What inspired you to write the book Raising Disciples: Guiding Your Kids into a Faith of Their Own?

Over the last decade, I realized that while there are plenty of great books on Christian parenting, none really map out the stages of discipleship from infancy to adolescence. That’s why I wrote this book — to give parents a clear pathway to help their kids grow spiritually at every age and stage.

Drawing from 30 years of walking alongside parents and 15 years as a professor, this pathway weaves together scripture and childhood development to identify key discipleship markers. My hope is that this book becomes a practical resource for parents and anyone who works with kids, making it easier to nurture spiritual growth each year.

Could you share about who discipled you growing up?

I’m very fortunate that I was raised by Christian parents. My father is a mathematics professor and my mom is an accountant, so there’s nothing highly spiritual about them. But my parents were intentional to put us into a Christian community from the time we were infants. I was raised in a church of about 200 people in a small town in Illinois, so I had spiritual aunts and uncles and grandparents that were part of that church community. I believe this is why my two brothers and I are all serving in ministry today.

How would you encourage parents looking for a spiritual family for their kids?

Some of the best ways to create a spiritual family is to have people from your church community over to your home or accept invitations into their homes. Allow your families to get to know each other and be intentional about this time.

There is also another way to approach finding those spiritual family members for your kids: ask. When you find someone you trust, make the invitation: Would you come to my son’s soccer game; or my daughter’s musical performance; or would you mind reaching out to my daughter or son who is struggling right now? I think there are a lot of godly people who would love the opportunity to invest in and disciple children.

For example during my years on staff as a children’s minister, I was single. It was natural for families to invite me over to their homes. Also, I had time to show up for soccer games and dance recitals and loved those opportunities.

I encourage families to not forget about two potential groups that can come alongside your child in their discipleship. Single adults (and also couples without children), can become spiritual aunts and uncles to your children. Second, retired men and women, especially those who may not have family nearby, have so much to offer as spiritual grandparents.

Years ago, my parents became spiritual grandparents to a family in the church. This semester, one of those children is now a student in my classroom, studying for ministry. These are the kinds of relationships God intended.

Could you give the audience a taste of your book?

The primary premise is that every child is being discipled. However, the question is, who or what is discipling your child? To help parents think about that, I’ve identified seven stages of a child’s spiritual development, from infancy to adolescence. For each of the seven stages, I provide a variety of suggestions of how a parent can encourage a child’s spiritual growth along this pathway.

The pathway begins with laying a foundation of trust during infancy – trust with you and trust with others in your church community. Then children can be surrounded with God’s love, introduced to God’s story, and recognize they are a part of God’s community, the church. As they grow in understanding, they can be led to believe in God’s truth found in scripture and guided toward obedience of God and following Jesus. Our hope is that by the time they reach the age of 13, a child would understand who God created them to be, who they are in God, and that they belong to the community of faith. If we can build a framework of faith centered on Christ, Scripture, and community before the age of 13, then they will be more likely to live according to that framework their whole lives.

How would you encourage parents today who are seeking to disciple their kids?

Your discipleship of your children should flow naturally out of the overflow of your own continued growth as a disciple of Jesus. But also, choose something to be intentional about with your kids and their spiritual development – whether that be nighttime prayers or praying on the way to school, or perhaps a specific focus of Bible reading for a period of time. Choose something for this season and dedicate yourself and your family to it.

We started a practice in our home a couple years ago, that in the month of November, before we eat dinner together, we each write down one thing we’re thankful for that day, and we add it to a bowl. It’s a simple practice that has a lot of meaning for my family.

What is one simple next step parents could take to encourage their kids in their journey with God?

Something helpful is asking your kids open-ended questions — those that require more than a “yes” or “no” answer. Then find which of those questions your kids really respond to. Here are a couple examples: What did you feel like God encouraged you to do today? What was something that was really good about your day?

I’ve found that when you cultivate these types of conversations with your kids with simple questions, it creates a seed bed for when the harder questions come along.

