June 23rd, 2026

Hi Friends,

It was an “Aha!” moment for me. It happened one afternoon in the midst of 30 or 40 of you at what we call “Living Room Church.” Just weeks earlier, I had finished a 6-week teaching assignment at a local college. It was enjoyable but somewhat frustrating. Now, here I was, sharing some thoughts related to some aspect of the Christian life and then feeling challenged to convince those present that it mattered to them and that they should do something about it. The difference between those two assignments became crystal clear to me. I loved the teaching in both cases but it was the ongoing relationship with the people of the church that was the tipping point for me. The great delight of my life is simply to walk with you as we live our lives together. I’m a pastor, a shepherd, if you will. Shepherds without a flock are an oxymoron. I may be a moron but …

What are you made for? Do you know?

Now, before you get all weird on me, let me suggest several things that can help you to keep these questions in perspective.

1.     We tend to pursue this topic as individuals seeking to be identified as “separate” or “unique” with respect to everyone else (i.e. “my” calling; “my” purpose — to find this “calling” is to make “my” life uniquely meaningful) and this is to somewhat miss the point and be very “western” in our thinking.

2.     You are made in the image of God and to bear that image. Does the way you act, think, speak and feel reflect God as he reveals himself or do you reflect something less than that?

3.     You are made to seek the restoration of God’s image and purpose in the world. It has been defaced by others and by you (the bible calls this defacing and its consequences “sin”) and it is a combination of work that only God can do, and work that he calls and enables us to do, which will restore that defaced image in all of creation.

4.     You cannot be yourself (or know yourself) by yourself. This paraphrase of Eugene Peterson is relevant in that it acknowledges that we are to live and work in a committed, serving, sacrificing community. We are all “parts” of the “whole” whose head is Christ.

5.     You are to make the most of your time in every day of the life that you have been given. While you have skills, resources,  and opportunities, they are given to you and to be used for God’s purposes, not to establish your identity or your place in the pecking order of your community or society. Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might as unto the Lord, knowing that serving him as he leads you and appears to you is your highest calling.

6.     You are important, not because of what you can do (or avoid doing) but because you bear the image of God and are called by him into a life of serving him on mission in the world.

So, get on with it. What will your “Aha!” moment be? How many will there be?

Blessings!

Doug