

In the end, I see the need to explore and practice fasting more, not because it will earn points with God. God will not love me any more or less if I fast. What I see, though, is that I can pray with my body. I can open myself to discovering more of what God can do and already is doing. I can heighten my sensitivity to the spiritual realm. And honestly, I need to re-evaluate my relationship with food anyway. I know it could be healthier and now I recognize it as a “trailhead,” an invitation to walk down a path of deeper exploration and healing.

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Quick question: Which of the following well-known 5-letter names means the most to the church?

Trump?

Biden?

Jesus?

I think we all agree on what the answer should be, but how do we determine what the answer actually is?

How about this? Pastors, do your congregations seem to talk and post more about either of the first two names on social media, especially regarding their hope, or fear, for the future?

Parents, would your children say that it matters more to their faith what Trump does, what Biden does, or what Jesus does, based on what you are teaching and modeling to them?

Please note I am not saying that people should not have opinions about politics, and it is perfectly fine to discuss and share your perspectives. What I am asking is if your faith is preoccupied with the activity of one of these five-letter names.

Because, honestly, to me, it seems the media and society are latched on to how the “church” feels about, and follows, T-R-U-M-P or B-I-D-E-N more than J-E-S-U-S. Professing Christians feed this twisted and warped view of the faith when they make judgments about whether someone is a Christian or not by their loyalty to Trump or Biden. It’s crazy! The loyalty to Jesus is what matters, and that is not demonstrated in voting patterns, but in the fruit of the Spirit.

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So, here is an idea. A challenge. What if we went one week, one month, or any set period of time, tying evidence of sincere Christian faith only to how we relate to Jesus, and not to Trump or Biden?

Some argue that standing up for Trump or Biden is a sign of devotion because someone is willing to take a stand for truth. They contend it is a demonstration of their conviction to Christian ideals or Biblical principles. But we know better!

We know what Jesus taught. Love for enemies is what makes a believer different. The fruit of the Spirit, being patient and kind and gentle, toward others, is the way to live by Christ. Showing the next generation that love drives out fear, and that our eternal destiny is not tied to what we mark on a ballot, could be a place to start.

Pastor, parent, churchgoer…perhaps this week make it a point to spend more time reading, reflecting, listening, praying, and talking about Jesus than those other five-letter names.

Maybe you will learn something and draw closer to Jesus.

Maybe you will see and treat your opponents differently.

Maybe you will be less fearful and combative and stressed.

Maybe it’s worth a try.

Five letters. That’s all.

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I am leery of pulling random Scriptures out of context and seeing how they can be applied to our situation today, something I used to do ALL THE TIME! However, I also believe there are exceptional verses in the Bible that apply almost perfectly in any context at any time in any place. In my mind, the first part of Hebrews 12 is one such passage. I still approach it here for the message it sent 2000 years ago, but I believe it is one we can run with (pun intended) today just as well.

…And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…

~Hebrews 12:1-2

The preceding chapter, Hebrews 11, weaves a thread through the historical record of incredible faith. Examples like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and countless martyrs fill chapter 11. “All of these people we have mentioned received God’s approval because of their faith” (verse 39).

Hebrews 12 starts by reminding the hearers and readers from so long ago that they are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses who have finished their race. Thus, the new direction, “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.”

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The opening verses of this chapter seem to deal with a great effort or struggle on our part. To run in 12:1 is to strive with full effort. The “race” marked out for us could easily be translated as “conflict” or “fight.” It says we need perseverance, which is patient endurance. In other words, get ready to go at it and be in it for a long time.

The only way to endure is to fix our eyes on Jesus. The verb is aphorao, which means to look away from all else and focus one’s gaze on one thing. That one thing is actually one Person. He is the pioneer, the originator, the founder, and the perfecter, the finisher, of our faith. He starts it and completes it while carving out a path and authoring our story on the path. It is remarkable how active He is in the process.

Our job in the race is to focus solely on Him, to consider Him (as verse 3 puts it). The idea comes from a Greek word analogizomai, which means to “think upon intently.” The practice described by this word is that of moving through a thought process to reach a conclusion. It involves repeated nuanced reflection that advances up to new levels of truth.

I appreciate that Hebrews 12 is yet another illustration of the active role God plays in our spiritual formation. Even a passage that seems, on the surface, to be all about our effort, is one more example of how the New Testament doubles down on this idea that we are actually just along for the ride and Jesus is in the driver’s seat. Just like so many other analogies, such as the Vine and the branches, the two trees in the Garden of Eden, the Potter and the clay, the Spirit being like wind, and many more, we discover God is in control and we are not.

There is no list of rules to follow. There is no checklist to complete. There are no religious duties to fulfill. We are to remain in Him. We are to respond to Love. As He leads. As He lives.

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From the About section of the Rule of Life podcast, “The Rule of Life podcast is designed to guide you in arranging your everyday life around being with and becoming like Jesus.” It is hosted by John Mark Comer and produced by Practicing the Way.

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What I want to do here is process “out loud” with you what I am learning, thinking, and feeling as a result of this podcast series, especially since I wrote a book entitled You Don’t Have To Do That, which contains a section that specifically addresses the Sabbath. So, right off the bat, let me be upfront. I fall more into the camp that sees Sabbath as a type for which Christ is the antitype. In other words, the Sabbath was instructive about the need for rest and worship, which is now fulfilled through a relationship with Jesus. Basically, He has become our Sabbath. For the sake of time and space, I will leave it at that oversimplification. At the same time, I have thoroughly enjoyed the Rule of Life podcast series on the significance of practicing Sabbath in our lives, and I don’t believe these two positions are at odds.

A quick tangent, for whatever reason, not long after publishing my book, which essentially contends one does not have to rely on religious structures for spiritual nourishment, I found myself longing for some type of liturgical practice. I began watching Lutheran church services online for a while and enjoyed the peace and meaning within the liturgy and routines. I liked the designation of time for prayer, reflection, corporate and responsive readings of Scripture, etc. My wife was questioning if I had lost my mind since I had just spent years writing a book that said no one had to do these kinds of things at the direction of a pastor in an organized church. But this is what I need people to understand. You do NOT have to do them! There is the freedom to walk away at any point. However, they can still serve as great vehicles for focusing on and receiving God’s love and guidance. Like conversation starters or date nights in a marriage, they are practical tools that may help nurture the relationship.

So, with that disclaimer, let’s get back to Sabbath and the Rule of Life podcast. One of the things I love about their teaching is how it is grounded in a larger framework of our need to rest in Christ. They state, “It is important that we work out our salvation from rest, not for it.” They directly confront the fact that we are addicted to hurry. It caused me to reflect on the extent to which I am tempted to think that if I can accomplish more I can achieve peace. The reality is I am already enough and I can receive peace through Sabbath rest. Time with God can liberate me from being desperate for everyone around me to think highly of me. We are invited to see our identity as something God creates and then entrusts us with. Rest becomes the occasion I can find joyful acceptance of my place in the universe. Resting in God is beneficial to us on many levels.