Teresa Roberts is a Professor of Ministry and Christian Formation, Program Director of Children’s Ministry, and a vice president at Ozark Christian College. She is an expert in children’s spiritual formation training with more than 25 years of ministry experience. Dr. Roberts holds a Master of Arts in Family and Youth Ministry, a Master of Divinity, and a Doctor of Ministry. She serves in children’s ministry at Carterville Christian Church where she attends with her husband and step-daughter. Learn more at discipleshipguides.com.

What prompted you to write a book on leadership?

One of the visions in my life is how do we deprofessionalize and uncomplicate disciplemaking, so the everyday Christian feels like it is something they can do. How do you make it relational, intentional, and thoughtful? Those were the themes that drove my previous books on disciplemaking — being committed to the everyday person.

So those same themes that I had for disciplemaking carried over into my thinking about leadership. How can everyday leaders lead others well in the context of where they are, in Godly and effective ways? How can people walk away and think, “God could use me as a leader right where I am with what I am doing.” I wanted to create a book about the lessons I’ve learned on leadership, particularly in a generation of wisdom, focusing on how to become an everyday leader. Someone who doesn’t have a lot of staff, money, or buildings, but who can feel empowered to lead others in their context.

When you talk about everyday heroes and leaders, what’s the difference between them and traditional leaders? Why do we need to lean more into everyday leaders?

Most of the time, books written about leadership are written by corporate or business leaders, people who are very successful and are often writing for others like themselves. We exalt CEOs or pastors of megachurches, and we put them on pedestals. And we can learn from them and the models they set for us.

However, a lot of times, they aren’t writing for the mid sized pastor, marketplace leader, or neighborhood activist who is just wanting to advance the gospel in their area. These are the everyday people, those that are leading in local, sometimes small, places, and they need just as much help and guidance. So I wanted to write for the everyday leader, helping him or her succeed in the leadership calling and challenges that they are facing on a local level.

What are the four qualities of wisdom gathering that your book discusses, and why did you choose them?

The first is being a lifelong learner, realizing that the classroom is always in session for me and my life in ministry, the workplace, and my neighborhood. With God as our teacher, we need to learn how to sit back and gather the wisdom he’s providing from our experiences.

The second is to be a collaborative leader, since there is wisdom in community and a group of believers. We need to ask ourselves how we can extract wisdom from our community and work together, realizing that we can’t do it by ourselves.

The third element is cultural wisdom. We are all placed in a context, a culture. In those cultures, there are certain values, languages, histories, and practices present, and we need wisdom on how to identify what those are.

Lastly, we need to be innovators, coming up with new approaches, resources, and strategies, and we need wisdom on how to do that. As an innovator, I can produce wisdom for the local leader to craft local solutions for local challenges.

If you could have readers take away one big point from your book, what would it be?

That God promises to give wisdom, but it might not be a quick fix solution. In my last chapter, I talk about choices we have to make to pursue wisdom. It’s often slow, like disciplemaking, and it takes a lot of hard work and thoughtfulness and searching Scripture or talking with people. So as a leader, I need to be willing to chase after wisdom, to give it the time and attention that it deserves. In the book, the four practices will not only help you apply wisdom, but they also help generate wisdom for you as a leader.

Discipleship Tip:

What does it mean to be an everyday leader? You can step up and lead others by seeking the Lord’s wisdom on how to serve and meet others’ needs in the communities and spaces you are already in. Pray and seek the counsel of other believers to find guidance on how you can lead others in new ways during your everyday life.

The Ways of the Leader

Want to learn more about how you can be an everyday leader? Read the first chapter of Bill’s book, The Ways of the Leader, today.

READ CHAPTER 1

The glow of thousands of faces lights up the room, a powerful testament to the spread of the gospel from generation to generation. 

This was one of the many special moments from The Navigators 2023 National Staff Gathering.

Last month, over 1,300 Navigator staff came together in Irving, Texas. The theme of the weekend was Heartbeat: A Vital Movement of the Gospel, focusing on 2 Timothy 2:1-2: “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (NIV).

