My high school youth group was encouraged not only to have a “quiet time” each day, but also to “read the Bible through.”

I remember how intimidating this challenge was for a group of teenagers. Back then, for me to read one chapter of Leviticus or Deuteronomy was like taking a sedative. Nonetheless, I accepted the challenge.

Now, all these years later, I have made it a regular practice to read, or listen, through a variety of translations of the Bible.

One of the blessings of growing up Baptist is that I was taught to love and appreciate the Bible as a uniquely inspired volume, “a treasure of divine instruction.” (Baptist Faith and Message 1963, Article I).

There are multiple ways to approach the Bible, and not all of them are good.

It is possible to weaponize the Bible, using it to attack others by stringing together “cut and paste” verses to bombard those who do not live according to its teachings.

Some politicize the Bible, using it to endorse their candidate, to affirm their party platform or to legitimize their agenda.

And some are content to romanticize the Scriptures, reducing it to slogans and platitudes and speaking of it affectionately without allowing this two-edged scalpel to biopsy their own souls.

Healthy churches encourage their members to read and study the Bible regularly, immersing their lives in its teachings, allowing it to inform and transform their worldview.

Healthy churches hold a high view of Scripture, proposing that the Bible defies antiquity and speaks with fresh relevance into the issues of our day.

Healthy churches teach and preach a curriculum anchored in the whole body of Scripture, not a redacted canon of favorite verses.

One good way for a church to help its members deepen their faith and develop a theological foundation is to promote the discipline of reading through the entire Bible.

There are many benefits of reading the Bible through. Here are 12 that have enriched my life and faith:

1. Helps us understand the Bible in context. We are better equipped to interpret whole passages, rather than merely citing our favorite verses in a way that disconnects them from their original stories.
2. Heightens our awareness of the major themes of the Bible. Salvation, grace, redemption, suffering, perseverance and hope are just a few examples of the refrains we encounter from Genesis to the Revelation.
3. Highlights the diversity within God’s family. The various characters in the drama of Scripture illustrate that an assorted human cast comprises a vast spiritual family.
4. Introduces us to various genres of literature. In the Bible, we encounter prose and poetry, history and prophecy, parable and proverb, commandment and beatitude. And each typology serves as a vehicle of communication offering specific clues on the interpretation and application of a given text.
5. Equips us with interpretation skills. As we grow more familiar with the text, we are better able to discern between the descriptive passages and prescriptive teachings. By becoming better acquainted with the ancient community of faith, we may readily extrapolate the implications and applications for our own emerging culture.
6. Inspires us to wrestle with difficult texts. Serious students of the Bible must contend with seeming incongruities and perplexing paradoxes. It is either naïve or dishonest to pretend such challenging passages do not exist. Scripture is durable. Don’t be afraid to grapple with the tough texts.
7. Deepens our appreciation for those human instruments who gave us the Bible. In reading the whole canon, we grow in gratitude for the writers, editors, scribes and scholars who penned, edited and preserved the biblical texts across the ages.
8. Expands our worship repertoire. As we encounter the rich variety of liturgies, prayers and instrumentation included in Scripture, we more naturally value psalms, hymns and spiritual songs as our native tongue for worship.
9. Builds a reservoir of wisdom and knowledge in us. As we “hide the word in our heart,” we are collecting a repertoire of spiritual wisdom to help us navigate all the seasons of life.
10. Opens our minds to new ideas. We are inspired toward relevant and contextual applications of Scripture for our day. And we are much more likely to welcome the Spirit to work in new ways among us and much less likely to approach church life with a “back to Egypt” mentality.
11. Deconstructs our preferences and prejudices. We are called to move beyond our own assumptions and presuppositions and to realign our lives with newly discovered truth and insight.
12. Encourages us to be lifetime students of the Bible. Reading the Bible through enhances my appetite for a deeper investigation, compelling me to continually probe its content and reflect on it claims.

There are many read-the-Bible-through plans available online. Even if you are not a faithful reader, you can become an avid listener. Most Bible apps have audible options, which allow us to listen to the Bible through.

If you want to be a more devoted follower of Jesus and a more knowledgeable student of the Bible, embark on the journey of reading through the Bible in its entirety. And don’t skip the difficult sections. You may unearth a cache of spiritual treasure there.

