Dear Reader. This post was supposed to be the post for last week. Unfortunately a minor health issue delayed it one week. I don’t suppose it is too late to make good New Year’s resolutions!!

There are times in life when we wonder, “What’s next?” Do, you remember times in high school or college, when you wondered what your life would be like in a few months. Would you go to college? Graduate school? The military? Work? Many young men and women, when their tour of duty in the military is over, wonder if they will reenlist or go back to civilian life. There are times in anyone’s career when you wonder, What’s next? Will I get a promotion? Stay in my current job? Find a new job? At times human beings wonder, We will I get married? Have a family? Achieve my life goals? One way or another we all ask the question, “What comes next?”

As mentioned above, New Year’s is a time when Americans ask the question, “What comes next?” The notion of New Year’s resolutions is that each year we should try to make our lives better. In order to change, we have to ask, “What comes next?” or perhaps more importantly, “What do I want to come next?” Positive change does not happen automatically. We have to think about how we should change and how we are going to make that change happen.

Over and over again this year, I will return to the theme, “What Comes Next?” 2016 will be a year of change. Election years are always times of potential change, and 2016 is no different. This year, we will all ask the question, “What comes next for our government?” and “Who do I think can best lead us in the right direction?” This Lent, we are going to ask the question, “What do I need to be delivered from in order to receive the blessings Christ has for me?” There will be other posts during the year that focus on some aspect of the theme, “What’s Next?”

All of these posts have in common a theological theme we will touch on today: All positive change begins by asking the Living God to enter our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit, and then trusting God’s Spirit to guide us into the future.

The Great Commission

If our senior year in High School leaves us uncertain about the future, we can only imagine how uncertain the disciples felt about their future as the Gospels reach their conclusion. For three years, the disciples had followed Jesus. Then, in rapid succession, Jesus was arrested, tried, crucified, died, and rose from the dead. We can imagine that the disciples were in a state of shock! Things had happened so quickly. They were trying to acclimate themselves to a new reality.

They now knew that, in some mysterious way, Jesus had conquered death. In addition, they now knew that Jesus’ ministry was not over. He had been appearing to them and teaching them. Then, Jesus told them to meet him in Galilee (28:10). As Matthew tells the story, they met him there and were given a clear understanding of what they were to do next. Not all the disciples completely understood or believed. Some doubted (Matthew 28:17).

Here is how Matthew puts it in his Gospel:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:16-20).

Prayer: God of Change: As we enter a new year and a new time, we do pray that you would please be with us by the power of your Holy Spirit. Give us the wisdom to discern where you want us to go next and who you want us to be. Perhaps more importantly, give us the power of your Spirit so that we can be the people you call us to be. In Jesus Name, Amen.

How in the World Did I Get Here?

I suppose that most of us remember Judy Garland in her most famous role as Dorothy, a little girl blow by a tornado over the rainbow to the Land of Oz where she meets a wicked witch and a strange and silly wizard. As the movie opens, Dorothy is having problems with her family and with a mean neighbor. She dreams of a better world, and Judy Garland sings the most famous song of her career, Over the Rainbow, which goes in part like this:

Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
There’s a land that you dreamed of once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow Blue birds fly
And the dreams that you dreamed of really do come true.

Someday I’ll wish upon a star, and wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where trouble melts like lemon drops
Away above the chimney top—that’s where you’ll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
Oh why, oh why can’t I? [1]

Dorothy runs away from home, gets caught in a tornado, and ends up in Oz. After her adventures with the Wicked Witch, she decides she wants to be home in Kansas. We are sometimes like Dorothy. We dream of a new world, a better family life, a different career, basically a life without troubles. We think we get our wish or we begin to, but then, when trouble comes, we wonder how we ended up where we are. We need to be sure we choose wisely when we choose what is coming next. We need God’s wisdom to choose wisely.

Cultural analysts tell us that we are in a period of rapid cultural change. Those of us born before about 1960 can often look around at the world we inhabit and wonder, “How did we get here?” The disciples probably felt like this. After the resurrection they had entered a new and scary world. Their world would never be the same.

Life is Full of Changes

Most people, most of the time, want stability. We all know that history involves changes, that progress involves changes, but we want that change to occur during someone else’s lifetime and at someone else’s expense. I happen to be one of those people. I like stability: old pathways, old homes, old clothes, and old ways of doing things. Change does not come easily for me, but I have learned that we all must be willing to change and follow God into the future.

The disciples could not be faulted for wanting things to stay the same. Now that Jesus had been raised from the dead, why couldn’t he just stay with them, continue doing the teaching, the healing, the dealing with demons, the confronting authorities while they watched and cheered him along? However, the death and resurrection marked a new era in the lives of the disciples (and us). Jesus was (and is) going to be present, but now by the power of the Holy Spirit. From now on, the disciples were going to conduct the mission and ministry of the Jesus. They were going to teach, preach, confront authorities, cast out demons, and make new disciples. Jesus was going to give them the wisdom, love, and power to do this work, but they were going to be on the front lines.