The gathering held five plenary sessions, which were designed to inspire, uplift, and challenge staff attendees to continue the work to which they’ve been called. Staff heard insights on the Lord’s vision for grace, necessary aspects of prayer, and how He works through each and every one of us to reach the nations and spread His mission.  

Staff members also enjoyed times of fun and laughter, along with encouraging ministry stories from new and old friends, breakouts to equip and multiply disciplemakers, precious times of prayer and worship, and motivational messages from fellow Navigators and international leaders. 

For many, the National Staff Gathering was a reminder of why they became Navigators — to be a part of a vital movement of the gospel by connecting, resourcing, and developing everyday disciplemakers. 

Though this conference looked back over the past four years since our last National Staff Gathering, we also took time to look forward to the work that is ahead of us as a ministry. You can partner with us as we continue this work for years to come! 

Pray that the Lord works through The Navigators to reach the unreached and create new disciplemakers. Come alongside us to spread the gospel and disciple those in your circles, from family members to coworkers to neighbors and beyond.

Whether you serve on staff or through your everyday life, we are excited to see how the Lord moves through this next season of ministry!

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV).

Discipleship Tip:  

Pull out your phone and find a photo of someone you’re discipling or have discipled. Pray for that person and reach out to offer them encouragement.

Excerpt from Loyce’s Discipleship Story:

Loyce: “I’m reading the Bible and people are praying for me. They’re trying to help me to understand that I’m changing. That’s what my experience looked like after becoming a believer. I had an identity crisis, okay? Eighteen years of my life I had done things a certain way. And I believed this certain way.

I thought the world was a certain way. I thought God and the Bible were ridiculous. A month before I became a believer, I’m having a conversation with my grandmother, who was a believer at this point. I’m saying, yo, quit talking to me about this Jesus and Bible stuff. It’s nonsense.

Then, to be sitting here reading this Bible and talking about Jesus’ life–I’m a believer— What in the world? That’s how I felt. I’m reading the Bible and I’m asking questions: What is this world? What do I do with this? Why is everyone walking around like everything is okay and everything is normal? The world is not okay. I get to the New Testament and see that we’re all in darkness. We’re not aware of the reality of this spiritual fight. I’m in an identity crisis—who am I really and what am I here for?”

Listen in on the conversation with Alice Matagora, author of How to Save the World: Disciplemaking Made Simple as she chats with five disciplemakers to hear what disciplemaking looks like in their daily lives.

In this video, Alice and her friends discuss ways they’re reaching neighbors, friends, and coworkers by inviting them to follow Jesus, too.

Q In your very first chapter, you share how you were the not-so-great disciplemaker. What do you mean?

“When I first started disciplemaking, I had just come out of a season of depression and anxiety, with an eating disorder. By being around The Navigators, I experienced so much healing and freedom in those areas. But what really accelerated my growth was being discipled.

And my discipler shared this vision with me: that a girl fresh out of her anxieties and depression could go and make disciples too. She didn’t need theological training. She didn’t need to have grown up in the church. She simply needed to pass on what she knew about having a relationship with Jesus to somebody else. That’s it.”

Q So what is disciplemaking?

“Very simply, it’s helping somebody have a relationship with Jesus, and then helping them help somebody else do the same thing. And that “somebody” can just be a couple steps behind you in your walk with Jesus.

Discipleship is intentionally spending time with someone reading God’s Word, praying together, and doing everyday life together.

You can always find one person to disciple. These days, I am a ‘naptime’ disciplemaker because I’m at home with two kids under the age of three. I don’t ask, ‘How can I add something else into my busy life?’ Instead, I offer it to the Lord. He can multiply it, like how He took a young boy’s fish and loaves and multiplied them to feed thousands. The two girls I’m discipling from the nearby university—they drive to my home while the kids are napping.”

Q Tell us more about why you call disciplemaking “friendship with a vision.”

“All of the women I’ve discipled have ended up very good friends. But when we first started, I saw what God could do if they had a deeper walk with Him. And I wanted to help move them toward this deeper walk, because I truly believed it would transform their lives. Which would transform their families, and then transform their communities. The impact is endless!”

