Amy and Ammon Simon came for Brunch Jan. 20, 2024
And they spoke on Surviving in the Face of Futility
And here are some snippets:
Futility is one of the under-discussed and really important parts of living in the DMV. They meet and recognize themselves as highly ambitious and goal-oriented people come with bold dreams of changing the world and encounter a whole bunch of similar people with similar ambitions, although often on the other side of the issue.
And at the end of the day the question occurs to us, “Why is my energy not turning into results?”
How do we respond? Usually with sin…anger at God (acting out), despair/resignation (giving up), work harder and control more (overwork) and whatever! the end justifies the means (compromise values).
Lament and embrace the true desire: white knuckling isn’t going to work so start being honest about how angry, frustrated, or disappointed you are (but don’t stop there)….surrender your underlying desire to be transformed, not trashed. Involve body, mind, and spirit. Look: Psalm 62:8 - "Pour out your heart before Him."
You feel like you are in a wilderness, but God isn’t punishing you and hasn’t left you alone. You HAVE reached a place where He can work with you. We need to take a clear look at and tear down the idols. God calls us to be faithful, not successful. The success of our efforts is up to Him.
Our definition of futility is often in ultra zoomed-in view, but we need to remember that we can’t currently (or maybe ever in this life) see the zoomed-out version. What’s needed is the longer-time horizon.
Remember heaven: there is a promised land. The wilderness never lasts forever. Remember the story of Leaf by Niggle by JRR Tolkien?
We leave you with these questions:
Where are you experiencing futility the most right now?
Where are you white knuckling life?
Does it seem possible to reframe as wilderness? Why or why not?
What pictures of grace during suffering are compelling to you?
If you knew right now that your life would be a series of difficult and disappointing episodes, how would you feel about that life?
The soil...
Luke 8:15 - “But the seed in the good earth — these are the good-hearts who seize the Word & hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there's a harvest.” Good morning, Anne. This is the last of the four scenarios in Jesus’s Parable of the Seed Scatterer, as He is explaining each of those to His Disciples, during their debrief after He publicly shared the Metaphor. If you’re like me, this parable remains fascinating to you, because it is so rich in its layers of real life truth. I can see myself being the seed on the path many times from birth to 20 years old. Then, I was the seed on gravel for the first year or so after I personally encountered Jesus. In the four-plus decades since, I’ve aimed to be the good soil, but often visited the reality of thorns choking my spiritual life. I used to think this was four kinds of people, & even tried to reason which ones were really saved. Now I realize, that these are four different states of soils that my spiritual life can be described by, at any given moment. I may be good soil today… but will I be, next month? It’s not about who’s got salvation & who doesn’t, but about how we are stewarding our relationship with Him. Is it central & preeminent, or slipping to the back burner? Father, please inspire Anne & me to do as described in The Message’s rendering of this verse: Seize Your Word & cling to it, no matter what life throws at us. We don’t wanna be like the panicky drowning person who if flailing their arms so violently that they won’t grab the life ring that’s been thrown to them.
Tom Bourke 12-15-2023
Next door to everywhere...
Right where you are
Matt 9:36-38 - “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed & helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His Harvest Field.’” Good morning, Anne. The above passage captured the hearts of Ann & me when we were not even a year into our marriage & our new found relationship with Jesus. A “worker” (or “laborer”) is an everyday person who lives out their faith at home, at work, in their neighborhood, & with whomever else they rub shoulders with regularly — without being too weird or forced about it. In polls, more than 80% of believers came to faith over time, in the context of an authentic relationship with one of these “worker” type folks. They realize, mostly in hindsight, that the worker was praying for them & exercising “gentle intentionality” out of sincere love. In our Navigator Vision Statement, there is a phrase that captivates us: “We see workers for The Kingdom, next door to everywhere.” There are many Ann & I love who are NOT in our current geography. Some don’t have a relationship with Jesus yet, while others just need help growing in theirs, like we all do. More than anything else, I pray that someone in their regular orbit is a “worker” who loves people well, with Jesus. Father, please help Anne & me to BE workers with You, & to PRAY regularly for You to raise up more of them… everywhere.
Tom Bourke, Chicago Navigators, Dec 4, 2023
On November 14 Michael Wear came for Brunch!
Michael is the founder, president and CEO of The Center for Christianity & Public Life, and the man had lots to say. Here are a few points:
“What does it mean to be faithful in and with public things?”
Michael was hugely influenced by Dallas Willard. “You cannot pursue spiritual formation in part — it has to be pursued in whole.”
Separation of church and state is not the same as the disappearance of moral knowledge. (Willard or maybe Wear)
Part of our calling is helping people understand the connection between the kind of person you are and the kind of politics you ascribe to.
My kingdom is the range of my effective will.
Everyone has business ethics when things are going well. Everyone is able to balance their accounting book with integrity when they know there’s a surplus.
“Out of alignment with God’s particular way” is a different way of saying “sin.”
There is a sense that discipleship has become seen as not essential to being Christian. That is discordant with historical Christianity.
Our close friend and member of our Advisory Team, Adam Sickle, created a podcast, Aspiring Altruists, and he interviewed Phebe Meyer, Michael’s Chief of Staff. Her story is one of beautiful melding of faith, vocation and life. Listen to the interview by clicking below.