Billy Graham and the Legacy of the Gospel

People around the world are mourning the death of Billy Graham, who passed away yesterday at the age of 99. He was, without a doubt, one of the most influential church figures of the 20th century. 

I swim in the stream of his legacy. I attended a seminary which he helped to found, and I'm thankful to have his signature on my seminary diploma. This is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg of his influence.

But I don't want to talk today about his accomplishments or the way he's shaped the Christian church as we know it. If you would care to read more about his life, ministry, and legacy, Christianity Today (of which he was a founder) has a lovely special issue in Billy Graham's honor. 

Today, I'm thinking about what was even more dear to Billy Graham's heart - the Gospel. As I've been thinking of his legacy, I'm reminded how simple that Gospel message is. It is simple enough that we can summarize its basic truths in one sentence: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) 

The message of the Gospel is profound. There is a reason why we devote time to understanding the theology behind it, why we want to study it and dissect it and diagram it. There is a reason why we treat it with awe, not wanting to oversimplify it, not wanting to twist it into something it is not. There is a reason why we look at the historical sweep, the context of Jesus Christ's coming, the prophecies He fulfilled and will fulfill. It is right and good to dedicate this thought and study.  

But in the midst of this complexity, the Gospel message is still simple. It is hard. It is beyond our full comprehension. We could spend a lifetime diving the depths of its riches. But it is simple: God loves you. He entered time and space to make a way for relationship with you. In Him you find complete forgiveness, redemption, and restoration. 

This simple-yet-profound Gospel message changes lives. It changes families and cultures. It touches our minds, our hands, our feet. It transforms. 

Billy Graham never forgot this simple Gospel message, and he never forgot its power. This is, perhaps, his most precious legacy.

“Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.”

- Billy Graham (1918-2018)

You Are Worth More Than Cilantro

I stop by the window, and I bend down to stare into the long green pot. It has become part of my morning routine, when my sleepy eyes are still only half-open. And my afternoon routine, when I wait for the microwave bell to announce my lunch is ready. And…well, I suppose the “routine” is that I stare into the pot every time I pass it, every time I notice it sitting in front of the tall window beside our bathroom.

At first, I was staring through cling wrap beaded with moisture. I clapped my hands the day I saw a thin green tendril erupting from the soil. I pulled the plastic film away, giving the single sprout room to grow, and hoped it was only the first.

Each day, I look for more. There are over a dozen now. A few sluggish ones pushed up to the sunlight only this morning.

I stare down at them, watching the soil like the tiny clay birds that perch on the pot’s edge. I look at the growing leaves, and the way they lean toward the morning light. I press a finger into the soil’s edge, wondering if they need watering. I look at the ones close together—do they need separated? I run my fingers gently over tiny leaves miraculously supported by thin stems, because I’ve heard this will help them to grow straight and strong. So much attention to watching things grow.

Oh you of little faith—does the Heavenly Gardener not tend to you with even more care? Does He not provide what you need to flourish and grow? Does He not rejoice as He sees you? Are you not even more so under His loving eye?

Are you not worth far more than a sprig of cilantro?

Everyday Disciple: Stephanie's Story

This post is part of an on-going Everyday Disciple series. We're celebrating here what it looks like to follow Christ faithfully in the day-to-day. I am thankful to share the stories of gracious friends and readers, and I have sought to preserve and honor their voice in the post below. I invite you to join me as we listen to their experience as an "everyday disciple."

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Steph and I first met the summer after I graduated from high school, when we worked as camp counselors for the summer. Little could we have dreamed that six years later, she'd be in my wedding...or that I'd be marrying her brother. 

When we gather for the holidays, Steph always has stories to share about her students. She cares deeply for the children in her classroom and is personally invested in seeing them thrive. It's a delight to see - and I'm excited to share her story with you today. 

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Initially, I chose to study nursing in college. I had aspirations of becoming a missionary, and I knew it would equip me with a practical skill to work internationally. After wrestling through my first year of nursing classes and not doing well with blood in labs, though, I dropped my major.  

It was a very difficult decision for me, but I decided to switch my major to elementary education. My hope was that I could serve and minister to children through this profession. I also saw how teaching could be a way to serve and enter countries that are otherwise closed to outreach. I now teach first graders at a public elementary school. 

One of my greatest joys in teaching is helping kids to appreciate reading and watch them fall in love with a certain author or series. We celebrate these authors, check out their websites, and practice making their styles of illustrations. I have repeatedly seen my students get hooked on a series that we are reading in class. 

My other greatest joy is teaching relational skills to first graders. I love doing role play, in which we act out situations so that the students can see how to handle a situation in a healthy way. The joy comes when I see a student, or even an entire class, embrace those behaviors. I often think that this is a missed opportunity at school.

Each morning, we stand for the pledge and have a moment of silence. Since my first year of teaching I have felt led to pray for my class silently during our moment of silence. I then choose one student that day to be encouraged. I remind the class that our words have power, and we can use our words to bring people down or build them up. I call on two or three kids who raise their hands, and they encourage the student of the day. They share things like “He is kind” or “She is honest.” My prayer is that they continue to use their words powerfully in a loving way! 

My students aren’t the only ones being formed in my classroom—I am too. I am reminded of God’s character and am stretched as a follower of Jesus through my job as a teacher. 