When Jesus met his disciples on the mountain, a new era began. Now the disciples would make disciples. Now the disciples will baptize new believers. Now, the disciples will teach new believers how to behave as Christians. Jesus will be with them as they go, but in a new way. He promises to be with them (and us) always—even to the end of the age. There is a lot in that promise! The promise is not to be with the disciples for a few years while the church gets started. The promise is not to be with the church during good times or bad times. The promise is to be with us always by the power of the Spirit.

Embracing Positive Change

Jesus began his ministry proclaiming the Kingdom of God. He proclaimed that the kingdom of God is near, is present with him, and is coming in the future (Mark 1:13-14; Luke 17:20-21; Matt. 25:31-34; Rev. 22:1-5). The kingdom of God is like a thief in the night (I Thess. 5:2), like a bridegroom delayed to come to find his bride (Matt. 25:1) like a pearl of great price (13:45-46), like a mustard seed (13:31). The Kingdom of God is the place where God rules and where the peace, wholeness, happiness, blessedness and joy that God wants for the entire world and everyone in it is perfectly realized. The kingdom of God is both inside of us and coming into the world around us, because God intends to share his wisdom, love, and peace with everyone.

I don’t know about you, but a good amount of the time it is not clear to me that the kingdom of God is present inside of me. It is easy to see that if the kingdom of God is going to come into the world, I need to change. I need to become more like God the Father, more like Jesus, more filled with the Spirit, more loving, more merciful, more concerned about others, more willing to sacrifice, less self-centered—you get the idea. The kingdom of God involves change; and, we should embrace that change, not fight it.

This does not mean that we Christians should embrace change for change’s sake or changes that are not according to God’s will.  Christians should not just be blown along the path of cultural change following every fad and hoping for the best. There is good and bad change. We still must be wise. We should resist bad change and we should facilitate good change. There is a proverb that says that one of the characteristics of the righteous person is that they resist evil (Prov. 28:4). When change is negative, we don’t need to change.

However, when healthy, moral, and wise change breaks into history, we Christians should be a part of accepting and facilitating positive change. In a new era, in a new time, in a new kind of culture, Christians should be bold in the face of evil and bold in working for the coming of Kingdom of God. This means that we need to equip ourselves to face a new would and to share God’s wisdom and love in that new world.

What Comes Next?

Late in November, we had a staff retreat and discussed what we ought to have as a theme for our church in 2016. After talking about several ideas, the group settled on “What Comes Next?” We are in changing times. We are in a changing city. We are in a changing nation. We are in a changing world, and we must decide how we will live and what we will do in the face of all that change.

There are some constants. We should love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and all of our souls, and all of our minds, and all of our strength. We should love our neighbor as ourselves—the Great Commandment (Matt. 23:36-40). We should go into the entire world and make disciples—the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20). However, we need some additional guidance if we are to actually accomplish these things. We have to have a way to practically reach our goals.

Therefore, we have a subtheme for the year, which is a theme we have had for several years. We call it, “Worship Plus Two” or “Worship + Grow + Serve” or “Worship + Grow + Serve = Blessing.” The idea is to focus our energy on being regular in worship, being in one activity that helps us grow as Christians, and serving the Lord in some capacity inside or outside of the local church. For all of us, the answer to the question, “What’s Next?” is that our lives would be a lot better if we worship regularly, grow, and serve in 2016. Worship, growth, and service are a very good answer to the question, “What should I concentrate on in 2016?”

Since the beginning of Christian history, Christians have gathered together on the first day of the week to worship God. Worship is the fundamental act of the Christian community. A Christian who does not attend worship is like a football player who never attends team meetings. There is no way to be a good player and not attend team meetings.

If we are to make disciples, we have to be disciples. None of us, not event the pastors, know all we need to know about the Christian life. All of us need to be formed by discipling opportunities. Therefore, the second thing we should all do is find one way to grow as a disciple, and do it. Join a Bible study. Make a retreat. Attend Sunday School. There are a lot of ways to grow.

Finally, the words of the Great Commission were to “Go” and share the Gospel. Going means serving others in word and deed. It can be within the local church, in a mission, or in community service. The point is to put our faith to work in serving others and sharing God’s love with others.

We do not have to do this alone or under our own power. Jesus is coming along on the journey. He promised to be with us, and he will be. Jesus has promised to be with us to the end of the age. He has promised to be with us whenever two or more of us are together. He has promised to be with us in easy and hard times. He will be with us, an it is his presence that gives us the courage to go into the future in faith and with courage whatever comes next.

[1] There are several versions of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Most recently, the Ukulele player, Israel Kamakawaitoole, did a version that has become famous. The lyrics I quoted are basically those Judy Garland made famous, with a few changes. Harold Arien, Composer, E. Y. Harburg, Lyricist, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (1939).

Copyright 2016, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved