WHAT WE NEED MORE THAN ANYTHING IN 2021

Two years ago, I received a Facebook message on Christmas Eve that I’ve been thinking about this week. A member of our church, a young woman who would not live to see the next year, wrote to thank me for our service that night and one song in particular. All of us hear “O Holy Night,” every Christmas, again and again. But that year, one lyric lifted my friend’s spirit: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.”

That hope is what she needed that Christmas.

That hope is what her husband and kids would need just a few short days later.

That hope is what we preached at her funeral a week later.

That hope is what every reader of this blog needs in 2021.

HOW TO BE USED BY GOD

One day Jesus drove a demon from a suffering boy after his disciples tried and failed to make that happen. Afterwards they asked him why they couldn’t perform the miracle, and he told them it was because they lacked faith. “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Well, I’ve stood in front of a mountain and tried to make it move. Nothing happened. But I do have faith, at least a hint of faith, enough faith to believe that God can do something through me. I believe he will take my tiny faith and make something huge out of it.

And I believe that can happen for you, too.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageDecember 23, 2020god, trust, mountain, boad, sink, christmas, mary, joseph, jesus, lowly, lofty, leaders, leadership, struggleComment

WHY THE CHURCH MUST CANCEL "CANCEL CULTURE"

If you’ve written off someone because of one mistake or dumb remark, you’re participating in what has become a growing problem, “cancel culture.”

“There is no single accepted definition of cancel culture,” according to Forbes, “but at its worst, it is about unaccountable groups successfully applying pressure to punish someone for perceived wrong opinions.”

In other words, you wrong me or offend me, and you’re dead to me. And you should be dead to all my social media contacts, too. I’ll tell anyone who will listen why you’re dead to me and explain why they should cancel you as I have.

The Forbes article gives several recent examples, some of them describing celebrities with careers ruined (although some eventually saw a boost in their following after an initial outcry over their remarks).

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageDecember 16, 2020church, ministry, pastor, pastors, leadership, cancel culture, cancelled, cancel, culture, hope, help, hope dealer, forgivenessComment

3 REASONS I'M DONE CRITICIZING THE CHURCH

In some circles today it’s cool to criticize the church. Search social media and soon you’ll find someone upset because they say the church has failed them. Some have even walked away. In fact, most readers of this blog know at least one person who has decided to leave church altogether.

Obviously, the critics are not totally wrong. Attend church long enough and you’re sure to bump up against adultery, jealousy, lying, or just general unpleasantness among folks who are supposed to be redeemed.

I get it. Sometimes someone will say to me, “It must be wonderful to work at the church, doing God’s work all day every day.” Well, it certainly is gratifying to partner with God in his activity on earth. But it’s not for the faint of heart. Spiritual healing is like physical healing: sometimes it means cleaning messy wounds, draining ugly infection, watching for many months (or years) while disabled people slowly hobble along until their brokenness has mended.

So I could tell you plenty of reasons to criticize the church. But I’m committed not to join the critics, for at least three reasons.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageDecember 9, 2020church, criticizing, complain, leading, leader, leadership, leadership struggle, stop, bride, hope, jesus, loveComment

WILL YOU CHOOSE CALLING OVER COMFORT?

Several years ago, I had a friend who believed God was calling him to serve as a missionary in a Two-Thirds World country. He and his wife prayed about this for a year, alone and with their kids. (The oldest was eight years old and youngest was 2.)

He continued to feel confident of God’s call to this change, so he quit his job, raised funds, sold possessions, packed up belongings, and moved. I traveled to see him and his family about six months later, and my friend told me, “I think God is calling us back to the United States.” I was convinced about his claim of a call to leave home. I wasn’t so sure God was calling him to return.

I thought about this incident this week after reflecting on my final message in our church’s Dangerous Prayer series. This dangerous prayer was, “Lord, send me.” It seems my friend had prayed this prayer. But still I wonder if he accurately discerned God’s answer. What happens when we pray, “Send me”?

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageDecember 2, 2020comfort, calling, comfortable, telephone, difficult, home, stay, sending, send, stay home, fresh, morning, boredom, breakthroughComment

Trevor DeVage

copyright 2018

SOCIAL