As I see kids in need of consistent structure, affirmation, discipline, and love, I am reminded that we need the same things from God and of how He delivers in His steadfastness and loyalty toward us.

I am shaped more into His likeness as I learn to love all of my students, especially on the days when a student is very challenging. 

When my work environment is plagued by gossip, comparing, or power struggles, I learn to invest in and encourage others instead of complaining about these issues. This has led me to host a weekly devotion time before school.

As each new year brings its own different challenges, God refines my heart as I learn to handle situations that test me and to trust Him in the midst of them. 

One of the current struggles in education is the constant pressure that teachers and students feel to perform well on testing. That pressure can sometimes cause me to compare myself to other teachers and question my abilities as a teacher. 

My faith influences me in this struggle, reminding me that God has handcrafted each of my students. He has carefully designed them, and they are all different. I have to remind myself that my identity and my students’ identities are not found in test scores.  

My faith community also encourages me in moments of struggle like this, when I’m doubting my abilities, feeling discouraged, or worn down physically. I need them to be my cheering section from time to time and remind me why I teach: in order to be a source of encouragement, education, and love in a child’s life.

I used to only place value in work that showed immediate growth. I think that is part of why I liked missions trips so much. I could see a house being built or a person praying to God for the first time. I could see a room filled with powerful worship. 

In the classroom, day to day life can look a little mundane. I am learning, though, that God is still working powerfully through small moments. I can give love and encouragement to children every single day. I can give them my attention and have a patient heart. I can model for them healthy relationships and a diligent work ethic. I do not know the lasting effects, but I choose to believe that God is shaping their hearts and hopefully making a lasting impact.

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If you would like to be a part of this project, I would love to hear your story. Contact me for more information. 

On Days I Don't Know What to Write

There are days when I don’t know what to write. There are days when it feels like my words and ideas have dried up, leaving a parched brain and a cracked Muse.

Some have commented on my ability to churn out new content in a seemingly endless stream. Their eyes grow wide when I tell them how often I write here and of the other projects I have spinning. Many times I just shrug and smile. Most of the time I don’t feel the weight of it all.

But there are times when the well seems to run dry.

I stare at a blank page, and the emptiness mocks me. I find other things to do—anything but sit down and feel the mental drought. I wonder if there will come a day when I run out of words for good.

Then I pick up my pen—and I write. I sit at my keyboard, and I squeeze out a few paragraphs.

This is the point when I embrace the reality that this is my job. It is not a fun artsy hobby. It is work, and sometimes work feels uninspiring. We pick ourselves up by sheer self-discipline, and we do our work anyway. It may not be our best day. It may not be the most fulfilling day—but we do it. And that is enough.

I know I’m not alone here. I hope that you, as I do, typically find your work enjoyable and fulfilling. I hope you see purpose in it. But even in the best of jobs, there are days when we’d much rather stay in bed, much rather curl up on the couch and watch Netflix, much rather do anything but go to work.

We wonder how we can possibly teach another lesson or calmly manage that disruptive student. We wonder how we can sit at the same desk, running tests, sorting through data, engineering solutions. We wonder how we can deal with the same problematic employee, the rude customer, the lunchroom drama. We wonder if the string of diapers that need changing, the sticky hands that need wiped, the petty squabbles that need soothed will ever end.

But each morning, you get up. You get up…and you go to work. And that is enough.

There is something in the discipline, something in the steadfastness that works something in us. It builds strength. It exercises the muscles of our faithfulness. It calls us to dependence. It invites us to step out once more—when we feel that we have no strength—and find that God’s grace is sufficient for our routine, daily existence. And finding Him there—that is enough.
 

Work and Worship: Porter's Gate Project

The purpose of my Everyday Disciple series is to draw our attention to opportunities for discipleship and mission in everyday life. My heart's desire is to see the Church living into a lively vision of our call as disciples of Christ, to see how each part of life is under His Hand, His Lordship, His sanctifying Power. The whole of our lives is touched by His call to "come follow Me."

When I see others engaging this same vision, I get excited. That is why, this week, I've decided to take a break from our Everyday Disciple stories in order to share a related project.  

Last June, a diverse group of worship leaders gathered for the first collaboration of the Porter's Gate Worship Project. They discussed ways worship can engage culture, particularly how worship relates to work - and work to worship. 

The fruit of this gathering is the Porter's Gate Worship Project: Work Songs. It's a beautiful collection of new worship songs written to speak to the reality of the work and vocations in which we find ourselves outside of a designated Sunday "worship time." It's a powerful project. And it's a delight to listen to and worship with. 

There are several gems on this album, but my favorite thus far is "Your Labor Is Not In Vain":  

Your labor is not unknown
Though the rocks they cry out and the sea it may groan
The place of your toil may not seem like a home
But Your labor is not unknown

The houses you labored to build
Will finally with laughter and joy be filled
The serpent that hurts and destroys will be killed
And all that is broken be healed

I am with you, I am with you
I am with you, I am with you
For I have called you, called you by name
Your labor is not in vain

There's such hope here in the promise that the seeds we plant are not in vain, that our toil is not without fruit.

How would our lives, our worship, our work, and our churches be affected if we sang songs like this regularly?

I'd encourage you to take a look at Porter's Gate. You can find out more on their website and in the video below. You can find the album through their website and on iTunes.