Churches in Providence

“Who are the people around me becoming because you're there, because I'm there? It changes the way we think about church. I'm not just looking for healthy people whose job it is to keep me healthy. I'm taking responsibility as well. Your faithfulness matters to me, and my faithfulness matters to you. The world is shot through with the presence of God. May we not be a church who can spend hours together with our friends talking about work and kids and sports and politics and restaurants and houses and shows and interior design and somebody who annoyed us. And somehow the one thing we never talk about is the god of the universe. If Jesus is really at the center of our lives, shouldn't he occasionally show up? We cannot encourage one another in a faith that we never speak about. And you cannot help me see what I can't see my deceit if I never let you beneath the surface.”

“When I was growing up, there was a youth group line. Anyone ever hear this? Show me your five closest friends, and I'll show you who you're becoming. And I ever heard that line? This is a good line. Don't worry. I'm not about to, like, cut that line up. I did look up whether there was, like, actually psychology to the five, and I couldn't find any. But, apparently, five is the ordained number. Friend number six, no influence whatsoever. But there's something really true about this. The people you repeatedly place yourself around help establish what's normal. Spend enough time around cynical people, and cynicism just starts to feel normal. Spend enough time around people constantly tearing down their spouses or friends, and that can start to feel normal. Spend enough time around people consumed by money and ambition, and you're like, this is wisdom. We like to think the peer pressure thing, like, goes away when we get it... Become adults. It's it's actually deeper and just more insidious. Spend enough time around people constantly outraged, and anger can start feeling like moral goodness. But the opposite happens too. Right? Spend time around people who pray, and prayer becomes normal.”

“A lot going on here. See to it, brothers and sisters. The Greek word here, it means watch, pay attention, and it's plural. So he's speaking to all of them. And then it says that none of you, none of you. Did you hear that? He doesn't say, everybody make sure you personally stay faithful. By the way, everyone do your best to make sure you personally stay faithful. But that's not what the text is saying. It says, all of you. I need all of you to see to it that none of you drifts.”

“If your algorithm though is discipling you into fear or lust or contempt or despair, you you you need to change that. But I wonder whether we have spent so much time asking what is forming me away from Jesus that we have neglected the opposite question. Who am I intentionally placing around myself to help form me into the person of Jesus? There is what should I move, and then there is what should I move toward.”

“What if one of God's primary protections against spiritual drift is another Christian? What if the way we fight the good fight is not just we individually hold fast, but we allow others to hold our hands, hold us up, to allow somebody who can see you from somewhere you cannot see yourself. One of God's primary means of keeping you faithful to Jesus may be other people who are themselves trying to stay faithful to Jesus.”

“But there's something really true about this. The people you repeatedly place yourself around help establish what's normal. Spend enough time around cynical people, and cynicism just starts to feel normal. Spend enough time around people constantly tearing down their spouses or friends, and that can start to feel normal. Spend enough time around people consumed by money and ambition, and you're like, this is wisdom. We like to think the peer pressure thing, like, goes away when we get it... Become adults. It's it's actually deeper and just more insidious. Spend enough time around people constantly outraged, and anger can start feeling like moral goodness.”

“Problem with deception is you don't know you're being deceived. That's the whole nature of the thing. Some of us are so arrogant. We're like, I know where I'm being deceived. Like, relearn the English language. Right? What makes something deception is you don't see it. If I know I'm seeing something wrongly, I'm already beginning to see. The dangerous place is when I'm completely convinced I'm seeing clearly, and everyone around me is like, no, bro. It's the place where I think my side quest is still just a side quest. Sometimes you're the last person to realize something has moved toward your center and replaced Jesus.”

“I was talking and praying with one of my buddies last week about this. It's like, yeah, man, I'm always leaving the herd. I've seen God do amazing things, protect and heal and restore. And then I find myself getting swept out and into something outside of my story. Israel experienced the works of God but failed to learn sustained trust in him. So, Hebrews looks at another community and says, don't repeat their story. They didn't make it home. You can make it home.”

“May we not be a church who can spend hours together with our friends talking about work and kids and sports and politics and restaurants and houses and shows and interior design and somebody who annoyed us. And somehow the one thing we never talk about is the god of the universe. If Jesus is really at the center of our lives, shouldn't he occasionally show up? We cannot encourage one another in a faith that we never speak about. And you cannot help me see what I can't see my deceit if I never let you beneath the surface.”

“These people had stories. We have stories. And the writer of Hebrews says, their hearts are always going astray. This should mess us up a little bit because, apparently, experiences of God do not automatically produce endurance with God. You can have an encounter, amen. You can have an incredible testimony. You can remember that service where God felt so close. You can have miraculous answers to prayer. You can have a season that you will never forget. And still, over time, something can harden with you.”