An Inkling
It’s a saying credited to
Albert Einstein: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting
different results.
We can see it in
Washington. We can see it in the Middle
East. We can see it in (someone else’s)
marriage. We just don’t see it in ourselves. We get into patterns that don’t yield what
we’re after. But rather than changing
the patterns, we just double down.
Insanity.
So too with the spiritual
life. One form of spiritual craziness is
pursuing ultimate things apart from who God really is. But the more common craziness in the church is
Einstein’s version.
Are you stale in your prayer
life, or sluggish in your service? Are
you having a hard time hearing God? Consider
a fresh start in the forms of your spiritual disciplines. Doing more of the same will not yield
different results.
And what is true for each
disciple is true for all disciples. When
things are not working in a congregation (fewer baptisms than funerals, fading
zeal for serving the poor and hurting, stagnant patterns of study and
fellowship, etc), it’s time for a fresh start – or fresh starts on multiple
fronts.
St. Giles’ Elders are seeking
God’s guidance for such fresh starts.
Expect some dynamic new patterns for our common life in the coming
months. We believe our partners in our
new denomination, the E.C.O., will help foster such a fresh start. (We will finally become official in the
E.C.O. later this month.)
And to encourage us to welcome
the Lord’s fresh start, our sermon focus this summer will be on Isaiah 40-55 –
God’s word addressed to his people in a season of fresh starts.
If people want to call us
crazy, let’s not have it be for Einstein’s reason!
Blessings,
Keith
