ONE WEEK TILL ZOE CONFERENCE! :)

Scott and I have been truly blessed in life to have a great set of friends surrounding us. They are an amazing support system. They have prayed for us when we needed prayer, they have encouraged us, they have challenged us.... This summer we all decided to start a Sunday night Bible study together. We had all been in various small groups-- some of which worked well, some of which were scattered and unorganized.... But, we all felt this deep need to establish this group and take our relationships to an even deeper spiritual level.

All of us are now entering the "30-something" stage of life-- kids, job/career choices, house choices, church choices. Basically, we are all "growing up" and starting to realize just how important our spiritual walk is and how desperately we need good friends on the journey with us-- people we can be real with and share ALL of our lives with-- a level of intimacy which totally surpasses purely social interaction. We want our kids to grow up together, playing, etc. but we also want them to see us trying to grow closer to God as we strengthen the ties with each other.

Yes, our lives are crazily busy and our schedules are maxed out-- but meeting each week is a priority for us... the cost of NOT meeting is simply too great. We are trying to hold each other accountable to this commitment and to be very disciplined about it.

We are studying "Waking the Dead" by John Eldredge which has proven to be a great book for where we are. The basic premise is that we all rob ourselves of the true abundant life that Jesus came to give us because we aren't aware of the many ways we live in denial-- we hide behind masks and emotional/spiritual indecision rather than acknowledging our real reason/purpose for living. God has called us to a life fully alive in Him, and when we hide behind our masks, we rob Him-- and others-- of His glory.

It is so incredible how our group has melded even over the last few weeks once we have started to drop the "masks" and to get real about where we are on the journey. Once you decide to surpass the social appearances and lay everything out on the table for all to see, relationships quickly deepen. People begin to see "Hey, they struggle with the same things we do!"; "I feel the same way at times in my life."

It is no wonder that James tells us in chapter 5 that confessing brings about healing. We can only begin to heal those things we are honest in naming aloud to each other. I am so thankful that we have a safe place in which to do this! I can't wait to look back in 20 years and see how God has been working among us and to see all the ups and downs we have helped each other through. Community is a good-- and necessary-- thing.

ZOE conference is coming up NEXT weekend! Can't wait to worship with everyone! It truly is one of my favorite times of the year! God is so obviously present in the hearts of all those who come to seek Him. We were all practicing last night, and it just felt so good to know that these songs will minister to people in ways we can't even know-- but that at the same time, it isn't about us. There is so much freedom in that!

Safe travels for all of you who are coming! Can't wait to see you-- or to meet you! :)

The LIFE of the Party

We are doing a study of Luke at church and today the sermon was from chapter five. Tonight in our Bible study group we were discussing the sermon and what we had gleaned from the chapter and someone brought up the dinner at Levi's (Matthew's) house. What a scene-- Jesus hanging out with tax collectors and "other people" at a huge "party/feast"! Were these old drinking/cheating buddies of Matthew? Did he want them to encounter Jesus in the same way he had? Is this why he threw the party in the first place? Or, had his buddies heard about Matthew's crazy decision to give up the tax collector life to follow some strange rabbi? Had they come to the feast to see for themselves what Matthew had signed up for and what could possibly be so great about this guy he was so willing to give up everything to follow?

And, at the party, were those guys sitting around laughing amongst themselves about how much money they had swindled from people over the past month? Did Jesus hear them? Did he say anything, or did He let it slide? Or, did those men sense something when Jesus looked into their eyes? Did they have some strange feeling that this man knew them-- and all their sinfulness-- in ways they could never begin to imagine?

And then when the "good guys" showed up to crash the party and stop the fun, Jesus stuns them with: "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

So-- we thought for awhile.... What did that all really look like? What did he really mean by that statement? And-- maybe even more convictingly-- what does that mean for us today?

I would consider myself amongst the "sick"-- even on my best days.... Jesus' use of metaphors is so frustrating at times at least on the surface. He could have answered those guys in more direct terms on so many occasions, but instead, He always seems to paint a word picture for them-- giving them something to chew on for awhile.

The relationship between a doctor and his patient is an interesting dynamic. We don't seek a doctor unless we are sick, and when we are sick, we are desperate for healing and relief. We are in some ways completely at the mercy of the doctor and his cures. We are totally dependent on him to fix what is ailing us. Was Jesus trying to get the Pharisees to realize that they, too, were utterly dependent upon Him-- only they refused to admit it? They were in complete denial of just how spiritually sick they were. Perhaps it is no coincidence that just before this banquet passage Jesus heals the leper and the paralytic-- both of whom sought out Jesus and had faith that He could provide the healing that they needed. A stark contrast with the Pharisee's mind set.

So-- what does this mean to those of us who are definitely "sick" in one sense, too, but who also have recognized that Jesus is the only answer for our lives? When we encounter the sick of this world who don't know Him, how do we meet them where they are and not come across as judgmental or overly fanatical about wanting to share our faith? Jesus also says-- "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire"(Matt. 3:10). He obviously never condoned the immoral actions of the men-- so what does hanging out with sinners really look like? How can you simply associate with "sinners" without at some point having to face the "I am compelled to confront them about the sin in their life" moment? How did you socialize and let them know the truth at the same time? Where is the balance between calling someone from a life of sin and at the same time just loving them the way that they are?

