Preacher and author Rick Warren said there are five concentric circles of commitment within the community of believers. They start outside and move toward the middle with community, crowd, congregation, committed, and core. 

This idea means that there are different types of congregations within a Church. First, some call the Church home, some attend occasionally, and others only attend and do nothing else. Then, finally, some people come and serve and are connected to others who do the same. 

Every week at worship, I see these layers of people interact. Some are here for their annual visit; others come in and out without talking to anyone. Then a core group shows up early and talks to people in meaningful conversations. They hang around after worship, share stories, and often share a meal. This group looks forward to Church all week and deeply loves the people who are part of it. 

If Rick Warren is correct in his assessment of the Church, then if you come on Sunday morning and it is kind of bland, unenjoyable, and disconnected, the problem might not be the Church but your level of commitment to it. One of the best ways to get the most out of the Church is to become part of the core, which comes through a commitment only you can make.

The crowds that followed and listened to Jesus the most are referred to as three groups: tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners. Two of those are specific professions, while the other is a general description of people who did not follow the God of the Bible. 

Prostitutes were women of the night who sold their bodies to have money to survive. There was always a willing client in a culture where men traveled by boat and horse for long distances for business. This type of work was widely accepted, and the people who did it were considered far from the grace of God.

Tax collectors are on the opposite side of the social spectrum. They had committed their lives to making money. They were wealthy but considered outsiders to the faith because of their taxation of the Jewish people. Their work was not godly, but it was hard to understand why they prospered while taking from God’s people.

I want to suggest that these two groups represent both sides of the same coin. On one side are the prostitutes who reached the bottom of society through a series of poor choices. On the other side are wealthy tax collectors who reached the pinnacle of society by making good financial choices. Yet, both of them reached the same place in life. Both realized that they were empty and in need of a Savior. They both saw that life without God was devoid of meaning and purpose. Both the poor streetwalker and the wealthy businessman were empty inside.

The natural human tendency is to quickly understand that prostitutes need Jesus and that tax collectors are okay without him. The truth is that people with great wealth are as empty as the hookers on the street. The gospel of Jesus is for both ends of the financial and social spectrum, along with everyone in between. 

So the next time you think, “Why would I share Jesus with them? They have their life altogether.” Remember that everyone needs Jesus.   

Some Christians like to talk about forgiveness while holding onto the hurt. Those old painful experiences become the excuse we use to avoid future actions. 

“They asked me to do that, but I am not going to cooperate. After all, you remember when they did that awful thing to me. Because they did that, I will not show them my kindness now. Oh sure, I forgive them, but that does not change anything about what they did.”

True forgiveness is a choice to let go of the hurt that has been done to you. In Christ, God forgave the worst in you, and now that you are in him, you forgive the worst in others. 

The place where forgiveness shines the brightest in the life of a believer is that moment when you want to say, “But don’t you remember what they did,” and hold onto that hurt.   

No one wishes for their life to be more difficult or to walk through a struggle in the new year. 

Yet, when life is going well, it is easy for us to begin to rely on ourselves. We quickly believe that life feels good because we are smart and make great decisions. Surely the blessings of life result from people properly doing the right thing. Give us enough time, and we will eliminate God from the equation and declare that we are “self-made.”

Trouble in this world keeps us humble. It forces us to hit our knees in prayer and cry out to God about the things we cannot control. The more difficult our path is to tread, the more we need God’s guidance and strength.

Paul told the believers in the city of Corinth, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8-9 – NIV2011)

I want 2023 to be the year I experience my “best life,” but that might not mean everything goes smoothly. Quite possibly, it means that God will send me some trouble so that I learn to rely entirely on his power and grace. I believe a life dependent on God is what he desires for you and me and ultimately that is our best life.  

My present self is starting some projects today that are not fun. After the holidays, my diet and exercise are being strictly observed. I am starting a new Bible reading plan to take me through the Bible this year. I am setting goals and doing the work it will take to be in a better place in one year and a great place in five years.

Honestly, my present self is not excited about it. The discipline to get up early daily, along with the blood, sweat, and tears, is scary. Presently, I am about instant gratification. I want to feel good today; that has gotten me back to this point. Eating poorly, sleeping late, and not having quiet time with God have all felt good in the moment but were disappointing in the long run.

So to my future self, “You are welcome.”

The hard work I am doing today and every day this year will benefit me down the road and allow me to be the person in the future I wish I were now.

I want to offer a quick review of this past year before moving on to the next.

I know some of you are long-time readers and others are new, but I wanted to make sure you had all read some of my most popular blog posts.

