"I CAN'T BREATHE": A WHITE PASTOR'S RESPONSE TO RACISM

Love.

Healing.

Life.

These are why Jesus came. “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16.) God loves the world. Not one group or ethnicity or skin color in the world, but the whole world.

“By his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Healed of our past. Healed of our failures. Healed of our hatred. Any effort to heal apart from the blood of Christ ultimately fails.

Jesus said he came to give abundant life (John 10:10). We’ll fully realize what he meant when we bow at his feet for eternity. But don’t we believe we’re supposed to experience that life here and now? And can’t we agree that Jesus wants that life for every man, woman, and child on earth today?

Many have asked me to make a statement about the racial unrest in our country sparked by the murder of George Floyd. Here’s my statement: The gospel of Jesus is characterized by love, healing, and life. And I believe our mission is to be ambassadors of that gospel (2 Corinthians 5:20): agents of love, healing, and life in our communities and in our world. My challenge—the church’s challenge—is to find ways to do that.

Jesus is our example. He spent time with the Samaritan woman, even though the Jews of his day viewed Samaritans as half-breed dogs. He healed lepers, even though the people of his day were afraid to get within ten feet of them. Now is the time for the church to make sure it’s not hiding its head in the sand, ignoring a world desperate for the love, health, and life that only Jesus will bring.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageJune 3, 2020george floyd, racism, pastor, protest, violence, breathe, church, unity, peaceComment

THE THING THAT MIGHT BE KILLING YOU AND EVERYONE AROUND YOU

Most of us have heard more than one sermon about pride, this star among the Seven Deadly Sins. So I was a little surprised to receive such a positive reaction when I preached about pride last Sunday. More than one emailed or texted to say, “I really need to hear this.”

Maybe that’s because sooner or later, pride will be an issue for all of us. Maybe it’s because, as one preacher told me, “Pride is the soil in which all other sin grows.” Maybe some responded because my need to hear this sermon myself was under the surface when I preached it to others.

In any case, I can’t stop thinking about pride, and I want to think some more about it with you as we share this post.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageMay 27, 2020pride, hindsight, sight, forgiveness, power, church, leadershipComment

HOW TO WIN A FIGHT THAT'S NOT FAIR

I’ve never been a big guy. And when I was a boy, my father, who’s always been short and scrappy himself, told me how to survive.

“Fighting’s not fair,” he advised. “Don’t go seeking a fight, but if you’re challenged by someone bigger than you, do whatever you must to win.” He told about a time when a bully confronted him after school. Dad grabbed a metal trash can, whomped the kid with it, and then ran home.

He wouldn’t have left unhurt that day if he hadn’t realized some uncomplicated truths that parallel the way Christians should think about their spiritual adversary, the devil. When it comes to Satan, it’s not a fair fight, and we need to be ready.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageMay 20, 2020fight, fair, enemy, boxing, strength, covid, corona, worship, satan, spiritual warfareComment

WHY BE NORMAL? SPECIAL GUEST POST BY MARK TAYLOR

Last week Trevor challenged the church not to seek or settle for a “new normal” in how we do ministry. To his way of thinking, “normal” is not where the church belongs at all. Instead, like the growth of his teenage daughters, he says the church should “progress through one change after another in the coming years. . . . The goal is not to settle into normal, the goal is to progress through life.”

I keep coming back to those words. Does the notion of No New Normal really apply to everyday life? Does it work for me?

I hope so. I’m beginning to see how his insights can apply personally to my life—and maybe to some other readers of his blog as well. Trevor’s points from last week make a good outline for my thoughts, too.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageMay 13, 2020normal, complacency, covid, corona, new, leadership, church, .iveComment

THERE IS NO NEW NORMAL FOR YOUR CHURCH

My daughter turned 16 last week, one more reminder that everything in our family is changing. She’s driving now, and the other day she asked to drive us home—in my Jeep! My wife hasn’t even driven my Jeep yet! I said yes, and it was fine. My little girl is a good driver.

One more change: She has a boyfriend now. A boyfriend! Actually, I like him. (Could I have ever anticipated saying those words?) I like having him around. (I think he has a healthy fear of me, and I like that too!)

I know I can only imagine the changes we’ll experience in the next five or ten years. What our family has always known as normal has disappeared, and it’s tempting to long for the normal of the past. Or it would be easy to console ourselves believing a “new normal” will replace what’s changing. But it won’t. We’ll progress through one change after another in the coming years. Life will never settle into normal. The goal is not to settle into normal, the goal is to progress through life. And that’s how it’s supposed to be—not only in the life of a growing family, but for the life of a growing church, too.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageMay 6, 2020Hope, hope dealer, covid, church, online church, normal, pandemic, onlineComment

Love.

Healing.

Life.

Trevor DeVage

copyright 2018

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