(Barry Howard currently serves as the pastor of the Church at Wieuca in North Atlanta. He also serves as a columnist and leadership coach with the Center for Healthy Churches.)

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”  Isaiah 9:2

It’s dark outside, and today seems even darker than usual. And it should. Today is the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year.

We may be prone to greet the day like Simon and Garfunkel singing, “Hello, darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again.”

For those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice, usually occurs on December 21.  The solstice, which literally means “sun stood still,” officially marks the beginning of winter. The Earth’s axial tilt is at its furthest point from the sun, allowing the least amount of daylight to reach the earth.

While it may be merely coincidental that the darkest day arrives just prior to our customary celebration of Christmas, from my experience as a pastor, I am aware that holidays can be dark days emotionally for many of us.  If we have lost a family member or friend this year, our grief may peak during the holidays. If we have had a tumultuous year, a sense of melancholy or depression may hang over our life like a dark cloud. If we tend toward being anxious, the uncertainties of life may trigger feelings of panic or rob us of our motivation. There are many reasons the darkness may deepen.

Remember the ancient epic poem about Job, the good man who lost everything. As Job grappled with his grief, he initially blamed God. In The Message, Job 23:16-17 translates the lament of Job like this: God makes my heart sink! God Almighty gives me the shudders! I’m completely in the dark, I can’t see my hand in front of my face.

Darkness and grief come in many shapes and sizes. As we deal with our own grief it is important to remember that the Bible never tells us not to grieve, but it does counsel us not to grieve “as those who have no hope” (I Thessalonians 4:13).

Our faith does not exempt us from the darkness, but our faith does help us to process our grief with hope and courage. Grief does not have the final word. In those seasons when the darkness deepens, help us catch the glimmer of the Light of Christmas.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank you for being our comforter and friend.  May the Light of Christmas help us navigate our darkest moments.  Amen.

(Barry Howard serves as the pastor at the Church at Wieuca in North Atlanta. He also serves as a columnist and leadership coach for the Center for Healthy Churches.)

Grief is tough to deal with any time of the year, but it is especially challenging during the holidays. Why does grief seem to turn up the volume during the holiday season?

I think there are at least three reasons that grief is more pronounced from Thanksgiving through Christmas. First, the nostalgia surrounding the holidays and other special occasions prompts us to recall memories more readily. Second, these events tend to frame the absence of our loved ones. For example, a chair that was occupied at the family table may be vacant this year. And third, we tend to be more emotive during the holidays. Our sensory capacity is thrust into high gear.

Since grief is more profound during the holiday season, how do we deal with it? One approach is to repress the grief under the guise of being strong. However, repressed grief becomes toxic and can lead to depression or illness. It’s better to confront grief head on. Here are ten helpful ways to navigate grief during the holidays:

