Ridgell's Originals

The bears were everywhere.  In groups, walking around, laying in the sun.  And we were close.  Sometimes within just a few yards. 

They could have eaten me anytime they wanted.  Real danger.  I must be a real brave hero.

Except that we were in the car with the windows rolled up.  And they were in a large fenced-in area. 

We were driving thru Bearizona by the Grand Canyon.  So I guess we were not really in danger and I am not all that brave.

But it did make me think about a couple of things. 

Some of us seem to think Satan and sin works like the bears in a drive-thru animal park. I mean he is real and all that but not really much of a threat.  Maybe like a roaring lion but not really going to devour any of us.  Except he is real and he will destroy you.  I am smart enough to know that those bears could be very dangerous if I were to get out of the car and approach them.  I should be that smart about Satan and so should you.

And it is not really very courageous to drive thru a park like that.  So it is pretty silly for me to claim that I am out in the wild fighting ferocious beasts.  And pretty silly for us to claim we are willing to get involved in our community of faith to the extent that when people are fighting for their spiritual lives we are right there with them when what we really mean is a few prayers and a pat on the back.  Real restoration means out of the car and not in the park.  It is wading into the blood and mud where the wounded brother needs help to get up.  It is walking beside them at their worst ... and seeing their best.  It is late nights and tears and pain.  It is losing sleep and showing up when it is not easy. 

And I really wasn't in the wilderness.  I was in a park.  Kinda like working a couple of hours in a soup kitchen and claiming to have engaged the disenfranchised in our world.  Or spending a week on a short-term mission trip and claiming to have gone into the hard places with the gospel.  Nothing wrong with those things.  Just don't make them into what they are not.

So I loved Bearizona.  Would like to go back.  Enjoyed seeing the animals.  Learned something about them.  But didn't take much courage.  And I was not in the wilderness.

Just like sitting in the church building and talking about Satan and assuring each other that we want to live courageous lives for Jesus.

So let's go into a real world and fight a real Satan with real people needing a real Savior.  Let's be courageous and trust God to protect us.  Pick each other up, stitch up the wounded, and fight for our faith and fight along side those who need help.

God give us the courage to get out of the building into a world where we are needed.  And where your Son went.  And where you have told us to go.

Last Friday it was my honor and blessing to baptize Mallory Newcomb into Christ.  It happened over Homecoming weekend at ACU.  It was her first trip back since she graduated last Spring.  So here are a couple of things you need to know about her journey.

Mallory was raised in church.  Believed what she learned, but never bought in all the way on a personal level.  She had seen some painful things where Christians did not act as Christians should.  It happens but it is a barrier to get around.  And Mallory is smart.  Really, really smart.  So she had questions about Jesus, Christianity, and what it means to follow Jesus.  She wrestled with what it would mean to follow Jesus in faith.  Like many people, she struggled with how she could live up to the commitment she wanted to make.

A good heart that really did believe in Jesus.  Lots of questions.  And some obstacles to overcome.

So here is how it happened.

Her Mom stayed faithful, parented with a lot of faith, prayed often, and didn't push.

She had some professors (Stephen, Randy, and Brad among others) who weren't afraid of hard questions and who lived out their faith.  And also were really smart.

She connected with a family that adopted her. So she sorta became an honorary Ridgell.  We gave her rides to church, she sat in our church neighborhood, came to family meals, just did life with us.

Loved the church she attended (Southern Hills).  Loved the campus ministry (Jen and Mark).

Read Scripture.  Didn't mind digging in to suggested answers to some of her questions.  Didn't mind asking questions that some might have thought offensive, or not showing enough faith. Talking about what a leap of faith meant.  Sought guidance.

Spent a lot of time around our kitchen table.  Listening to me talk about Jesus.  Watching Marsha live Jesus.  Being a good role model for our grands.

And she graduated and left without buying in.

Kept praying and wrestling.  More long distance dialogue.  Lots of people praying for her.

And then she called to ask about making her first Homecoming a coming home to God.  Baptized in the Jacob's Dream pool.

You know that's really all it takes to help someone become a Jesus follower.

A faithful Mom, a church where you feel at home, an active ministry that welcomes people, smart people of faith not afraid of hard questions, a family that welcomes people into their midst, a good role model, and a traveling evangelist relentless about talking about Jesus.

An open mind and a good heart.  A loving Savior.  A patient God who connects just the right people.

And probably lots more people and events than I will ever know.

All of us partnering with God to grow our faith community.

Go God and love you sister Mallory.

So Marsha and I went to the Grand Canyon recently.  Bucket list trip.  Stayed in the Park.  Hiked.  A lot.  Saw a lot of different views.  Yes it was amazing.  Yes it was overwhelming.  Sensory overload. So easy to sit in awe and just look.  Easy to hike for hours just looking.