Turning to Sabbath, in particular, the hosts of the podcast remind us Sabbath is a gift before it is a command. Whether we have to keep it or not, the practice of Sabbath is still helpful. Engaging in rest in Christ is always abundantly necessary. It literally helps us remain in Christ, our one job, and prepares us for eternity. Sabbath is the claim that we can live into our eternal rest right now. Sabbath reminds us that we are not meant to hold it all together but that Christ holds everything together. It can be another opportunity to be happy and grateful for the ways God intentionally invites us into relationship with Him. The practice of Sabbath is another opportunity to build the capacity for surrender.

The podcast does a nice job of addressing real-life barriers to Sabbath. The hosts categorize fear of missing out (FOMO) as resistance against Sabbath. Our desire for a constant digital connection to know what other people are doing drives us away from Sabbath. It is important for us to determine what are the demands of what it means to be fulfilled and where we are going to find that fulfillment. The show wrestles with the fact that internal restlessness will often surface when trying to rest in God. Rather than reject it, we can befriend it and learn what it is telling us. It may very well be exposing a need only God can meet. Often, discontentment is the only way to healing. Pain is so often the way in.

I especially appreciate how they had this discussion without bringing in any guilt or shame. In fact, they made it clear the Sabbath discussion does not have to be framed in terms of good and evil. Productivity is not inherently bad. There was genuine transparency about the shared human experience. The truth for me, and all of us, is that once I actually intentionally stop and rest, difficult feelings may emerge. Sadness or anger can be a real part of the Sabbath. If that happens, they give the best advice: FEEL it! Don’t avoid it. Go ahead and meet the feelings face-to-face, knowing that no feeling is final. Sabbath is a safe place to sit with emotions.

NO FEELING IS FINAL.

While developing a theology of rest, we are simultaneously developing a theology of work. Just as rest is necessary, work is necessary. Work is love made visible. Work is healthier when it is moved from consumerism to contribution. Contributing to society in order to bring healing and wholeness in partnership with Christ is hard work.

WORK IS LOVE MADE VISIBLE.

In the end, after reflecting on all the power available to us when we rest in the presence of God, we don’t want to forget that God is joyful. Do you still recognize God in that light? Do I see that Jesus can be fun to hang out with? Some of the time will be heavy and some of it will be light. God will know which is beneficial and our job is to simply receive and respond accordingly. Yet again, for any of this to make sense, we come full circle back to the question I always say is the main one to ask: Who is Jesus to you? If he is not someone with whom you would enjoy spending time, then none of this other stuff about Sabbath or rest really matters.

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I hate to start with a negative and critical observation, but I have noticed a trend for years in many education meetings and conferences. It seems that we (I include myself because I have been guilty of this too many times.) have a knack for using words to communicate very little. We tend to throw around slogans and platitudes as though the mere mention of them equates to doing the work (and that’s my real beef). Furthermore, each time we fail to operationally define the vocabulary we use is a waste of time.

My favorite example of this phenomenon was at a conference I attended years ago where the presenter asked the crowd of classroom teachers, “What does it mean to differentiate for your students?” Someone volunteered a response, “It means you meet them where they are.” The presenter then asked, “And what does that look like, to meet someone where they are? In other words, how do you do that?” (At this point, I thought we were on a good path. I was excited that we were really about to enter an edifying, constructive conversation that would lead to improved practice for me.) If I remember correctly, we were asked to turn to someone at our table and discuss the question. When we returned our attention back to the whole group, the presenter asked for a summary of the table discussions. One participant called out that “to meet someone where they are” is to differentiate for their needs. The room was filled with affirmative sounds and visible head nods of endorsement all around. The presenter complimented the respondent and thanked the audience for engaging in such a robust discussion to elicit such an answer.

I remember wondering, What? Wait a minute! We didn’t say anything! No new knowledge was created. So, we’re all okay with this circular meaning of terms with no practical take-aways? We literally said that differentiation was meeting people where they are, and then said that meeting people where they are is differentiation. That’s it! We had hundreds of professional, certified educators at a conference at who knows what total cost to school districts, and ultimately, taxpayers, enthusiastically patting ourselves on the back for essentially saying the same sentence in two different ways. To be fair, I do believe differentiation starts by understanding what a student needs to “meet them where they are” so you can determine the next step that individual learner needs to take. It was not the brainstorming that was the problem. It was that it produced nothing of value. No action items. No practical wisdom. No tools or strategies. No new practice emerged. But, here is the real problem I ultimately have, we pretended there was!

I picked an example from years ago, but I can assure you I have seen a similar scenario play out time and time again in team meetings, staff meetings, district gatherings, and professional conferences. We’ve all heard them. The mantras of education.

“All children can learn.”

“No child left behind.”

“We celebrate diversity.”

“We are a family.”

“Relationships come first.”

“Champion equity for all.”

“Increase accountability.”

“Help students own their learning.”

There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these ideas, but it is just that; they are ideas! They are wishes and notions, but they are not practices. They are vague and immeasurable. They are necessary and should be considered an integral part of the discussion around values and principles that drive our work, but they are insufficient by themselves. These phrases do nothing to advance our work related to student learning.

To gain real traction in our school systems, mechanisms must be implemented and valued over mantras. This is where the true work happens and it directly relates to what students see, hear, say, and do. I cannot overstate the importance of mechanisms because they are measurable, sustainable, adjustable, reproducible, contextual, and most importantly, tangible. We can see and hear them in action, and we can just as easily notice their absence.

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Let’s work through some examples to bring this concept to life.

A school can have a slogan that claims relationships with students are important. To test the sincerity of this proposition, one should look for mechanisms routinely embedded in the system. For instance, do all teachers greet students at the door? Are staff members expected to find out certain information about their students and document that somewhere? Does every staff meeting or PD session include strategies for making connections with students, such as conversation starters or active listening skills? All of these things are practices that can be measured. These are the actions that speak louder than words.

Another example is communication. Many schools state they value communication with families or parental involvement. Again, the real test is whether there are mechanisms in place to back this up. Are teachers and administrators expected to keep a contact log? What methods of 2-way communication are in place for parents and guardians to easily access? What is done with that information? Does the onboarding process of new staff include equipping them with scripts and tips for communicating with families about academic progress, behavior, attendance, etc.? Yet again, these are all things to which one can point to prove the slogans true or false.

One more, almost all teachers claim they will do whatever it takes to meet students where they are or reach each individual learner. In practice, we often find one-size-fits-all approaches that don’t allow for much differentiation. Mechanisms for personalized learning begin with knowledge of how to differentiate by process, content, or product. Tools, such as flow charts, can guide a teacher or student to actions and resources to aid learning. Providing a student with a menu of options for when they get stuck (check with a friend, access designated digital resources, ask the teacher, try a problem with simpler numbers first, submit a question to a particular platform, take a mental break, etc.) is a mechanism.

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In the area of differentiation, one of the most ignored mechanisms is how we assess learning. For whatever reason (and there are many), we will say that we are willing to meet students where they are yet refuse to differentiate the product phase of learning. Without a mechanism that offers students a different way to demonstrate mastery, it is hard to believe what we say about valuing differentiation for unique learners. Of course, one of the most prominent mechanisms is grading. Does your grading policy match your practice? Does it enhance your school’s beliefs and values or contradict them? Sometimes, the problem is not that we don’t have mechanisms in place, it is that we have awful mechanisms in place.

