Brentwood Tribe,
I never know how a particular message is going to hit people. Sometimes I just go out there and say to the Holy Spirit, “I’m not sure about this one, but do that thing you do.” Anyway, I guess I was blindsided by the response this Sunday. Better yet, I was inwardly floored.

Our communal application (drop your 3 x 5 baggage card in the basket) was like a campfire gone wild and then all-consuming. Honestly, I thought just a few individuals would actually take the time to pray through and scribble down their hardships and helplessness. Wrong. Not only did so many write it out, but hundreds actually got up and walked across the room to lay it down. Seriously, an entire room full of church-goers arose from their cushions and proclaimed their helplessness to Christ and their church community. That is the Gospel; that is what transforms a generation.

So this morning, I came to the office well-caffeinated and rested, but haplessly naive. The plan was simple: Read through and pray for some of the 3 x 5’s from yesterday. Should be easy, I thought. Wrong again. Ink and lead sentences walked me down paths of dread and fathomless pain. These confessions and laments became so dark I had to catch my breath and wonder if I should continue on–alcoholism, leukemia, loveless marriages, failed relationships, mental breakdowns, entrenched addictions, suicidal impulses, parental wounds and rejection, etc. And deeper and darker the words got etched. For a moment, I imagined this must be a crude glimpse into how God watches over us. He sees much more than we do, and certainly none of it can be scribed on an index card. And yet, my heart wrenched the way I thought His might every moment we struggle with the sin and pain of this broken world. No wonder He had to send Jesus.

Now, I realize that our church has a mission more torrential than my frail mind can possibly think up on its own. Here it is: We are in this town, and planted on this globe for a brilliant historical moment. That statement is not rhetoric, but reality. We are to be forgiven and healed by Christ’s Gospel and then empowered by the Spirit to exhale that Gospel into every moment we’re given.

Keep on keeping it real, Brentwood. God’s Spirit is about to rock our world.

Onward,
Jon