“Crisis gives you the opportunity to reduce your options to what’s wise.” — Bill Johnson
There are things that don’t matter when you’re in a crisis. If the world comes crashing down, combing your hair seems futile. In an emergency, life takes priority over high culture. A few years ago I experienced this, as I came out of a season of grief. I have never lived through a season like this before or since, but that story is for another time.
Suffice it to say, I had many questions as I emerged from that time. What did faith in God really look like, specifically? What should I hope for in my future? What were the right ways to reach people through church? I had a sea of unanswered questions. I felt I had no walls left. But what I did discover were my foundations.
I found that there were four things I really knew with every part of my being:
- God is good
- He will never leave me nor forsake me
- Nothing can separate me from His love
- All shall be well
My walls were gone, but I knew my foundations were good.
One of the things I loved doing in my previous job was planning Christmas services. As I prepared for Christmas services in 2018 I felt that there was only one thing I could talk about. Now, I’ve always been big on talking about our experiences of God and life, and developing life-shaping teaching that relates the good news to facets of contemporary life. But that winter I felt that there was only one thing I could speak of: Jesus! This might sound obvious, but actually most of the time I talk about a lot of other things. Not for Christmas 2018. I can only describe it as an intense purity of the message within me, only Jesus. I felt unsure of so many things, but I could speak of the One my foundations were built on. All I wanted was for the hundreds of guests attending services at Christmas, as well as the hundreds of believers, to see the beauty and wonder of Jesus.
This year, I am back in Redding California at Bethel Church as part of the third and final year of the school of supernatural ministry. I am working alongside an incredible pastor called Dean Ras, who heard a word from God for this year: simplify.
Our focus in leading first year students has been to keep it simple. We opened the year by welcoming students at a booth with a white table, white backdrop, a glass of wine, loaf of bread, and an open Bible. Everything else was stripped away, just the essentials remaining. We then discovered Bethel music were about to release a new album, entitled ‘Simple’. Its cover art features a loaf of bread and a glass of wine on a white background.
Our world has been through crisis in the past few years. A financial crisis looms. Political crises come and go. For a while during the pandemic, at a societal level we grappled with what was essential, and realised the necessity of gathering again with those we love. Hidden amongst the horror was an invitation, to simplify. To find what mattered and turn our attention again to that.
I believe God is stirring and wooing His church again to focus simply on Jesus. There is a refining of focus. A gathering together around His table, learning to love in spite of our differences. Because in the end, only three things remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.
Interested in supporting me? I am still trusting God for food, petrol and car insurance costs. If you’d like to be part of this journey for me financially, you can donate at PayPal.me/adventureswithgod – thank you so much!
Adventures with God 