This topic relates to almost everything in education. Student ownership, accountability, restorative discipline, and many other ideas in our work in schools can be theoretical while we just keep spouting cliches and mantras, or they can be practical avenues to transform our systems through mechanisms.

In closing, the question to keep in mind is, What mechanism is in place to illustrate…? If we say our school values relationships, what mechanisms do we have working to prove it? With any big idea, such as personalized learning or discipline, or social-emotional learning, the first key is to operationally define it so everyone in the organization knows what you mean by it. The next key is to institute specific mechanisms that drive the organization in that direction.

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One of the most important responsibilities for any principal is hiring. As a public school administrator, I can confidently say that hiring well is the most essential contribution I made to impact students. Equally as true, poor hiring drains the time, energy, and resources of leadership in ways that are difficult to calculate. The amount of time redirected away from student learning due to hires gone wrong is overwhelming.

Note: Best hiring practices are contingent upon a quality pool of candidates. I recognize that many schools have faced crisis hiring situations since the COVID pandemic in which they face shallow, sometimes empty, candidate pools. I concede that the content of this article is intended for ideal circumstances where competition for teaching positions is the norm.

MISSION CONSENSUS

There is so much talk about vision and mission statements in schools. I agree that it is absolutely essential that a school leader is able to facilitate the development of a shared vision, which is easier said than done. However, it is evident that mission statements are basically meaningless in many cases. In fact, I have repeatedly had teachers tell me they know their school has a mission statement but they have no idea what it says. If the frontline workers in classrooms don’t know the mission of the school, then I can guarantee you the broader school community has no clue what it is either.

The point of having a clear vision and mission is simplicity. It should serve the organization by providing an anchor point for all decision-making. If your mission does not simplify your decisions and actions, then scrap it.

Ignorance of any organization’s mission is the result of not understanding the why behind the mission on a practical level. There is no need to go through the effort of creating a mission statement that does not guide your daily work. Going through a process to create a mission statement just to have one that can be filed away or hung on a wall is a waste of time for everyone involved, especially students. A school would be better off just going through the motions of basic lesson planning cycles with state-mandated curriculum standards (even without high-functioning PLCs) and leaving it at that. Anything beyond that, which is not explicitly intentional, detracts from student learning. The mission of the school has to become the lens by which all things are considered: curriculum, instructional practices, discipline systems, staff development, and, most critical for our purposes here, hiring.

The driving question through the hiring process is, how can this person align with and support our mission to achieve our vision? It is the filter for everything. Every interview question and performance task, each resume review and reference check, and all discussions among the selection panel should refer back to the mission. Clearly defined values around a shared mission guide the team and the principal in decision-making.

I am a big fan of collaborative hiring. I have always benefited from essential stakeholder voices being drawn into the process. However, without a clear vision and mission guiding the entire endeavor, more voices only produce more noise. Individuals will resort to their biases and personal preferences. Decisions will be made more on feelings and politics than purpose and long-term sustainability in the best interest of students and their learning.

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BIAS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Mission consensus will go a long way in preventing bad hires, but I also recommend acknowledging the reality of our biases in decision-making. Depending on which circles you run in, you may hear the word “bias” and freak out. The truth is, if you have a brain, you have a bias. Most biased thinking is developed over time as our brain repeatedly has experiences and forms patterns in our way of perceiving what is similar and different in the world around us, including people we interact with. The objective of eliminating all bias is unrealistic, but it is vital to name it in order to reduce it as much as possible.

As a team comes together before an interview, I think it is best practice to collaboratively reflect on how biases may show up in hiring processes. For example, each of us makes a quick, usually subconscious, judgment based on how fast or slow someone answers a question. If the candidate pauses before answering a question, one person views it as thoughtful and reflective while another views it as a sign that the person lacks conviction or can’t be quick on their feet. On certain topics, a more vocal candidate will come across as passionate and knowledgeable to some panelists while causing others to wonder if they are too opinionated and disruptive for the work environment.

Of course, there are all kinds of biases based on appearance that invade our thinking, whether it is related to gender, skin color, size, dress, etc. It is also good to be cognizant of our biases related to how a person sounds, including accents. Simply coming together and calling out potential biases before ever sitting down with candidates is a step toward calling in all voices around the table. The more vulnerability and authenticity have been built up among the panelists, the easier this is.

An often disregarded bias that can be a significant factor in hiring is the primacy effect. We are quick to make judgments based on the first thing we hear. Additionally, research has shown that we are much more sure of ourselves than we should be, as we often exhibit a confirmation bias, which causes us to draw conclusions on too little information. A red flag, and I promise you this is way too common, is when you hear a hiring official say, “I knew this candidate was the right (or wrong) person for the job within the first minute. I can just sense these things.” While it sounds like someone has honed their perceptual ability, it is a sign of impulsive decision-making based on emotion related to their own personality style more than a solid analysis of the candidate.

Equally as problematic is the recency effect. The last thing we learned at a workshop or the most recent complaint from an employee or the last emotional encounter we had before conducting an interview can affect our thinking and cloud our judgment. Not only that, the last thing the candidate leaves us with could carry more weight in our minds than the rest of the interview. Again, we are human and these are not necessarily wrong things to occur, but they should be identified in the open. (A side note to candidates: What you say first or last could make or break your interview.)

What I have found is that many deficits we attribute to candidates are actually problems with the questions or the interview process itself. All too often, it is easier to say someone is not a “good fit” than to admit we just don’t want to face the truth they might challenge us with. Insecure leadership, by the way, is Kryptonite to the goal of making the best hires for students.

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VISION OVER VALIDATION

So, let’s imagine…

We have done the hard work of developing a shared vision and mission. All key stakeholders can articulate the preferred future (vision) they are trying to achieve. There is a simple profile of an ideal educator and a description of a successful student after they leave our system. That vision has been used to develop an equally effective mission, which guides the values and behaviors of daily practices. People within the school understand what needs to be done and why. They can demonstrate healthy attitudes and speak to how their daily efforts connect to the big picture.

Groups, who are comfortable identifying their biases and appreciate mutual accountability, come together to plan lessons, set goals, and hire new teachers. There is healthy questioning, confronting, advising, and encouraging from all team members creating a synergistic force. With all of this in place, we are in great shape to make wise hiring and evaluation decisions regarding employee performance. It is almost utopian, but there is still a real threat.

One potential, albeit quiet and subtle, saboteur is left to address. It is called validation. Validation deals with determining if someone is acceptable or worthwhile, which is operating at a deep level of identity. There is no interview question or hiring process or evaluation report that can accomplish that. There is no place in the education enterprise that serves the purpose of validating an individual. It is not appropriate.

The truth is, if you are in educational leadership for any length of time, you are going to break someone’s heart. You will be perceived as the person who crushed someone’s dreams or denied them an opportunity to impact the world.

Some people will realize you don’t actually hold that much power over them. Your hiring decision or your evaluation report does not define them, and they know it and they can walk on in life secure in who they are. There are others, though, who are seeking more than encouragement and constructive feedback about what they do. They are seeking validation for who they are. Hear me, you cannot give it to them! You are not powerful enough to make them finally see themselves differently in their parent’s eyes. You are not smart enough to rewire their brain to accept who they are.