Q. Why do people need to get your book, “How to Save the World”?

“My book is grounded in Barna and Navigators-funded research around the critical opportunities and obstacles of a disciple becoming a disciplemaker.

What I want people to take away from reading this book is that no matter where they are in their walk with Jesus, they can start making disciples right now. Disciplemaking is a calling for every person who says that they’re a follower of Jesus. But not only that, there are some people who will never set foot in the doors of the church—people you are living around, playing with, and working around, that only you can reach. God can use you in those spaces.

There is a great need for the message of God’s love to go out everywhere. But we need everyday people to do this.”

Q: You discuss the “just do it” model of Christian living—describe how this approach impacts our faith:

We intuitively know that no matter how hard we keep trying, we can’t consistently obey the God we believe in. So, focusing on a list of Christian rules and actions is incredibly discouraging and eventually damages our souls. In my experience, we end up responding one of three ways:

• We lie and pretend that everything is fine in our Christian life.
• We hide to cover our sin and shame.
• Or, we burn out and walk away from faith.

We aren’t created to respond to rules. We’re created to respond to love and to live in an intimate love relationship with God! Jesus models this love relationship and offers His love freely to us. In my own personal journey of faith, it took me to the brink of suicide to learn that the “just do it” model of Christian living was killing me, and I needed to surrender myself to the love of God in Christ.

Q: How do you approach discipling a new believer, so they understand God’s love and learn how to walk with God?

By focusing on God’s love, I try to help them understand that the spiritual disciplines are invitations to intimacy with God, not rules to follow. Bible reading and prayer, for example, are invitations to be with the God who loves me. If a new believer can embrace from the very start that the Christian walk is about living in love with Jesus, they will begin to understand that obedience flows from that love!

When discipline becomes a have-to, love dies—this is true in all relationships. If I have to spend time with my wife, that isn’t building our love relationship. In the same way, feeling like I have to spend time with Jesus doesn’t compel me toward a growing love relationship.

Also, Jesus’ love means that He desires for us to be whole. I address the issues of shame and brokenness with people. What wounds does this person carry? The redemption and wholeness that God offers each of us doesn’t call us to work hard to fix our wounds ourselves, but instead to open ourselves to the healing love of God in Jesus Christ, to penetrate our broken places.

Q: What about difficult parts of our faith journey, when it feels like God is silent or distant, not our loving companion?

I experience these times when God feels silent or distant, even after years of turning my heart toward His love. Sometimes I don’t feel His nearness or hear His voice clearly. These are the moments where I ask the Father for courage to “walk by faith, not by sight.” I continue to seek His face, to keep turning toward the One my soul longs for, my One Great Love.

We also must have the community of faith surrounding us. There’s a chapter in Free on “Healing Love in Jesus’ Community” that helps us understand we cannot abide in Jesus’ love if we walk alone:

“We’ve got to let go of our ‘Sunday is enough’ mentality. In the ancient world, the church not only gathered formally once a week but informally every day (Acts 2:46). These brothers and sisters of Jesus were true family, interdependent, connected by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). We can’t expect ancient-church healing if we stay locked in to twenty-first century ‘see you next week,’ shallow church protocol.”

You can purchase Free: Rescued from Shame-Based Religion, Released into the Life-Giving Love of Jesus at NavPress.com

“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say, ‘My tooth is aching’ than to say ‘My heart is broken.’”

By Sharon Hersh

As a therapist, the sentence I have heard more in the last few weeks than any other is, “I’m just so over everything.” I suspect the frustration and tension we are all feeling is normal. We anxiously wait for the virus curve to flatten. We scoff at commercials that want us to feel warm and fuzzy about “being in this together.” We feel alone in our worries about our jobs, finances, elderly parents, and figuring out what’s for dinner. But when we start kicking gas pumps, we need to do some self-reflection about how deeply this season may be affecting our mental health.

I called a friend and told her about my frustration, and then we talked through all the things I am really angry, afraid, and stressed about. Our connection eased the burden, and I assured her I would call her if I felt tempted to take the cares of these tricky times out on inanimate objects.

