“Are You Trapped?”

How Will The Story End?

They were trapped. A large body of water blocked them from advancing. Behind them the rumble of horses and chariots grew steadily louder as the enemy gained ground.

They couldn’t go forward.

They wouldn’t go back.

How would they possibly escape to freedom?

Conflict is key in any story. Facing huge odds, will the main character(s) find a way to overcome, overpower, outwit? How will the hero or heroine break free? Or will the enemy ultimately triumph?

Conflict is vital to a page-turner. It builds suspense to keep our interest.

Conflict is fun in fiction, but not in real life. When the obstacles and the danger are real, nobody likes to feel trapped.

---

The Exodus and the Cross

(A special thanks to Steve Duer for sharing the following image and giving me permission to use it.)

After the Passover, Moses led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. But Pharaoh stubbed up yet again and sent his army to capture their former slaves. As the Egyptian army raced closer, the Red Sea halted the advancement of the Israelites toward the Promised Land of Canaan (Exodus 14).

God’s people were trapped.

Before them:  impending death by water.

Behind them:  impending death by soldiers, either to their bodies or their freedom.

Moses lifted his staff and stretched out his hand. God parted the Red Sea and the Israelites crossed on dry ground to the other side. When the Egyptians tried to follow, Moses stretched out his hand again. The waters returned and submerged all the chariots and soldiers.

God provided the path to freedom.

After the disciples celebrated the Passover with their Lord (the Last Supper), Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and tried. He was flogged and nailed to a cross. As the dark forces thundered louder, Jesus’ crucifixion halted the advancement of God's kingdom on earth.

God’s people were trapped.

Before them: impending death of Jesus on the cross.

Behind them: impending death by sin; the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). 

Easter morning, some followers found Jesus' tomb was empty. Christ showed up to confirm the truth of the resurrection. Life returned and submerged sin and death.

God provided the path to freedom.

Making the Impossible Possible

When circumstances leave us trapped, there is always a way out with God. Jesus can make a way where there is no way. Nothing can ultimately triumph against the Holy Spirit.

With God, slavery and death don’t have the last word. Freedom and life do.

What reactions--including hope--does this stir up in you?

David

“Into a Spacious Place”

From Salvation to Spacious

Jesus blessed me with salvation years ago. I’ve experienced God’s power many times since. But the reality is, believers can hold a ticket to heaven in their pocket and still be bound by deceptive falsehood and generational sin.

It happened to me.

For years I served Jesus confined by the (often unreasonable) expectations of others. Inside my cell, the leg-irons of self-imposed super high expectations further hindered my walk with Christ. At midlife I discovered that all along I could access the key to my release. Knowing the truth led me to unlock the shackles, open the door, and walk to freedom.

He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
(Psalm 18:19 and II Samuel 22:20, NIV)

You...have set my feet in a spacious place. (Psalm 31:8, NIV)

I like living in a broad place though I haven’t been on a payroll since June 2012. I don’t know when I’ll earn my next dollar. But in Christ I’ve never been richer or freer.

One Step Up, Three Steps Back

Before I quit church ministry (but not the church or ministry), I suffered chest pains every day for 18 months. Stress tests found nothing wrong with my heart. Yet in December 2011, various professionals at the Davidson Centre warned me I was on the verge of hospitalization.[i] Depression and anxiety pushed me to the edge of burnout. My response to 20 years in the United Methodist Church (UMC) clergy system led my family physician to suggest finding a healthier way to serve God.

In January 2012 I took a 2-month sabbatical (“spiritual and formational growth leave” so I still got paid), during which I decided to leave the pulpit permanently in June. I preached my last sermon on Father’s Day and started an unpaid leave.

A month later, the years of missed Sabbaths and my perfectionist tendencies exacted another toll. The prediction of the Davidson professionals came true. In July 2012 I was admitted to the hospital.

An invisible rope looped around my chest and each end played tug-of-war for 19 hours. “Am I dying?” I wondered at 2 a.m. in my hospital bed. Nitroglycerine in the ER not only failed to ease the tightness, it added a killer headache to my chest pain. The rope let go only after an echocardiogram and a heart catheterization turned out well.

The route to freedom is more like a mountain road than a straight line.

VTP to the Rescue

The UMC’s Voluntary Transition Program began January 1, 2013, to offer clergy a graceful way to change vocations, to exit ordained ministry. Last spring I jumped at the VTP when I learned of it. After 10 months on leave, I became the first United Methodist clergy in the world to sign up.

The VTP helped shift my ministry from the pulpit back to the pew. I lived as a disciple long before the bishop laid hands on me; through baptism, all Christians are commissioned for ministry in the priesthood of all believers. God used VTP benefits to enlarge my spacious place through a severance payment, help with moving expenses, and career counseling.

I turned in my clergy credentials on April 23, 2013. I drove home sad, but free. I was no longer the minister, pastor, preacher, reverend. Yet I remained what matters most: a child of God. 

[i] The Davidson Centre for the Professions offers on-site renewal programs for ministry, medicine, law, and public service. See www.davcp.com.

David

“Lifting Off”

Welcome to the launch!

Jesus said, “Then you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:32

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

They will run and not grow weary,

They will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Freedom

Freedom. It’s not just a rallying cry on the lips of battlefield heroes like William Wallace. On Good Friday and Easter, Jesus proved freedom is worth dying for so we can be set free to live the life God intends. Jesus came to free us to become the unique person God created us to be.

After years of bondage to generational sin and toxic systems, God has set me free to soar. Over the past couple of years the Father has orchestrated significant change. The Holy Spirit has made major midlife adjustments in how I relate to my family, the church, and myself. Following Jesus is not for wimps, but it sure is worth the adventure to mount up with wings like eagles.

The transition has been intensely personal, often painful, but deeply gratifying.

Now I’m free to live a balanced life. I’m free to focus on using my gifts and passion, not on trying (and failing) to satisfy the demands and expectations of others. I’m free to serve Christ because I can, not because I must.

My life’s not perfect, never will be until heaven. Lingering wounds need more healing. And as a textbook middle child (translation: peacemaker/unifier), I’m a work in progress on being at peace with serving from my strengths instead of striving to please others. Still, the Lord has set me free of those things that for years rendered me barely able to walk and not be faint, much less run and not grow weary.

What Can You Expect?

Your time is valuable, so I plan to post about 500-600 words each Wednesday.

Jesus offers abundant life (John 10:10). May my thoughts and experiences encourage you on your journey. The Lord will help you break free of your chains so you can fly with the rugged power and easy grace of an eagle.  

Next week I'll begin sharing why I left church ministry (but not the church OR ministry) to be faithful to God's call. 

If you’re inspired to comment on something I write, where do you agree? If you disagree, why? (Be kind!) What strikes a chord or a nerve? How can we help one other attain greater freedom in the Lord?

A Prayer for the New Year

May this prayer by Thomas Merton (1915-1968) bless you during 2014.

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.

I do not know the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,

  and the fact that I think I am following your will

  does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you

  does in fact, please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,

  though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore, I will trust you always,

  though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,

  and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

David