Tag: rest

The missing message in today’s church

William Graham Tullian Tchividjian writes:

America’s churches came back into the media limelight a few weeks ago after a well-publicized Pew study showed a meteoric rise of Americans claiming no religious affiliation, shooting up from seven percent in 1990 to 16 percent in 2010. The percentage more than doubled for those under the age of 30, reaching almost 35 percent. The group is now being referred to as “the religious nones.”

He points to a great article by Rachel Held Evans that what millennials really want from church is a change in substance.

He continues:

As someone who loves the church, I am saddened by the perception of Christianity as a vehicle of moral control and good behavior, rather than a haven for the discouraged and dying. It is high time for the church to remind our broken and burned out world that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a one-way declaration that because Jesus was strong for you, you’re free to be weak; because Jesus won for you, you’re free to lose; because Jesus succeeded for you, you’re free to fail.

Grace and rest and absolution – with no new strings or anxieties attached–now that would be a change in substance.

How freeing would that be for you to receive today?

And do you agree – is this message missing from today’s churches?

Unforced rhythms

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 11:28-30

HT to Headphonaught

What a great image of God and Jesus.

“Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”

I remember in elementary school I was in the band. I played snare drum simply because I couldn’t play a wind or brass instrument thanks to my orthodontist work. When I first started out, I had to force the rhythm at times. I had to work on getting it right. But as I became familiar with the song and the drum, it became easier. Suddenly it wasn’t forced. It was natural.

The same happened when I took piano lessons. The more I did it, the less forced it was. The more natural it became. Now years later, it’s a real effort for me to sit and read music. There are a few songs that still come naturally to me – but don’t ask me to read the music for it – I’ll be lost in an instant. It’s because I’m out of practice and now what may have been unforced rhythm takes a lot of effort.

Throughout life I see this pattern over and over again.

Imagine grace becoming such a thing we’re so used to giving and receiving that it just comes natural. It’s just a natural rhythm of life. It isn’t a pain to give when asked. It isn’t a forced effort to smile at someone we’re not particularly found of. It isn’t unusual to accept the unacceptable or the unloved.

When grace becomes an unforced rhythm of life – suddenly we love those who least expect it and love those who lease deserve it.

Imagine what would happen if grace became an unforced rhythm of life just as music was to Evan in the movie August Rush? What if it just flowed from us each and every day?