WHY BE NORMAL? SPECIAL GUEST POST BY MARK TAYLOR

Last week Trevor challenged the church not to seek or settle for a “new normal” in how we do ministry. To his way of thinking, “normal” is not where the church belongs at all. Instead, like the growth of his teenage daughters, he says the church should “progress through one change after another in the coming years. . . . The goal is not to settle into normal, the goal is to progress through life.”

I keep coming back to those words. Does the notion of No New Normal really apply to everyday life? Does it work for me?

I hope so. I’m beginning to see how his insights can apply personally to my life—and maybe to some other readers of his blog as well. Trevor’s points from last week make a good outline for my thoughts, too.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageMay 13, 2020normal, complacency, covid, corona, new, leadership, church, .iveComment

THERE IS NO NEW NORMAL FOR YOUR CHURCH

My daughter turned 16 last week, one more reminder that everything in our family is changing. She’s driving now, and the other day she asked to drive us home—in my Jeep! My wife hasn’t even driven my Jeep yet! I said yes, and it was fine. My little girl is a good driver.

One more change: She has a boyfriend now. A boyfriend! Actually, I like him. (Could I have ever anticipated saying those words?) I like having him around. (I think he has a healthy fear of me, and I like that too!)

I know I can only imagine the changes we’ll experience in the next five or ten years. What our family has always known as normal has disappeared, and it’s tempting to long for the normal of the past. Or it would be easy to console ourselves believing a “new normal” will replace what’s changing. But it won’t. We’ll progress through one change after another in the coming years. Life will never settle into normal. The goal is not to settle into normal, the goal is to progress through life. And that’s how it’s supposed to be—not only in the life of a growing family, but for the life of a growing church, too.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageMay 6, 2020Hope, hope dealer, covid, church, online church, normal, pandemic, onlineComment

5 WAYS TO GET POWER HUNGRY

All of us are more powerless than we want to admit. But in this time of quarantine, with daily reports of death and disease, we may feel more helpless than ever.

In these challenging days I’ve been thinking afresh about prayer. And I’ve come to believe what I’m beginning to experience: Prayer brings power. And the power that comes with prayer is unlike anything else we can imagine or create. Here’s what I mean.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageApril 29, 2020prayer, progress, protagonists, peace, protection, church, hope, help, healing, anxietyComment

LEARNING TO WORSHIP IN THE PAIN: 3 LESSONS OBSERVED FROM MY FRIEND EMILEE JOYNER

Last week I promised a post that I’ve decided to delay till next week. After I wrote those words, life was interrupted by the sudden, shocking, unexpected death of someone dear to our church, and I want to tell you about her today.

Emilee Joyner left this earth last Wednesday after only 34 years with us. In the last several years, she had a deep impact on everyone who worshipped at Christ’s church. And since Wednesday we’ve seen how her influence was even wider, based on a faith that was deeper than some know.

Her memorial service is happening as you might be reading this, and I want to tell you three things about Emilee I’m sharing at the service.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageApril 22, 2020worship, loss, death, pain, eternity, help, mourning, love, embodied, kidney, heaven, heartComment

COVID CHRISTIAN CHURCH

I said last week and I repeated this Sunday my conviction that the church will not—we dare not—get back to “normal” once this crisis is over. The old normal just won’t work anymore. And it shouldn’t. Here are three ways the church must be different after the quarantine is lifted.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageApril 15, 2020covid, corona, virus, social distancing, gathering, worship, simple, simplicity, video, camera, content, authenticity, change, church, online churchComment

Trevor DeVage

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