Of course it was an incredible reminder of the Creator of the Universe.  Easy to just break out in prayer and praise.  Usually Marsha prayed.  I sang.

Here are a few of the things I felt that I hope I never forget.

God is awesome and huge.  I sometimes can get frustrated with the politics and power struggles in local congregations.  The God that can make the Grand Canyon is way bigger than anything I face here.

It was a perspective I needed.

I want to remember always just how big my God is.

It was also really helpful for me to dream big again.  God tells us he can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.  Seeing the Grand Canyon reminded me that God created something way bigger than I could have ever imagined.  So I need to dream bigger.  For God.  He can -- and will -- do more.

And it was helpful to realize I am not that big a deal.  Hard to be full of yourself while at the Grand Canyon.  Not that big a deal here either.  And don't have to be.  I just have to be ready and available for God to use me up.  Fifty years from now not many people will even remember me.  Maybe my grandkids.  100 years from now no one will remember the sermons or the books.

Most of the congregations I have loved and worked for and in will probably be gone.

But the God that made the Grand Canyon sees me as amazing and magnificent.  Because of his Son.  And He will know and remember what I did in His service.  For his kingdom.

I didn't even see all the Grand Canyon.  Amazing things that I didn't even get a glimpse of.  Just like the Kingdom of God.  So much I have not seen or know about.

So go God.  And thanks for the Grand Canyon.  And for making me and so many others into something grander than we could have ever imaged.  Thru your Son.

You do good work.

There are three things growing churches have in common.  Three core beliefs.  But let me be clear on how I define "growing" in this blog post.  I mean churches that are reaching non-church people in their community.  Churches that are bring non-believers to faith.  Not those that may grow by absorbing believers coming from other congregations.  Real kingdom growth.

So here are three things they all believe in common. 

People are lost without Jesus.  They know that sin separates people from God and they cannot save themselves.  The consequences of this sin is to stay separated from God forever.  God loves us so much that he made Jesus, who had no sin, to be sin for us.  So Jesus died on the cross so that everyone could be reconciled to God.  So growing churches understand that their communities are full of lost people that Jesus died for.

But faith in Jesus saves them.  Lost people have to be persuaded, encouraged, begged, led to believe in Jesus.  So growing churches are full of believers who live out their faith intentionally in such a way that non-believers might desire to know the hope we have.  There is no hope outside of Jesus.

And growing churches embrace their responsibility to partner with God in sharing the message of reconciliation to God thru Jesus.  They believe it is their mission to go into their world and make disciples.

So if your church is not growing, ask yourself the following questions.

Do we believe people are lost without Jesus?

Do they need to believe in him to be saved?

Is it our responsibility to engage our world with the good news of Jesus and to persuade men to follow him?

Yes, yes, and yes.

I love history.  Restoration history, church history, American history, Civil War, Revolutionary War.  So when we were in Vermont recently, my sweet wife let me take her by the Ethan Allen homestead.  I knew he was considered a Revolutionary War hero from Vermont. 

Some things I remembered about him.  Others I learned on this visit.

Allen was part of a intense land dispute between New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont.  In fact, his "army" was considered by some to be nothing more than common criminals and thugs.  Until they were needed for the attack on Canada.

He was the co-commander (with Benedict Arnold) of the military campaign that captured Fort Ticonderoga.  Even had a famous verbal exchange with the British commander who surrendered the fort.  Then Arnold lost a battle at Montreal.  Ended up spending much of the war in prison in England. 

He was also very religious, tho he was a Deist -- basically believed God would the world up like a watch and left it alone to run.  So he did not believe God would actively act in the affairs of men. 

So is he a war hero leading the Green Mountain Boys, or a criminal?  Is he a great military strategist or just in the right place at the right time?  Was he witty with a gift for the striking statement or did he repeat consistently what he wished he had said?

So here a few things I do believe.

Winners write history.  Their version of how it went.  Always pure motives and strong hearts.

Perspective is everything. I wonder how Benedict Arnold felt about the Arnold public relations campaign?  Well, actually we do know.  Frustrated that he was not recognized for his contributions.

Repeat something loud enough and often enough and it may become history.  Or legend.  True or not.

So what does all of this have to do with church?

Winners write church history too. Churches have disputes and fights.  Winners write the history.

Perspective matters.  My holding to the truth is someone else's clinging to tradition.  My using newer and different ways to do ministry is someone else's failing to hold to the faith.  Judgmental or true to Scripture?

And repeat something often enough and loud enough and some will believe it.  Whatever it is.

So how do you know who or what is right?

Well, with Ethan Allen I am not sure it really matters all that much.

As for church, Jesus is still the head and it will survive.  No person is going to be able to destroy it.  They cannot.  And God gave you a Bible.  Read it for yourself. 

Maybe repeat this over and over again. 

Jesus is Lord.  Jesus is Lord.  Jesus is Lord.

Truth.