• Proactively prepare for holiday grief. Don’t avoid it or deny it. Engage it. The best therapy for grief is to grieve.
• Do a soft re-set on your holiday traditions. Determine which traditions to keep and which to eliminate. And start at least one new tradition. Since grief has a way of reconfiguring life, relationships, and family, embrace the new configuration by beginning at least one new tradition.
• Highlight a favorite event or experience of your loved one. Choose something that was a favorite food, game, song, or activity of your departed loved one, and find a way to highlight it during the holidays. For example, if they loved driving around to see Christmas lights, do it this year in memory of them. If they loved coconut cake, make one and have everyone try a bite.
• Be creative in “work arounds.” Let’s say that Grandpa always read the Christmas story after dinner from his recliner. It may be too emotional for the family to have someone else read the Christmas story from Grandpa’s recliner. Consider having one or more of the grandchildren read the Christmas story before dinner around the dinner table.
• Plan a strategic holiday memorial gift. If Grandma was in a mission group and supported the Christmas Mission Offering, plan for the family to each give a gift to the mission offering in her memory. If Grandpa served on the Properties Committee at church, consider a gift toward campus improvement in his memory. Plan the gift to correspond to one of the passions of your departed loved one.
• Tell lots of stories. For years I’ve encouraged families to continue to treasure the memories and tell the stories. Stories are therapeutic, for sure. But they are also formational and nurturing. One reason genealogies are included in the Bible is because stories of our ancestors help shape our identities.
• Continue the conversation. Most of us tend to continue an internal dialogue with our departed loved ones after they are gone. Sometimes it involves a gut-wrenching confession such as, “Daddy, there are so many things I wish I had told you.” Much of the time it is something as simple as, “I sure do miss you.” And of course, such a dialogue may include good humor such as, “The lights at the top of the tree have gone out again, and I suspect you may have had something to do with that.” It is important during the holidays to keep the conversation going, and maybe even rev it up a bit.
• Designate moments for quiet and solitude. Be careful not to withdraw into a cocoon of isolation. But likewise, be careful not to bury your grief in a flurry of holiday events and activities.
• Participate in holiday services at your church. Not everyone is ready to return to active participation in worship or a small group for the first week or two after a memorial service.Of course, things will be different when you return. But the longer you wait to re-engage, the tougher it will be to adjust to a new normal. Somehow, the music and message of Advent and Christmas invoke hope and courage. So, the holidays may be the best time to return to active participation.
• Write a letter to your departed loved one. In the letter tell them what you are feeling during the holidays. Then read the letter aloud as though the departed friend or family member is in the room with you. We think and we speak with different sides of the brain. To reflect, write, and then speak what you have written is healthier and more holistic than simply writing it down. It’s your choice whether to keep the letter confidential or to share it with other family members.

Healthy expressions of grief include finding the right balance of tears and laughter, of connecting and disconnecting, and of lamentation and celebration.

And remember, not every member of the family grieves in the same way or at the same pace. Allow space for family members to grieve in their own way.

There’s no doubt the weight of grief can be heavier during the holidays. But the holidays also present great opportunities for finding positive and proactive ways to deal with our grief.

(Barry Howard serves as pastor of the Church at Wieuca in North Atlanta. Previously, he served as a pastoral counselor in Pensacola, Florida.)

Advent is a prime season for deepening or re-igniting one’s devotional life. Devotional reading, contemplation, and prayer are disciplines that nurture our spiritual health in all seasons; And if you opt to go “paperless” in your devotional reading there are many excellent Advent resources available online.

When I was in high school the student ministry at my home church challenged us to begin the practice of a daily “quiet time.” Since that time, my personal devotional practice has been a primary catalyst for spiritual growth and direction.

Across the years, however, that seedling notion of a “quiet time” has emerged into an early morning ritual that is grounded inspirational reading, prayer, and meditation. And the devotional resources I utilize are highly diverse, including classic devotionals, books by noted authors, and reflections shared by church members.

A few years ago I decided to go “paperless” in my devotional time choosing to utilize online Bible apps and a variety of e-resources for my devotional time. Online resources are especially helpful during holiday travels because the resources can be accessed on any internet computer or smart device including laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Going paperless also keeps my desktop a lot less cluttered whether I am at home or in my office.

Most online devotional sites provide complimentary access, and the costs are covered through donations or advertising revenue. And perhaps most importantly, like any electronic communication, e-devotionals save paper and are friendly to the environment.

As I began preparing for Advent this year, I previewed a few good resources to share with my congregation and to use in my own personal devotional time. I wanted to find resources that are easily accessible, theologically sound, and culturally relevant.

Like other online devotional resources, Advent E-Devotions may be posted by churches, missional organizations, or individuals. A few of the devotional sites invite you to register your email address and they will send a daily devotional directly to your inbox. Other sites have corresponding “apps” that you can download making access easier on your mobile devices. And all online sites can be bookmarked or added to your favorites list for ease of access.

Here are a few examples of online Advent devotional options that you might find helpful:

Local churches often provide links to their Advent Devotional Booklets. For example, my friend Dave Snyder, pastor at First Baptist Pensacola, has written a series of Advent Devotionals posted at https://www.fbcp.org/events/2021-advent-devotional. These booklets can usually be accessed as a PDF file, or downloaded to a tablet, Kindle, or E-reader.