School leader, you cannot use the hiring or evaluation processes to validate another human being. It is impossible, which is why you cannot do it. Worse, it makes the students you serve a secondary factor instead of the primary reason for your decisions, which is why you should not attempt to do it.

There is a fine line between seeking healthy affirmation and using kids to gain self-worth, but make no mistake, there is a line. It is not fair to make our students carry the burden of making us feel like we are enough. Our identity is ours to receive in our relationship with our Creator. It is strongly embedded in abundant grace and unconditional love from the only Perfect Being, and yes, it can be nurtured in family and community, but it is not enhanced or detracted by our job. Our vocation is an avenue to express our identity, but it is not what forms our identity.

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Note: This article is part of a series that focus on topics in schools and leadership in education.

When drafting this article I had one of those moments where I got carried away looking at pictures and videos of babies and children on their birthdays. Most of the scenes included adults placing a bright candle on a colorful cake only inches away from the excited face of a youngster. The child’s eyes would grow big as they gazed at the flame while grown-ups started singing. Inevitably, toddler-like curiosity would take over and the child would reach out and try to grab the flame. Some would even try to eat it. As to be expected, immediately afterward would come the frantic response of adults and the loud, frightened cries of the child. It is really quite predictable if you think about it, yet the episodes of birthday wishes gone wrong are still pretty funny.

“Wishes Gone Wrong” could have been another title for this article. School leaders, as I stated in the first part, you cannot wish your way into better school culture. The antidote for our wishful thinking is to articulate clear expectations. So, let’s turn to what these expectations should look like.

Characteristics of High-Quality Expectations

APPLICABLE TO ALL - The consistency and unity come from the fact that the same expectations are applied across the organization or school or classroom, regardless of age, gender, background, etc. Of course, it is important to realize that how each person meets the expectation may look different. But what we are not doing is holding people to different standards throughout our system. Some adults may feel it is beneath them to be held to the same expectations as students. However, I contend that it is inappropriate, unethical, immoral, and unprofessional for me to come to work and have higher expectations in any area for students over adults. It is necessary to start with the people with fully formed brains, degrees, training, life experience, and professional certifications before the people who don’t have those things. Expectations always start with the adults and their behaviors in a school building, but they apply to all. Students are not left off the hook.

It is inappropriate, unethical, immoral, and unprofessional to have higher expectations for children and teenagers who are still developing their cognitive functioning and have less life experience than for college-educated, professionally certified, trained, experienced adults with fully formed brains.

PASSES THE DEAD MAN’S TEST - At a minimum, following an expectation should require a pulse. It is best to define expectations by the desired outcomes and tangible actions we want to see. Resist all of the “No talking, No running, No tardies, No fighting” expectations. All of these “No-No” rules only describe what we don’t want to see and hear. So, a quick test for an expectation is to ask yourself, “Could a dead man do this?” A dead man can not talk, not run, not yell, etc. Much more can be expected of living beings! Tell them, or better yet, show them what you want them to do.
EASY TO IDENTIFY - Now that we have used the Dead Man’s Test to eliminate the negatives and DON’Ts, we can focus on how to articulate the DOs. With any good expectation, we know it when we see it! The most important words in expectations are verbs. We operationalize our expectations by clarifying what the actions look like. It is good when a student can describe the expectation in words and even better when they can show you what it looks like. Any setting functions best with a few positively stated and clearly demonstrated expectations. The truth is we already do this all the time in public education. Unfortunately, we just often do it too late. Look at Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) and Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and behavior contracts, and you will see a set of clearly defined “replacement behaviors.” These behaviors outline exactly what the student should do instead of the poor behaviors that they may be exhibiting on a regular basis. My suggestion is to be proactive as a school leader or classroom teacher and introduce placement behaviors upfront to illustrate to everyone how we act in this place.
NEVER GO AWAY -What do we expect from each other all day, every day? Expectations are driven by ever-present values that guide our daily conduct if they are to help foster a healthy culture. Without trying to be too silly, this means I won’t ever come to work with thoughts like these:
Today is Thursday and my science department has selected Thursdays as their non-productive days so I cannot expect them to get anything done today.
The administrator was not prepared for the past faculty meeting so it has been declared that the administrator no longer has to be prepared for staff meetings.

If an expectation is good enough to have part of the time, then it is good enough to have all of the time.

One thing is certain once we have done the necessary work to establish high-quality expectations. We will all fall short and fail to meet expectations at some point. I don’t say this wistfully. You can expect it. You can count on it. Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes. We all have bad days. What a proper perspective on expectations gives us is an opportunity to combine character and competence when handling disappointment. While all of this is true for adults, I am going to focus on our interactions with students as I draw this article to a conclusion. One of our more profound interactions with a student happens when they disappoint us. I use the word “disappoint” quite intentionally. I know some want to shy away from the word because they don’t want to make students feel bad, but it is important for students to learn this lesson as I will hopefully show below.

An expectation is what was appointed to happen for us. The expectation is so important because it is the appointed outcome for the student learning. I am appointing the student to accomplish something. Another way to think about it is meeting their expectation is their appointment.

When a student fails to meet an expectation, he essentially misses an appointment. We help students mature as whole people if we can help them equate disappointment with “mis-appointment” (a missed appointment). When a student fails to meet an expectation, he needs to “reschedule an appointment” to make up for the disappointment.

Let’s consider a real-life analogy: missing a doctor’s appointment. The consequences of missing a medical appointment can be many. It could mean an extra interruption to your calendar as you take more time off work or arrange additional childcare. You will likely have to handle other logistics, such as transportation. There could be a cancellation fee. Of course, the biggie could be that you don’t get the medical care you are seeking in a timely fashion. The fact is there is, at the very least, an inconvenience attached to missing the appointment. That is what disappointment DOES mean.

What it does NOT mean is that you must give up on health care altogether. It does not mean that you are kicked out of the medical system and that you should no longer seek treatment.

It simply means that it is a disappointment, and to repair it, you need to reschedule the appointment. You face the inconvenience and then you restore the plan or relationship and you recover from the situation. This is the cycle of life and continuous improvement. It is a sign of growth and maturity and responsibility.

The more a student learns and does this, the more they can take ownership of recovering and reconciling and making it right. This is how they grow from their experiences.

This relates directly to our campus culture around expectations. If we are too vague and wishy-washy with expectations, then students have little direction and tend to make excuses for their behaviors. However, if we have a long list of unreasonable expectations with a list of “gotcha” punishments, then we cause students to disengage. They give up, and sometimes sabotage the system, and usually themselves in the process.

In the end, it is not only about setting up effective systems and structures with quality expectations, it is also about developing the young people we work with into healthy adults. The purpose of expectations is to create an environment of safety and excellence for the whole community/organization, not demanding perfection from individuals. If we are honest and hold high expectations, then we must also be honest about disappointment. It will happen. Fortunately, it provides us with rich teaching moments when working with young people.

Finally, it is critical to remember a key principle: support precedes accountability. We must not skip the step of explicitly teaching, modeling, and equipping students to meet the expectations that are placed upon them. We do not leave it up to chance. Like everything else in education backed by research, we must be explicit and systematic in our approach if we want the best results.

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Schools everywhere have boasted of holding high expectations. This is nothing new. Nor is it surprising. No one goes around claiming to hold low expectations as a selling point, yet it sure seems like we end up having repeated conversations about deteriorating campus cultures and the “soft bigotry of low expectations” (as I often hear it described).