Most popular posts written in 2022

5. Only You See It

4. The Power of Suggestion

3. Not Feeling It

2. Missing the Best Part

1. Serving That One Christian

Most popular posts read in 2022 (written any year)

5. What Could Happen on an Idle Tuesday?

4. Marriage Analogy

3. Non-Verbal Communicaiton at Church

2. The Two Dogs

1. Holding Up Moses’ Arms

Thanks for reading over the past year and I hope you will continue to do so in 2023

I never dreamed of being a preacher when I was a little kid. But through the work of God, here I am as a pastor. I have been doing it for over 29 years as my vocation and calling.

Once I decided to stand in front of people and preach the word of God, all I ever wanted was to do it to the very best of my ability. I wanted people to know that when I stood up to speak, they would hear God’s word explained in a way they could understand and apply – every single time.

As a result, I have taken classes, read books, been to lectures, and listened to thousands of sermons. I read helpful articles, tuned in to podcasts, and talked to other preachers. In the early years, I committed to speaking at every available opportunity. Some years I spoke in Sunday School, Church worship, youth group, Bible study, and every holiday gathering. I performed weddings and funerals on an endless number of weekends. For a few years, I spoke well over a thousand times a year. 

All I want is to be the best preacher I can be. 

The unfortunate consequence is that I neglected other areas of my ministry. I did not develop the people skills I needed to interact effectively. My leadership struggled and still does. I was terrible at small group discussions and leading people in expressing their thoughts.

So as another year ends and a new one begins, I am still committed to being a great preacher, but I am also trying to be the loving person God wants me to be as well. I am planning more and more time with people to make the connections I need in ministry. This is the second or third year I have made this decision, and I hope I am improving. I will keep working on it until I am a great preacher and a great person to be around.

Do you know them? They are a really good person. She is a real “salt of the earth” kind of individual. He would give you the shirt off his back. Call them anytime; there is nothing they won’t do. They are so kind and generous to everyone.

How do you want people to describe you when you are not around?

Most of us want people to think of us as a good person. But for a Christian, one thing is critically missing from those mentioned above. Nothing was said about Jesus. 

Don’t get me wrong; I want the people who follow Jesus to be kind, generous, and loving. But those are not the things that define Christians. Instead, they are people who have committed their lives to following Jesus. No matter how others perceive them, the ultimate goal is to follow Jesus’ life and teaching to the best of their ability.

There is a difference between saying, “They were a good person,” and “they are a committed follower of Jesus.” 

Whenever a group of people gets together, no matter the size of the group, a dynamic can take over called “Group Think.” The result is that people stop thinking critically, examining the evidence, or evaluating consequences and accept whatever the majority of the people decide.

This can be deadly when a company is trying to make a critical decision for its future. In a desire to get along with everyone, someone will suppress their opinion and not mention flaws they notice. Personally, I have seen a group of people make horrible decisions because of one strong personality.

Group thinking also applies to a small group of people in the Church. A few people sitting around talking about a person or a project can sway the mindset of everyone involved. For example, you might think that someone in Church is a good person, but when the group starts talking about them, you suddenly change your viewpoint, not because you spoke to them, but because the rest of the group shared their opinions. On the other hand, you might have questions about a person, and everyone seems to love them, so you adopt their attitude.

This is why the Bible is dead set against gossip and backbiting conversations. Instead, we are taught to be encouraging and see the good in people. Because the next time you share your thoughts about someone with a few people, you influence how the entire group views that person. Others may not see the good or the bad that you do, but now that you mention it, everyone else does too.

According to the story, Ebenezer Scrooge woke up as a new man on Christmas. His heart was filled with regret that he had turned into the love of his fellow man. He is filled with joy instead of bitterness. His actions are generous and not miserly. His life was dramatically different. 

I wonder, if you knew Scrooge before that day and then saw him afterward, how would you feel toward him? Would you be happy with this change or skeptical of its genuineness? Would you forgive his past actions and let him start over without harboring anger? Would you offer forgiveness and open your heart up to his new lifestyle? 

While the story is fiction, people can and do change. They find Jesus and make enormous adjustments in their life. Some people who walk with Jesus discover they are not following his will and make changes. Still, others make mistakes and ask for your forgiveness when they know they don’t deserve it.

It is easy to love the story of a changed life, and it is far more complicated to live with the person doing the change.

Scrooge wakes up with a soft heart after Christmas and becomes a changed man. If we are not careful, we can hold all our built-up hurt and frustration against him and become the old Scrooge in our hearts.