Benjamin's First Run at Platte River State Park

The July of My Life

It’s July. Or at least will be pretty soon. Fireworks. Picnics. Swimming. Vacation Bible School. A few days of vacation—hopefully. It’s a busy time at the church. Lots of praying and planning and preparing. Getting ready for the mid-August to Christmas Eve rush. School starts in mid-August and so do the youth groups. Small groups will begin again after Labor Day. A new, Sunday evening worship service will start in September. Third graders will be getting their Bibles. We are sending teams to Oklahoma City and Uganda. The fall stewardship campaign to fund our vision will conclude right before Thanksgiving. And we’ll do a bunch of Christmas Eve services again this year.

Benjamin and his favorite July activity

Fall is my favorite time of year. Cool nights give welcome relief to warm days. The colors are wonderful. One of my favorite things is running through the crisp leaves covering the trails at Platte River State Park. The Pumpkin Patch is another favorite. The boys still love picking pumpkins and we still love watching them. Football games, Thanksgiving, and making apple pies—I love them all. 

I am in the July of my life. I would have thought maybe April or May at the latest. But it’s July. I’m in my early forties now. One of my grandpas died in his late seventies and the other in his early nineties. So it’s July for me. Most likely half over. 

I look back on January and February. I was raised by good people. There was never a shortage of love to go around. I was shy and full of questions. I painted houses and farm buildings in the summers. I rode a bike across Iowa, climbed Long’s Peak, and spent part of a summer living in Norway. 

I went to a lot of classes, read a lot of books, and wrote a lot of papers in March. I spent nearly a month of my life at Drake University in Des Moines and Emory University in Atlanta. I got married in March too. Amber and I had each other, lots of dreams, some good friends, God, and not much else—but we always had more than enough.

David and Bishop Jones at a Storm Chasers game

April, May, and June were spent working with youth at a church in Atlanta, pastoring a small church in Northwest Iowa, serving a big church in Dallas, and planting The Water’s Edge. I become a dad in May, two days that changed my life and two boys who continue to teach me about God, love, and life. 

As I look back, I’d do some of the exact same things over and over again. I’d change others in a heartbeat. But I can’t do either, so I’ll remember and learn the best I can. My coolest discovery so far is that God’s grace is both available and abundant in the good days and the not-so-good days. 

I’m looking forward to the rest of summer, fall, and even the beginning of winter. Days of laughter and tears. Times of listening and learning. Building on existing friendships and making some new ones. Developing further my relationship with God. Going places, doing things, and doing nothing with Amber. Helping the boys become men. Leading a church into its vision of helping people grow in their relationship with God and with others, helping parents disciple their children, and loving and serving our city and world. I’m blessed to be part of a large, growing group of people who are creating something incredible from nothing at all. 

To those in February—dream big. To those in November—finish strong. To those somewhere in the middle—faith, hope, and love go a long way and on the days they don’t go quite far enough grace is available and abundant. To all—I look to going through the next months with you. 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig

Sunrise at Platte River State Park

What About the Death of Zoe?

The Greeks have two words for life: bios and zoe. 

Bios is the root for the English word biology. It means physical life. A heart that beats and lungs that breathe. The word is used 11 times in the New Testament, mostly by Luke, who was not surprisingly, a physician. 

Zoe is the other word for life. This word is used 127 times. It means loving, being loved, laughing, crying, relating, emoting, serving, listening, recovering, and being human. Jesus said: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Zoe. When he said: "The thief comes only to steal and kill; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Again, the word is zoe.

The woman lies in a near motionless state. She is very sick and isn’t going to get better. She is surrounded by loved ones: her husband, children, sister, friends, and grandchildren. She is aware of their presence and even more aware of God’s presence. She is running out of bios but has plenty of zoe. 

The man is busy. His job is demanding. Getting the kids from place to place seems a bit much, at times. The household chores never seem to end. His responsibilities exceed his resources. He would describe his life as going through the motions. He is young and healthy and has more than enough bios, but he longs for zoe—even though he isn’t familiar with the word. 

When we think of death we usually think of bios. An accident, a disease, old-age—the body breaks down and the heart and lungs quit working. It is inevitable for all of us and everybody we know. But we know that life is so much more. 

What about the death of zoe? A life absent of meaningful relationships and absent of love. A life absent of trust. A life with little laughter and fewer tears. A life that doesn’t experience the joy of serving and listening. A life that accepts the defeat of dreams. A life where dysfunction is prevalent. A life with no recovery. A life where going through the motions is the norm. A life without God. 

Jesus taught the disciples everything they needed to know. He modeled what it meant to live in God’s image. He showed them what zoe was all about. And then he died. His death was the defeat of death and the death of defeat. Resurrection happens. It happens with bios. It happens with zoe. God gives us an abundant and an eternal life and we can live as resurrected people. 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig

Topics We Avoid: Death

Sex

Here is Sunday's message. The topic is sex.

Solstice

I had to wake up at 4:45 and drive thirty minutes to capture these. It was worth it.