What may help is to back up a step and find out both what we do mean, and should mean, when we use the term expectations. Because we fail to define what we expect, we replace true expectations with mantras, cliches, and wishes. In fact, this swap is rampant in public education and has been for a long time.

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What is an expectation?

Let’s start with the basics. An expectation, by definition, is something anticipated to such an extent that one not only hopes for it but trusts it will happen. Expectations are so certain in our minds that we will make plans accordingly. An obvious example of a real expectation is our confidence that the sun will set this evening and rise again tomorrow. Most of us, outside of extenuating circumstances, also believe that our car will start when we turn the key or that we will still have a job tomorrow if we have been employed for a while.

I cite the above examples because they all illustrate the nature of actual expectations. We arrange our life around them. That is how sure we are of them occurring. An expectation is a belief that moves one to the point of acting.

How Can I Tell if I Really Hold an Expectation?

There is a simple litmus test to see if what you think is an expectation actually is one. Anytime an expectation is not met, there are consequences. Let’s take an example of a commute to work. The average person probably has a regular route to work they use on a daily basis and they have a general idea of how long it takes to arrive on time. This anticipated trip is an expectation. One fully believes it to occur as it has all the other days. Plans are based on this commute, including what time to wake up, where to eat breakfast, what time to leave home, etc. But the real test comes with what happens if the expectation cannot realistically be met.

For instance, let’s say the traffic lights along the road are malfunctioning one particular morning or there is a significant car accident that has a part of the route blocked. In either of these cases, the employee has to decide what to do differently. Do they take an alternate route? Do they wait it out and call the office? Do they turn around and work remotely for a while (if they have a job that allows for that)? In any case, the person had to change plans and do something different.

How I know I truly hold an expectation is that my original plan will be insufficient and must change. Again, whether plans have to change when the expectation does not occur is the determining factor of whether it is really an expectation. If failure to meet an expectation does not change my plans at all, then it is not an expectation. This is true for any arena of life: personal, family, health, work, and especially our work with students in our schools.

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The Opposite of an Expectation

What I will contend is that more often than not, while we say we hold and act on expectations in our schools, in reality, we have wishes. A wish precisely deals with wanting things to be different than they really are so it does not deal with reality. Common examples of wishes are what we do while blowing out candles on a birthday cake or buying a lottery ticket. In either case, a person does not change their schedule or plans for the next day merely based on what they closed their eyes and wished to be true. Wishing for a new car or winning a huge cash prize is not their current reality so there is no need to act on it by calling the auto insurance company or quitting one’s job.

A wish does nothing for me. We act in accordance with expectations and contrary to wishes. Expectations guide our plans because we are so sure they will happen. Wishes guide nothing but only offer a distraction from the reality we face.

Matching Words to Actions

With the stage set by clearly defining our terms, let’s look at a couple of school scenarios to determine whether we are dealing with expectations or wishes. I predict we will discover that our actions often betray our words when it comes to our claims about holding high expectations.

Scenario 1: A teacher encourages her students while passing out a unit test. She states, “I have faith in all of you. I know you will all do well and I am confident everyone in here will pass with flying colors because you have learned all of the material.” Written on the board behind the teacher is the date and time and policy for test re-takes for students who receive failing grades.

Scenario 2: Students enter class after greeting the teacher at door. Most students take their seats and begin working on the warm-up. The teacher notices two boys standing near their desks with no supplies out. They are conversing about a movie they saw over the weekend. The teacher approaches and says, “You know the routine for how we start class every day. Now, instead of taking roll, I am over here addressing you. Tell me, what is your assigned task right now?” One boy rolls his eyes and mumbles, “Do the warm-up.” The teacher replies, “Good, please get started on that.”

Scenario 3: It is a staff development day and the school’s first PD presentation is scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM. The admin team is in the front office at 8:55 finalizing preparation for the presentation. One person notices the time and says, “We better get down there to get started.” Another administrator responds, “We still got five minutes. Besides, you know half of the staff will come late anyway. There’s no rush.”

In each of these scenarios, what constitutes an actual expectation? What is a wish? Why does it matter?

Here are a few more items to consider. In your own mind, categorize each one as an expectation or a wish for you.

Students should be in class before the tardy bell rings.
Students need to address adults with “sir” and “ma’am”.
Students need to be responsible for their own learning.
Teachers should have their classroom procedures posted.
Teachers should assign homework.
Moving Toward a Culture of Expectations

I have a wish (not an expectation). I wish an axiom could be posted above the front doors of every school building: “People cannot be held responsible for information they do not have.”

With all of our talk about learning targets, we stress the importance of clearly defining our expected outcomes. The point is for a teacher and student to know when they have met a particular objective and shown mastery of it.

The same is true for social behaviors as well as academic behaviors. To identify misbehavior, a student must first be able to identify the expected behavior. Someone cannot know they missed a target unless they are able to locate the target.

A step in the right direction is to spend more time on expectations. With a wish we are told, “Don’t tell anyone or it won’t come true.” The opposite is the case for expectations. If we don’t tell everyone, then it won’t come true. The mistake we make many times is assuming people already know and understand our expectations. We complain when they don’t meet our expectations on a regular basis, but nothing substantively changes within our system, so the expectations quickly translate into meaningless wishes.

Schools cannot improve by wishing. It is what we expect that matters.

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This recording is an open letter to church leaders about three particularly bad yet subtle and widely held beliefs that can lead our ministry astray as we put ourselves in the place of God. The three beliefs discussed in this episode are as follows.

Bad Belief #1: “I have been called to shepherd the flock.”

Bad Belief #2: “I have been called to build the church.”

Bad Belief #3: “I have been called to produce spiritual growth.”

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What is often taught about Christian responsibility may actually be an irresponsible use of the gospel. Find out in this article/recording what makes all the difference in the world when it comes to properly understanding Christian responsibility.

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The third misguided target that Christians often promote is much less political. It is talent. We mistakenly steer children and youth to seek and pursue gifts and talents as the point of their spiritual journey. As much as we give lip service to humbly following Jesus as the priority over achieving fame and fortune, what we really want is both. Thus, we still tend to use financial gain and social status as evidence that God has blessed one’s life for faithful Christian living.

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When I was a pastor, spiritual gift inventories were all the rage in churches. We went to ministry and leadership conferences where we learned about tools and resources to help people identify their spiritual gifts. We wanted to help young believers find out if they were meant to be singers, teachers, or administrators for the glory of God. We were there with surveys and instruments that could tell a person if they were inclined to serve or advise or speak publicly right there in black and white. A person could get a score just like any other personality profile and know what they were supposed to do for the rest of their life. Meaning and purpose were built into the formula. The difference with us doing it in the church was that it was, of course, endorsed by God. What better way to tell someone God’s will for their life? How comforting to know that! Right?

In my book, You Don’t Have To Do That, I wrote about how this is a problem for us in how we guide the next generation.