My regression to acting like a teenage drama queen was a sign that my internal “stress container” was overflowing, and it was cue that I needed support. Calling my friend was a sign that I am steady enough to recognize unhealthy behaviors and seek connection in the midst of my angst. I am also painfully aware there have been times in my life when I’ve been drowning in anger, anxiety, and shame and I have not called out for any life-preserving help – risking my physical, mental, spiritual, and relational health.

How Do You Know if You’re Drowning?

There are many good depression/anxiety assessments online. Here are some questions that you might not find online but are indicators that you may be going under.

1. Have you gone from drinking one glass of wine a week to drinking every night to “take off the edge?” (According to the American Medical Association, if you drink more than 2 glasses of wine more than 3 days a week, you are abusing alcohol.)
2. Do you think in all or nothing terms? For example, “Life will never be normal;” “No one understands what I’m going through;” “Everyone is too busy to care about me;” “God is a bunch of nonsense;” “Nothing I pray about matters;” “I can’t stand to be in this marriage one more day;” “There is nothing I like about my family.”
3. Do you find yourself muttering to yourself about a tense conversation, a cultural issue, or a life problem or do you toss and turn in restless sleeplessness, rehearsing these same things again and again?
4. Are you obsessed with the election, certain influencers on Twitter, or how a neighbor is responding to the pandemic while avoiding your daily responsibilities?
5. Do you relax by looking at social media and then get into debates with people you don’t know about issues that will not be resolved on Instagram?^[i]
6. Are you more annoyed or irritated than the situation merits (think kicking a gas pump)?
7. Are you consumed with fear and shut down from seeing family, talking to friends, or enjoying your favorite snack with a good movie?
8. Do you believe our world, your marriage, your children, or your own spiritual life is hopeless?
9. Do you live with a “whatever” attitude – not caring about what you eat, drink, if you exercise, if you sleep all day or don’t sleep at all, if you pray, or if you stay connected to friends and activities you have cared about?
10. Are you overwhelmed with guilt about your anxiety, anger, and cares during this time? In other words, is a lot of your internal dialogue filled with, “I should be happy;” “I shouldn’t care about this so much;” “I need to pray more;” “I have let everyone down?”
11. Do you consume hours of the news and read very little encouraging, inspiring, or intriguing books or literature?

Have you thought you and everyone else would be better off if you were dead?

If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, you deserve the gift of allowing someone else to know you’re at risk for drowning and need a life preserver. 

For many of us, the pandemic is revealing our need for others. “The pain of . . . life and the futility of trying to make life work is God’s grace in letting us know that things are not how they’re supposed to be (in or outside of us) . . . God does not allow us to be comfortable in our alienation from him and one another . . . He allows desperation in the hope that we will find our way back to him and to one another.”^[ii]

The Way Back

Often the best place to start when we are drowning in depression and anxiety is with a therapist. I don’t write that because I am one. I write that because I know myself – my pride and shame about struggling has often compelled me to a safe, confidential place to begin to process my life. How do you find a good therapist?

1. Start by asking trusted friends or caregivers who they recommend?
2. Call potential therapists and ask how they treat depression and anxiety. Ask how they integrate faith into the process. If you don’t feel like you can make these calls, ask a friend to call and give you the information.
3. Choose someone who is located near where you live. It’s easier to quit therapy if you need to make a long drive to get there.
4. Look for someone on your insurance, but if you don’t find a match, ask the therapist of your choice if they will offer a sliding scale. During this pandemic most therapists are willing to work with people in financial distress.
5. If you don’t feel comfortable with an in-person visit, ask if the therapist does telehealth.
6. Begin speaking this statement over your reluctance to ask for help: “I am willing to feel uncomfortable in order to be physically, mentally, spiritually, and relationally healthy.”
7. Before you go to your first appointment, write down all the ways you feel like you are drowning in depression and anxiety.
8. Commit to seeing a therapist for four sessions in order to begin to establish trust and a rhythm of support.

