Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny

In the Big Book of Alcoholic's Anonymous, it says "we shall be with you in the Spirit as you trudge the road of happy destiny."

This phrase has always struck me as entirely insightful and profound. The fellowship of encouragement and support that is the 12-Step community joins with the individual addict on a journey towards a happy and blessed future free from the addictive lifestyle. And what is the nature of that journey? It is described as a "trudge."

Websters says that "to trudge" is "to walk or march steadily and usually laboriously." And "a trudge" is "a long tiring walk."

Of course Bill Wilson, the founder of AA, was a Christian who was influenced by the Oxford Group in formulating the 12-steps. The first three steps are the essential ingredients of conversion. First we have to admit we are sinful. Second, we have to admit that God exists. And third, we must surrender our lives to Him.

But the remaining nine steps are more about the continuing process that we must pursue in order to obtain and maintain freedom from sin and to walk in a deep and life-changing commitment to God. Conversion is the easy part. The difficult part is the "trudge," the long tiring walk that is our daily life.

Of course, this is true of the Christian life in general. Turning over our lives to God so that we are now "born again" is the easy part. But walking out our faith through the painful trials of daily life is the hard part.

Jesus says that those who would follow Him must "pick up their cross daily and follow him." Put another way, we must look at the example of Jesus' trudge and imitate Him.

Jesus laid aside the "self-directed life" and took up the "God-directed life" when he picked up the old rugged cross. True discipleship means picking up the symbolic cross given to us and following His example of obedient submission to the Father. He trudged the entire Via Dolorosa to Calvary. And even beyond Calvary. You could say, to hell and back again. A trudge that brought him to the place of Happy Destiny at the right hand of God.

As the writer of Hebrews says: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12: 2-3).

Is life hard? Don't lose heart. Join with us in the Spirit as we all trudge the road of happy destiny together.

Leadership and Pain

M. Scott Peck begins his classic book, The Road Less Traveled, with these words, "Life is difficult."

The writer of Job puts it another way, "Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward" (Job 5: 7).

Pain is one of the common experiences of humanity. And so Peck goes on to explain that it is the avoidance of pain that is at the root of all psychological dysfunction. And I would add that it stands at the root of all relational dysfunction as well.

The classic example is the man who is frustrated at work. But since it is too scary to confront his boss, he comes home and yells at his wife, who then scolds her son, who kicks the dog.

All sorts of dysfunctional behavior can be explained using this paradigm. Addictions are often attempts at self-medicating: a way of numbing pain, rather than dealing with it. Codependency--focusing my mental and emotional energy on taking care of someone else's needs so that somehow they will take care of me and take away the pain of feeling unloved. Excessive anger--an attempt to push away the source of something that I perceive is making me feel weak or powerless--perhaps an attempt to feel in control when I feel out of control.

If this is true, then leaders have an especially hard time. Let me say that if "Life is difficult" then "Leadership is very difficult."

In 2 Timothy 2: 3-6, Paul gives three metaphors with four applications for leaders.

First, Paul tells Timothy to "join with me in suffering hardship" like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Soldiers must endure all kinds of hardship in order to accomplish their mission. So, a leader must learn to bear up under pain and do his job.

Second, rather than get distracted by other pursuits, a soldier must be dedicated 100% to his job. Why? His focus is on pleasing his superior officer. He can't decide to go to a movie or sleep in when he is on duty. So a leader must learn to be dedicated and not get distracted.

Third, like an athlete competing in the games, he must undergo a strict regimen of training and diet. This is what Paul means by competing according to the rules. Thus a leader must learn to be disciplined (and especially must practice spiritual discipline). A leader who is performing the tasks of leadership without the underlying disciplines is headed for a big crash. It is like a flower that has been cut from the stem and placed in a vase with no more connection to the root--it may look fresh now, but it is destined to wither and die.

Fourth, the farmer only gets to share in a crop if he is hard-working. You cannot expect a crop to simply show up because you want it to. You must work the soil. Thus, leaders must learn to put their shoulder to the plow and work hard in order to produce fruit for the Kingdom.