We have failed our children by focusing more on pursuing dreams of fortune and fame than visions of goodness and faithfulness. We have failed our children by pushing an idea of God’s will as a single path. If the sentence starts with, “It is God’s will for you to be…,” then the end of it should not be “a singer” or “pastor” or “counselor” or “engineer.” If the sentence starts with, “It is God’s will for you to be…,” then the rest of it should read “loving, joyful, peaceful, gracious, patient, kind, good, gentle.” regardless of what role you have in an institutional church or how you make your living in society.

Our job as parents and caregivers and church leaders is not to have our children’s future all worked out but to help them display fruit in their lives presently. “While there is mention of spiritual gifts in the New Testament, the overwhelming emphasis is on fruit. Qualifications for service were based on character, not talent.” Character is best taught in present struggles rather than future dreams.

I have heard many people assess another person’s faith by their ability. “She speaks so well publicly. Maybe God is calling her to be a preacher.” “He is such a good singer. What a devout Christian!”

Let us be clear. Jesus never did this. He was explicit that anyone who was a true follower of His way would be known by their fruit, by their love. That is the whole point of this series. It is not about being tough on a particular issue. It is not about being politically aligned for or against an individual. It is not about talent development. It is, and always has been, about how we treat people. All people. Those who agree with us and those who don’t. Those who can offer you something and those who can’t. Those who are older, younger, same or different race, same or different religion, and even those who like cats.

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I want to be clear that my case is not about specific political issues, perse, but to the large professing Christian swath of voters who insist on holding up Donald Trump as our hope for a religious, faith-filled America. So, my intended audience for this part is not Republicans or Democrats, but professing Evangelical Christians, or “the Church.” Trump is the logical conclusion we reach when we make the mistake of exalting toughness (see part 1) as the objective of our Christianity.

It is one thing to support Donald Trump because you agree with his immigration or economic policies, his stance on regulation, or his record of nominating certain justices to the Supreme Court. If that is your situation, then, by all means, get out and campaign and make your case. Every voter has the right to do that.

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In fact, at the risk of repelling some readers, I can easily give reasons why people would have voted for Donald Trump that don’t make them racists or bigots, as they are often labeled. Many hard-working citizens felt like they kept more of their income under Trump’s presidency. Many reasonable people who are not xenophobic recognize immigration is a complicated topic. They feel that we can best address the nuanced challenges of immigration reform once our borders are made secure with more restricted access. Some voters prioritize the naming of Supreme Court justices to the highest court in the land as the chief concern when selecting a candidate, and they decided Trump was the best bet to nominate judges who were more conservative in their view of the Constitution. Some would have a politically valid point in voting for Trump based on their position regarding military spending. Small business owners probably favored his efforts against too much regulation. Ironically, one remarkable achievement of the Trump presidency that he can’t receive accolades for now due to the political climate is that we produced more COVID vaccines at an exponential rate under his leadership. Even Dr. Fauci has mentioned the credit Trump deserves because of this feat. In my opinion, these are some of the examples of legitimate justifications one could make for promoting Trump.

My point here is not with how people vote. It is directly aimed at the Evangelical Christian community, the organized church in America. Voting decisions can be made for a variety of reasons, and frankly, all candidates are deeply flawed so arguments made for or against Trump can be easily transferred to other candidates. Oftentimes, voters are left with the “lesser of two evils” to select in elections (for more on this, listen to my podcast episode, “The Elect”).

With that aspect out of the way, remember the title of this post is misguided Christian targets that undermine the way of Jesus. So, while all that may be true as to how to politically view Trump, what we should NOT do is scare faithful followers of Christ into believing that the Church is somehow at risk of collapsing without Trump, as though he will lay some moral, religious foundation for future activities in this country. The truth is the Church was dealt a devastating blow because of Donald Trump. Christianity took the hit. Jesus took the hit. And that is good for no one.

“Around half of Americans believe evangelical leaders’ support of Trump hurt the church’s credibility. One in four say evangelical support for Trump reduced their desire to participate in religion. And among evangelicals, 33 percent say their leaders’ support of Trump made personal witness to friends and family more difficult.”

godversusreligion.com

Christianity Today reported fascinating results of surveys after the 2020 election. It is one more occasion where the Evangelicals’ view of themselves contrasts with how others see them. For example, among self-identified Evangelicals, about one in four (27%) say they are more likely to make donations to their church as a result of the way their pastor supported Trump. One in three (30%) is more likely to attend church services for the same reason.

The majority of evangelicals (57%) believe their support of Trump in 2020 “showed moral courage to try and achieve policies and actions consistent with evangelical Christian values,” and more than a third of Americans overall agreed.

As I stated at the outset, if someone thinks taking a stand is a measure of true Christianity, then Donald Trump becomes the logical conclusion for their religious commitment, regardless of the manner in which the message is proclaimed.

But the flip side reveals a big problem for the Church. Half of those surveyed who do not identify as Evangelicals said that Evangelical leaders’ support of President Trump hurt the credibility of the Church. Interestingly, 43 percent of those within the Evangelical Church agreed!

“The result may be even more catastrophic for the gospel…because the Christian nationalism of the contemporary Republican Party is even further removed from historic evangelicalism—and certainly further removed from historic Christian principles…”

Matt Lewis (quoting Daniel K. Williams)

Part of the point is that Evangelical Christianity may have always gotten a bad rap from outside the movement in the past. Still, Ronald Reagan’s courting of the religious right or George W. Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” campaign did not do damage to the Church as Trump has done. As I have noted before on this Substack, Barna reported on evidence of pastors leaving the ministry in droves or at least wanting to do so, and one of the reasons given by many of them was the struggle to navigate the political division within their congregations in response to Trump.

It may sound foolish to say after everything I have cited above, but the problem wasn’t Trump. The problem was the Church. Quite frankly, Trump did not change who he was throughout the process. What is telling, to me, is not that Trump took advantage of the Christian church, but that he knew he could do it so easily. He announced it publicly from the beginning.

Remember when he said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" Rally after rally with numerous Christians in attendance proved him right. He could say things totally antithetical to the gospel of Jesus and be met with cheering. People began not only watching Trump but the Church and their fervor when it came to him. And people got confused quickly.

Religious leaders who had condemned Clinton and others for any kind of sexual misconduct heard Trump’s recorded comments from years earlier about grabbing women by the p*#%y and excused them almost immediately by, you guessed it, quoting Scripture. "Everyone has sinned and fallen short," they said. There has been a considerable amount of pleading to forgive a man who never asks for it. To be fair, some complained that his behavior was vulgar and unacceptable.

In the New Testament, there is a passage (Galatians 5) in which the apostle Paul sets out two distinct character profiles. One is “of the flesh” and contrary to the Spirit of God. The other is “in step with the Spirit” and demonstrates evidence of Christlikeness. Both are the fruit that is on display for the world to know who is following the ways of Jesus and who is not.

Paul concludes the Galatians 5 lesson with the reminder, “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other” (verse 26). As president, Donald Trump tweeted roughly ten times a day! He took to Twitter approximately 11,000 times in his first three years in office. In most cases, he was attacking someone or praising himself. What I find interesting is not actually the negativity or narcissism of it all but the impulsivity. It is similar to juvenile behaviors on social media that I deal with as a high school administrator.

Many people can misconstrue Donald Trump’s actions or categorize his supporters in unfair ways, but the Tweets and the public comments and speeches are all squarely on him. These are the words straight from the horse’s mouth if you will, and when evaluated by the criteria in the Galatians 5 list above, let’s just say a clear pattern emerges. His tendency against the Spirit is not exceptional but habitual.

Now, before anyone says, “But we are all human. We all make mistakes. No one is perfect. We’ve all done things in the ‘flesh’ column.” Of course, that is true! I, unfortunately, do those kinds of things frequently. Admitting that is worlds apart from endorsing that consistent pattern as the foundation of religious value in this country. As a pattern, do his Tweets promote love or peace? Do his comments usually demonstrate patience or gentleness? Does his tone generally communicate joy and self-control?

It is accurate that other politicians are conceited, immoral, selfish, and jealous. There are plenty of others who sow discord. Trump is not alone. And I say again, in conclusion, that is why this is not a post aimed at Trump or Republicans or political leaders. It is aimed at the Church. We cannot knowingly promote antichrist behaviors, actions that go against the Spirit of God, as anything else, especially twisting them to somehow be “Christian.”

This does not just apply to Trump. It goes for anyone, which is why we should be careful to hold up flawed individuals, whether they be politicians or pastors, as our examples of great faith and moral character. It is better to hold up Jesus. Highlight the fruit of the Spirit when we see it. Emphasize His grace. That, my friends, should suffice just fine.

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I was a pretty big DC Talk fan back in the ’90s. I remember listening to one of their songs that opened with a voiceover of this Brennan Manning quote:

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

I don’t know the reason Manning made the statement and I also don’t know how ever to quantify if duplicitous living is indeed the greatest cause of atheism. Still, I do know it is a relevant consideration given the aims of the Evangelical movement in recent years. Three factors, in particular, have caused onlookers to scratch their heads and question our sincerity to the gospel. I have placed these factors under three headings, all starting with T: Toughness, Trump, and Talent. The organized church has held these up as standards to the detriment of our witness to the world, and they have become the unbelievable evidence that an unbelieving world can point to.

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First, TOUGHNESS.

“I want a pastor who preaches the truth!”

“The Church needs to take a stand and not back down!”

“Christians need to stand up for what is right!”

These are sentiments I often hear people express, especially in regard to political or social issues, such as abortion, illegal immigration, marriage, criminal justice reform, and more. It seems the new litmus test for sincere faith in Christ is whether someone will “take a stand.” Evangelical leaders often use this as the measure of discipleship, the mark of a true believer.

As is often the case, when we are confronted with the teachings and actions of Jesus Himself it is easy to see the real marks of genuine discipleship. He needs to be our litmus test. Does Jesus want people on both sides of the abortion debate, for example, to take a stand against the other side “in the name of Christ” as the proof of their faith? Did Jesus tell His disciples to love one another as He had loved them while thinking someday in a future place called America there will be Christians who defend their legal 2nd Amendment right to bear arms and other pacifist Christians who are activists against gun violence?

There is nothing wrong with being outspoken about an issue or taking a tough stand on a controversial subject, but there is a different measure of discipleship. Because we have projected this false notion that true Christians are the ones who stand up for certain issues or laws or rights, we have presented a false gospel. At least, we have demonstrated misplaced priorities, and as the McKenzie quote illustrates, it has caused harm to our Christian witness.

“A lot of the political passions that are swirling today are convincing individuals that they should be opposed to Christianity for reasons having nothing to do with the message of the gospel and everything to do with the political alliances we are entering into.”

—Robert Tracy McKenzie

The problem with this “take a stand” metric is that it subtly shifts our mindset from partnering with Christ to partnering with power, state power. Well-intentioned Christians are turned from the humility of the gospel to believing that kingdom work is using the government forces to impose one’s beliefs on to others. By golly, if we can’t love people, then we will just make this a Christian nation through lobbyists, legislation, and litigation.

Please don’t hear what I am not saying. I am not trying to persuade people to step down from their convictions. Not at all. If you are pro-life because of sincere beliefs in the sanctity of life, then stand for that. If the humane treatment of immigrants is a major priority for you, then boldly advocate for that. All I am saying is that if you do so by vilifying those who think differently, then you miss out on opportunities to engage people in a Christlike manner. Moreover, if you use your stance as the measure of your Christian faith, then you have missed the target entirely. Holiness is not measured by how you take a stand on a political or social issue. That is not how true discipleship is identified. We will be known as followers of Christ by our love. I heard that an important guy once said that.

“I give you a new command. Love one another. You must love one another, just as I have loved you. If you love one another, everyone will know you are my disciples.”

—John 13:34-35 (words of Jesus)

Once we aim at the wrong target, then we enter into the wrong alliances, thinking worldly power is mightier than sacrificial love (the way of Jesus). Enemies of flesh and blood are more clearly defined and caricatured for us. It looks right if we squint and blur our vision just enough, but it is still antithetical to the message and ministry of Jesus. When we open our eyes fully to see clearly, we see this is true. We know better.

Perhaps there is no starker public figure to illustrate this point than Donald Trump, which brings us to the second misguided focus of American Evangelical Christianity (coming in part 2).

Footnote: Coincidentally, the Holy Post released a podcast episode that featured a discussion about the “Mohler vs. French” battle over contemporary social issues in light of a conservative mindset. It serves as a perfect illustration of how this misguided target of toughness, in the form of taking a stand, lands on the wrong runway. Christianity ends up becoming about something other than Christ.

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I could not find Democracy or Freedom on my ballot. Maybe it was on yours? This episode is a compilation of random thoughts from me about voting and our political parties. I doubt I will do it again anytime soon.

References in this episode:

Sarah Isgur's Twitter

Isaac Saul’s article/interview: “The myth of left and right”

Bloomberg article: “Democrats Are Vindicated After Boosting Far-Right GOP Nominees”

Vote Smart article

Data on Georgia election results from Politico

Keaton Browder’s opinion piece via Liberty University (Oct 2020)

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Our tenth episode of the Closer Than You Think podcast on Substack concludes our ten-part series on the book, You Don’t Have To Do That. I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have stayed with me through this series. That means a lot to me. This work is very important to me. Both the book and podcast are meant to help people and make the love and grace of Jesus more accessible to all. So, again, thank you for taking this ride with me and supporting this work.

The last section of the book is chapter 9, “From Now On,” and the Afterword. The Afterword shares more about my personal story and we will leave that part for the reader. To wrap up the series, we will look at chapter 9 and discuss where to go from here. What is the way forward?

If you would like to explore any of these topics in greater depth, then you can leave a comment on any of the episodes. To learn more about simple church practices on your own, visit Grace In Motion.

If interested in supporting my work here, the two best things you can do are subscribe to (and share) my Substack and/or go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

But more than anything else, use whatever knowledge, inspiration, or resources you might find in any of my content to help others around you realize God is for them. Thank you so much!

Information for purchasing the book:

You Don't Have To Do That

Moving Past What Is Wrong with Religion to Embrace What Is Right with Jesus

Buy directly from the publisher at a 10% discount
Download the PDF for $7 (instant download)
Looking for Kindle/Audio editions? Browse Amazon for all formats.
Searching for the Nook edition? Browse Barnes & Noble.