2020 has certainly thrown most of us into an unsteady state. We don’t have to suffer in all the uncertainties and turmoil alone. When we suffer alone, the enemy of our souls wins. When we courageously allow someone to be with us – face to face, soul to soul – we are living in harmony with God who came to be with us; we are honoring our own stories; and we are daring to hope that darkness does not win.

Don’t drown. Make a phone call on behalf of your worn and weary heart. Trust in a process that says: “This is the Story in which you have found yourself. Here is how it got started. Here is where it went wrong. Here is what will happen next. Now this – this is the role you’ve been given. If you want to fulfill your destiny, this is what you must do. These are our cues.”^[iii]

These days of the pandemic can point us to the Way back, unearth further changes in us, shake us out of complacency, stretch and challenge us, and surprise us with not only the wild goodness of God but the wonder of helping companionship.

About the Author

Sharon Hersh is a licensed professional counselor, an adjunct professor in graduate counseling programs, a sought-after speaker, and the author of several books. Her most recent book is Belonging: Finding the Way Back to One Another (NavPress, 2020). Her other books include the acclaimed The Last Addiction: Why Self Help Is Not Enough, the popular Bravehearts: Unlocking the Courage to Love With Abandon, and the award-winning Mothering Without Guilt.

[i] Multiple studies have linked social media consumption with depression and anxiety.

[ii] Hersh, Sharon. Belonging: Finding the Way Back to One Another, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2020, p. 95.

[iii] Ibid., quoted John Eldredge, “The Story You Fell Into,” Ransomed Heart, accessed November 12, 2019, p. 107.

Whether you’re new to prayer, or God seems silent, or you’re grieving a loss, or you need direction, or you’re feeling grateful and don’t know how to express it—you don’t have to let these obstacles keep you from God. There is a way for you to pray through!

Join in this conversation with Jarrett Stevens, author of NavPress book Praying Through: Overcoming the Obstacles That Keep Us from God. Jarrett Stevens is the co-founding pastor, along with his wife Jeanne, of Soul City Church in Chicago.

Q: How did the process of writing a book on prayer change some of your own prayer practices?

“One of the practices I now embrace is silent meditation. Previously I had engaged in silent meditation in special situations, but not as a regular practice. I learned to embrace silence rather than fighting it, and I am able to find God in the silence. I now spend 5-10 minutes every morning in silence. It has become a powerful discipline—to be quiet and still and trust that God is present. During this ongoing pandemic season, it has become even more important for me to make time for silence.”

Q: You link prayer components to everyday actions (for example, cheering for your team = worship). Why is it important to simplify prayer?

“My rally cry for this book is to uncomplicate prayer. For people who are new to prayer, it is intimidating to think about speaking directly to the God of the universe. Those who have prayed for years may be stuck in how they think they should pray. I want people to be refreshed by the simplicity of prayer. Many people struggle with the idea that they aren’t praying enough or in the right way. By making prayer more accessible, people can go deeper in their connection to God.”

“I took experiences that people already do naturally—such as cheering, saying thanks, or worrying—and connected those to the supernatural practice of prayer. Everything we know as humans, from how to walk and talk and eat, is something that we learned at some time in our past. In the same way, people can learn how to talk with God.”

Q: Your book came out just before the start of the pandemic, but the need for prayer is ongoing. How have you seen God use the message of Praying Through in our current situation? 

“I have been encouraged to hear from people who are using the book in small groups. Having honest conversations about prayer and learning together is important in a faith community. The book addresses praying through grief, worry, and even gratitude for hard times. These topics are relevant today. I am concerned about spiritual drifting due to the prolonged nature of this crisis. Who will we be as Christians on the other side of this season? Going deeper with God individually and together in prayer can help us through this season.”

Learn More About Praying Through at Navpress.com

You can purchase Praying Through: Overcoming the Obstacles That Keep Us from God at NavPress.com.

– John 11: 25-26 ESV

By Eric Peterson

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep…” Genesis 1:1-2.  The origin of our existence.  Complete and utter chaos.  But not for long!