For this reason, leadership is not just about natural talent. It is also about maturity. Only those who have applied themselves to the disciplines that produce spiritual growth will be in a place to sustain leadership over the long haul--because that involves experiencing the pain of life, not avoiding it, but enduring it so that it produces fruit.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Gal. 6: 9).

"Consider him (Jesus) who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12: 3).

"You have persevered and have endured hardship for my name, and have not grown weary" (Rev. 2: 3).

Run the Race

I was not really an athlete during my childhood. I could barely make it once around the track (that was only a quarter of a mile). I was way too short for basketball and way too small for American football. The only "sport" I could compete in was bowling.

As an adult, I am still trying to convince my wife that golf is a sport. It doesn't really help my case when she sees golfers who are over-weight, smoking cigars, drinking beer, driving around in a cart and still beating me.

But even though I may not be a jock, I still enjoy watching a good sporting event, especially when the time comes for the Olympic games. There is something noble about watching people pour their hearts and souls into becoming the best in the world at some event. And there is inherent drama in every competition. Characters, conflict, tension, success and defeat.

The apostle Paul would probably have been stuck on ESPN. He uses sports analogies all the time throughout his letters.

The writer of Hebrews gives a full chapter of examples of faith from the Old Testament and then compares our own test of faith to a race. Those who have gone before us are now gathered in the arena seats and they are cheering us on.

Of course the real point is that the call of faith is like running in a race. It takes the kind of commitment that athletes must have to compete--plus a lot of sweat--to compete well. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to do three things in order to compete in the "Faith Games."

1.  Lay aside sin and and other entanglements.

2.  Run with "endurance", that is, push through the pain.

3.  Fix your eyes on Jesus.

Jesus is called the "author and perfector" of our faith. That is, he is the pioneer and supreme example who has gone before us and demonstrated a mature or complete faith. Therefore our eyes are to be focused on Him.

"Consider him..." That is, meditate on the example of Jesus as you run the race.

My paraphrase:
"With the knowledge that so many great examples of persevering faith have completed the race before us and are now seated in the arena to cheer us on, let us get rid of all the sinful patterns and distracting entanglements that might wrap around our legs and trip us up. Then, let us run this race in a way that bears up with determination under the pain and distress that surely comes up as we exert ourselves. Finally, let us stay focused on Jesus Himself, the supreme trailblazer and example of maturity in the faith. Meditate constantly on how He endured persecution and hostility--going all the way for us--so that you can also complete the race that has been laid out for you" (Heb. 12: 1-3 paraphrase).

Let's go for the gold!

Hanging In There

I've gone through a lot of shaking this year. Five of our members have passed away, plus my own father and two former co-workers at the Anaheim Vineyard. Quite a few people have left our fellowship for various reasons. A few of them were understandably frustrated with me during this time of shaking. But more of them simply moved out of the area.

In Hebrews 12, the writer comments on Haggai's prophecy about God shaking Israel. He says that God shakes everything so that the things that need to be removed are removed and so that the things that are supposed to remain permanently, remain.

Despite all the loss, I am greatly encouraged. I sense that God is indeed on the move. That the losses are a kind of pruning that will result in growth. I have even found myself feeling an unexplainable joy as I pray about all these things.

My wife loves roses. When it comes time to prune her rose bushes, she seemingly hacks them back to nothing. If I didn't know better, I would think they were dead. Just a gnarled stump with a couple of thorny sticks. Yet, when spring comes, the bushes come to life and the resultant display of blooms is spectacular every time.

I think of 1 Cor. 15: 58:

"Therefore, my dear brothers [and sisters], stand firm. Let nothing move you. [Hang in there--sit tight.] Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Here, Paul is saying, with all the deaths of believers, don't get discouraged. The resurrection is a real hope that means your work for the Kingdom is not a waste of time.

I began blogging a year ago and have kept it up with some consistency. Perhaps the rhythm of putting my thoughts down in pixels has helped me through the shaky times. I hope you have been blessed, challenged or comforted by something I've written. And I am going to continue to write. If you are touched, please share your thoughts with me or forward the link to someone else who might be blessed as well.

And remember--hang in there, because your work in the Kingdom is not a waste of time.