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Our ninth episode of the Closer Than You Think podcast on Substack continues our ten-part series on the book, You Don’t Have To Do That. Chapter 8 of the book, “Our Kids’ Kingdom,” gives us the “so what” of this whole book and podcast series. What is the most critical message we give to the next generation? How do we nurture faith in children without the toxicity of religion? What kind of people do we want our own children to be in this complex world?

We also must be honest and address the fear associated with, “What if I am wrong?” Could I be subjecting my kids to a dismal life, or even worse, eternal torment?

If you would like to explore any of these topics in greater depth, then you can leave a comment on any of the episodes. To learn more about simple church practices on your own, visit Grace In Motion.

If interested in supporting my work here, the two best things you can do are subscribe to (and share) my Substack and/or go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

But more than anything else, use whatever knowledge, inspiration, or resources you might find in any of my content to help others around you realize God is for them. Thank you so much!

The Barna research cited in this episode can be found here.

Information for purchasing the book:

You Don't Have To Do That

Moving Past What Is Wrong with Religion to Embrace What Is Right with Jesus

Buy directly from the publisher at a 10% discount
Download the PDF for $7 (instant download)
Looking for Kindle/Audio editions? Browse Amazon for all formats.
Searching for the Nook edition? Browse Barnes & Noble.

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Our eighth episode of the Closer Than You Think podcast on Substack continues our ten-part series on the book, You Don’t Have To Do That. This episode brings us to a critical turning point. After deconstructing so many aspects of the institutional Christian church in America, where do we go from here? It is easy to throw our hands up and walk away, but there is a way forward to spiritual health and wholeness. It is actually not only a way, but it is the Way, and His name is Jesus.

That’s right! If we can get past all the distractions of religion, then we can find a loving, caring God. Jesus is the perfect representation of God, the God who has not only been waiting for us all along but pursuing and engaging us.

Chapter 7 of the book, “Who Is Jesus To You?” raises the most important question we will ever answer. It is honestly the longest and hardest chapter of the book to work through. It requires action on the part of the reader.

If you would like to explore any of these topics in greater depth, then you can leave a comment on any of the episodes.

To learn more about Jesus and focus on the question, Who is Jesus to you?, or to learn more about simple church practices on your own, visit Grace In Motion.

If interested in supporting my work here, the two best things you can do are subscribe to (and share) my Substack and/or go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

But more than anything else, use whatever knowledge, inspiration, or resources you might find in any of my content to help others around you realize God is for them. Thank you so much!

Information for purchasing the book:

You Don't Have To Do That

Moving Past What Is Wrong with Religion to Embrace What Is Right with Jesus

Buy directly from the publisher at a 10% discount
Download the PDF for $7 (instant download)
Looking for Kindle/Audio editions? Browse Amazon for all formats.
Searching for the Nook edition? Browse Barnes & Noble.

The Holy Post Podcast episode referenced in this episode can be found at Is Evangelicalism about Jesus or Sexual Ethics?

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Our seventh episode of the Closer Than You Think podcast on Substack continues our ten-part series on the book, You Don’t Have To Do That. This episode talks about your money. This may be the topic that gets people riled up faster than anything else. Why is my church asking for my money? What do they do with it? Am I supposed to be tithing? What is a tithe anyway?

Chapter 6 of the book, “Money Matters,” is a short yet necessary chapter. It also serves as the final piece of our deconstruction work in the book.

If you would like to explore any of these topics in greater depth, then you can leave a comment on any of the episodes. To learn more about simple church practices on your own, visit Grace In Motion.

If interested in supporting my work here, the two best things you can do are subscribe to (and share) my Substack and/or go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

But more than anything else, use whatever knowledge, inspiration, or resources you might find in any of my content to help others around you realize God is for them. Thank you so much!

Information for purchasing the book:

You Don't Have To Do That

Moving Past What Is Wrong with Religion to Embrace What Is Right with Jesus

Buy directly from the publisher at a 10% discount
Download the PDF for $7 (instant download)
Looking for Kindle/Audio editions? Browse Amazon for all formats.
Searching for the Nook edition? Browse Barnes & Noble.

The Barna study cited in this episode can be found at Barna Research - Tithe.

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Our sixth episode of the Closer Than You Think podcast on Substack continues our ten-part series on the book, You Don’t Have To Do That. This episode looks at the role of pastors or clergy. Most of the church structure as we know it in Christian circles in this part of the world is based upon a clergy/laity distinction. We have pastors or priests and then all the rest of us. Is this the best way to set up the church? Is this conducive to spiritual growth? Why does it seem that we are constantly hearing stories of abusive leadership in big churches? Here we go, digging into chapter 5, “The Ordinary Are the Ordained.”

If you would like to explore any of these topics in greater depth, then you can leave a comment on any of the episodes. To learn more about simple church practices on your own, visit Grace In Motion.

If interested in supporting my work here, the two best things you can do are subscribe to (and share) my Substack and/or go to Amazon and post a positive review of my book here.

But more than anything else, use whatever knowledge, inspiration, or resources you might find in any of my content to help others around you realize God is for them. Thank you so much!

Information for purchasing the book:

You Don't Have To Do That

Moving Past What Is Wrong with Religion to Embrace What Is Right with Jesus

Buy directly from the publisher at a 10% discount
Download the PDF for $7 (instant download)
Looking for Kindle/Audio editions? Browse Amazon for all formats.
Searching for the Nook edition? Browse Barnes & Noble.

Episode Notes (taken from endnotes in the book for chapter 5)

One can see in the New Testament that preaching of the “Word” or preaching the gospel occurs before, and without, any formal office of pastor existing. The point is not that there aren’t people sometimes set apart for this purpose, but that it is not meant to be left as the permanent job of one individual in a church community. The epistle of 2 Timothy may come closest to making a case for a kind of pastoral position.
The Lord’s Supper is sometimes called by other names (i.e. Communion, Eucharist, Passover Meal). The Gospels describe Jesus bringing new context to the Passover meal with his disciplines in a unique, one-time event. There is little in the New Testament outlining responsibilities or designating roles in relation to serving the Lord’s Supper. What we do find, significantly, is that it is indeed a meal. There is no record of it being an isolated activity apart from a meal, so this common practice today of including a moment for a bite of bread or a wafer and a sip of wine or juice is foreign to the New Testament. Once we put it in the context of an entire meal, even with all its symbolism from the Passover, we see that it is a shared experience. 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 and John 21 imply the breaking of bread along with eating or drinking other items together. People are serving one another.
When studying various New Testament passages related to baptism, it is fascinating to see how many different kinds of people baptized other people, and that no two accounts seem to be identical. Not one of the baptism accounts or teachings in the Bible involves a designated pastor role, yet today it is common for church institutions to require pastoral licenses or credentials to perform a baptism. Scriptures related to this topic include Mark 1:1-13, Luke 3:1-22, Matthew 28:18-20, John 3:22-4:2, Acts 2:36-41, Acts 8:9-17, 26-40, Acts 10:34-48, Acts 16:11-15, 29-34, Acts 18:5-8.
I acknowledge that 1 Peter 5 uses “shepherd” in some translations and directs some believers to provide oversight, but even in this passage there is emphasis on the distinction between human shepherds and Jesus as the “Chief Shepherd.” Furthermore, the guidance is about resisting the desire to rule over others and remaining humble.

Closer Than You Think: Recent Episodes

Marc Scott