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good…” Genesis 1:3-4

When God speaks something happens. God does some of His very best work by speaking words of life and order directly into chaos.  God is speaking in this world that He so deeply loves.

John begins his Gospel by saying that this Word of God became flesh and took the form of Jesus. And as He came into the world He kept speaking the Word of God. And through the Word of God that is both spoken and embodied—which is to say, through Jesus—there is a new creation.

Jesus was going about teaching and preaching and healing when He got the news that His dear friend (perhaps His best friend) Lazarus was gravely ill.

It’s instructive to see what Jesus does and doesn’t do in this crisis moment. For starters, he doesn’t panic. He waits a full two days before going to Bethany. We see a Jesus who acts almost nonchalant, patient, nonreactive. What is true about Jesus then is true about Jesus now: In moments of crisis He doesn’t panic.

But once He gets there, instead of waving His hand and saying, “Stop your crying, people. Don’t worry. I’m here,” He enters in. He feels deep empathy toward others who are sad, and He accesses His own emotions as well. He weeps with them.

Perhaps in no other moment in the biblical narrative do we see the full humanity of Jesus converging with the full divinity of Jesus. He enters into solidarity with the mourners, shedding His tears. And then He finds His voice. He speaks a resurrection word: “Lazarus, come out!”

Lazarus comes out. This changes everything!

This is what Jesus does in our day. When our otherwise up-to-this-point-oriented lives give way to disorientation, when we’re not sure which way is up, or when the ground shakes underfoot, Jesus enters the chaos and He speaks words of life. They don’t return us to our previous state of being, but they reorient us to a new way, a deeper and more profound way of being in this world.

We’ve been hearing it quite a bit, the language of “when everything gets back to normal again …” I don’t believe God wants us to return to where we previously were. It would be uncharacteristic of God to not use a major, global disorienting disruption to get our attention, and to reorient our affections.

There is a pile of evidence these days that suggests ways we have gotten off track, have lost sight of what is fundamentally important. There has been so much focus on power and wealth and control and pleasure that we’ve neglected our care of the earth and of vulnerable people in our midst. We’ve lost sight of our mortality and of our need to invest in eternal life as citizens of the Kingdom of God. Wouldn’t it be a shame to go through a pandemic only to have everything go back to the way it was?

I’m not praying for recovery, because recovery only takes us back to where we once were before the crisis. I’m praying for healing. Healing ushers us into a new and better place. We don’t need recovery, we need healing.

Fortunately, healing is what Jesus is all about.

We are now deep into a season of profound disorientation. Our lives have been disrupted; our assumptions about how life is supposed to be have been rearranged. Our jobs, our income, our schedules, our plans, even, unfortunately, some of our relationships—it’s all been tossed up in the air and it hasn’t landed on anything solid yet. The chaos—we can feel it in our core. And with a future that is accompanied by uncertainty like we’ve never known before, there is considerable anxiety and fear that wants to move in, to feed off the chaos. That’s to be expected. But I urge you to allow this season of disorientation to do its work of rearranging our hearts, our minds, our lifestyles.

Reorientation takes time; don’t rush it.

God does some of His very best work in the midst of chaos. From the beginning until now, God is the author of life, speaking with renewed, re-creative energies. Jesus is God’s Word in the flesh, and He is still speaking words that rattle the powers of darkness and that startle the world with resurrection. When the valley is full of dry bones, when the stinking body has been in the tomb four days—in other words, when it looks altogether bleak and dire to our eyes—Jesus can’t even muster a modicum of panic.

Because He’s the Word of God. He’s got the words. He uses the words. And remember, whenever God speaks it results in something good. As I’ve been listening for those words these days, they sound something like this:
Come out!
Fear not.
Be still.
I love you.
I’ll never leave you.

And then I also hear this penetrating question:

Do you believe this?

If you say yes, then live like you believe it.

From a sermon delivered March 29th, 2020 by Eric E. Peterson, Pastor at Colbert Presbyterian, Colbert, WA and author of the upcoming NavPress title, Letters to a Young Congregation (June 2020).