Maybe those are really the easy questions. Maybe the harder questions have to do with why we are not hosting any banquets ourselves. How often do we really go out on a limb and put ourselves in those kind of situations where we know that we are actively pursuing the "sick"?-- those that Jesus made a specific point to reach while He was here. I think we most often have parties for the people who already love Jesus and already view Him the same way we do-- it isn't often that we pull up our chairs to a table with those who don't see faith in the same way we do. Why?!

Are we afraid of becoming the "door knockers" or "spiritual vacuum cleaner salesmen" of our generation? Do we assume that everyone around us already knows His love and mercy-- or that at the very least they have been exposed to Jesus already and have already made up their minds one way or another about Him?

It is all hard stuff to wrestle with! It takes us into scary territory. Reaching out to others can be so uncomfortable. I don't really want to put myself into such a vulnerable position. We live in a world whose mantra is "I'm ok-You're ok". We don't ever want to set ourselves up in the position of telling others that the lifestyle they have chosen to live is not consistent with how God has called us to live. Is that because we know only too well the baggage and sin we carry in our own lives?

It all has to come down to grace. When we can become comfortable simply sharing the wonderful freedom of His grace with others, then real change begins to happen-- in our lives and in other's lives. Donald Miller says that it isn't our job to change people, but rather it is our job to love people. When that connection is made, then God can work to bring about the change He desires.

Lord, please teach me and show me how to do this in real ways in my daily life!! I am so blind to the many opportunities that You lay before me every day to share Your love and mercy. Help me to be less self-focused and more other-focused. You have graciously given Your love and mercy to me-- help me to share it with others!

Future Big Brother!

We can now proudly announce that yet another Westerman will be joining our ranks in March! We are looking forward to seeing Luke with his new brother or sister and experiencing all the chaos that will come with having two! Keep us in your prayers!

Thoughts on Loss and Love

I know all of you have been deeply touched and affected by the haunting images of the Katrina victims. It seems like such an overwhelming tragedy-- you want to help, but you aren't even sure where to begin.... Luke and I went by Target today and picked up supplies which will be taken down this afternoon by a local church to another church in Jackson, Mississippi to be distributed. At least I felt like I was doing something to help.

As I loaded up boxes of diapers, sheets, food....-- it just struck me how VERY blessed we are. Buying those items was no real sacrifice for us. We have been so fortunate and this small gesture doesn't even seem like much. How can we not help when we have a hot meal to eat together tonight in our comfortable home and cozy beds to sink into when we turn out the lights?! I can't even begin to fathom how those people are coping... it truly does break your heart. I am praying that God will use us in even bigger ways in the near future to help out in any way we can. This is definitely not a cause that will be over in a matter of weeks.

I am almost finished with Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller-- what an interesting read. I have really enjoyed his insights on faith. Last night's chapter was "How to Really Love People." It was a great take on how we tend to only relate to people in economic terms. He started by showing us an example with cancer. When you ask people to use metaphors relating to cancer they more than not respond with "we battle cancer", "we fight cancer", "we defeat cancer", etc.-- all terms that have overtones of battle/war. Doctors say that this has a negative effect on cancer patients-- that it stresses them out and puts a lot of pressure on them when they see it as an enemy to be fought in a life and death battle. Then he moved on to our personal relationships and noted that our metaphors there follow a similar pattern-- not battle, but economic-driven-- "we value people", "people are priceless", "we avoid emotionally bankrupt relationships", "we invest in people's lives", etc. Miller comments:

And that's when it hit me like so much epiphany getting dislodged from my arteries. The problem with the Christian culture is we think of love as a commodity. We use it like money.... If somebody is doing for us, offering us something, be it gifts, time, popularity, or what have you, we feel they are priceless.... With love, we withheld affirmation from the people who did not agree with us, but we lavishly financed the ones who did. [We] used love like money, but love doesn't work like money. It is not a commodity. When we barter with it, we lose. Blue Like Jazz, pg. 218

I am sure that I have treated relationships in my life that way. It is so easy to reduce them to "How will this person benefit me?" or "Are they worth the investment of my time and energy?". That is very hard to admit/confess-- but so often true.

Miller goes on to share-- "Nobody will listen to you unless they sense that you like them. If a person senses that you do not like them, that you do not approve of their existence, then your religion and your political ideas will all seem wrong to them. If they sense that you like them, then they are open to what you have to say." BLJ, pg. 220

When we never allow ourselves to truly open up and love people-- we are the real losers. We are missing out on so much. Everyone has a beautiful story to share and things that we can learn from...

I am starting to see that my religious and political views don't really matter all that much in the scheme of things and that there is an entire world of people out there who need to be loved-- regardless of their views and perspectives on the world. It is too easy to surround myself with people who like me and think like me. Jesus called us to more than that. I think it is finally dawning on me that this is really at the heart of what it means to be "missional". It is getting outside of yourself just long enough to realize that people matter because they matter to Him. It isn't my job to change people-- it is my job to show everyone the love of Christ.

I sincerely pray that God will open my eyes and show me ways to LOVE people.