D365.org is sponsored by Passport Camps and provides a daily Advent devotional that is appropriate for students or adults. (http://d365.org/)

Buckner International is a faith-based social service organization based in Dallas that serves hundreds of thousands of people each year across the United States and around the globe. Their Advent guide, written by assorted authors, can be downloaded at Advent starts today · Buckner International

Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) offers an option to read Advent devotionals online or to listen via apps such as Spotify, IHeart Radio, Alexa, or Google Home. Advent Devotions :: Lutheran Hour Ministries (lhm.org)

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary provides an Advent Devotional W-Book written by members of the seminary community. This e-book also offers a read option and an audio option, and can be accessed at http://www.pts.edu/devotional_1.

Sacred Space is an online prayer site provided by the Irish Jesuits. They provide a guided Advent devotional series and an Advent Retreat option at www.sacredspace.ie.

Whether you are new to the practice of a daily devotional experience or a long-time practitioner, you may discover that an Advent E-Devotion will enrich your preparation for Christmas and deepen your faith as you learn more about the life and teachings of Jesus.

(Barry Howard serves as pastor at the Church at Wieuca in North Atlanta. He also serves as a leadership coach and columnist for the Center for Healthy Churches.)

In the 1970’s when Interstate 20 opened between Atlanta and Birmingham, many in my home community were looking forward to faster travel on the new freeway. For years, my family had traveled to Birmingham from Anniston on old highway 78, a two-lane road that would take us past Lake Logan Martin near Pell City and over the mountain near Chula Vista.

After I-20 opened, I was excited to accompany my grandparents on our annual trip to the Eastwood Mall to see “the real Santa,” to ride the escalator in Pizitz Department Store, and to do a little Christmas shopping. I was surprised, however, to find that my grandfather preferred to drive the old two lane highway rather than the new expressway. He would often say something like, “The freeway is for people who are in a rush. The backroads are for people who want to enjoy the trip.”

I didn’t know anything about Advent back then, but now I understand that, in a sense, Advent really is the scenic route to Christmas. There seems to be a subtle force in the ethos of our economy that pushes us to travel toward Christmas in the fast lane, implying that the season is all about shopping and spending, and acquiring and accumulating. Advent encourages us to go slow and breathe in the landscape as we make our journey to Bethlehem.

As a young pastor, I was introduced to the colors and candles of Advent and my trek toward Christmas changed drastically. Today, I am convinced more than ever that as mission-driven Christians who live in a market-driven culture we need the reflective disciplines of Advent to keep us alert to stealth influences like materialism, busyness, and greed, illusive forces that tend to cloak the real message of the season and replace it with superficial slogans and commercial clichés. 

Advent is a time to listen for a truth that is bigger than words and to long for a gift that cannot be bought in a store or ordered online. By helping us reconnect with the heart of the Christmas story, Advent challenges us to reject cultural notions of a Jesus who promises prosperity, success, and self-fulfillment, and calls us to follow the biblical Jesus who offers forgiveness, exemplifies simplicity, and teaches self-denial.

For a Jesus followers, the season of Advent is like a scenic tour that begins with the promises of the prophets and concludes with the nativity narrative. Advent is a journey of emerging expectation that culminates when the Christ candle is lighted and the Christmas Star shines over the manger in Bethlehem.

Somehow when we revisit the prophets and we re-read the gospels, we are better equipped to empathize with the anxiety of Mary and Joseph and to feel the labor pains of God. By observing Advent, when we celebrate the birth of the most renowned newborn in history, we can hear both the joyful sounds of angels singing and the repercussive sobs of Rachel weeping.

If we dare to avoid the expressway and we opt to take the scenic route to Christmas, we may discover that we are willing to follow Jesus from the cradle to the cross and beyond.

(Barry Howard serves as pastor of the Church at Wieuca in North Atlanta and he also serves as a leadership coach and columnist for the Center for Healthy Churches.)

• 

O God of grace and justice,

On this 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

We confess that we need your strength to sustain us

And your Spirit to guide us.

For we are all too mindful that this date still haunts us.

Our emotions are singed with anger

And our thoughts trend toward vengeance

Even as we attempt to apply your words to life

And to live by faith as we hold to your promise of a better future.

We confess that our anger and grief from that awful day are not nearly resolved

          And that retaliatory impulses of revenge still incubate deep within.

And yet we acknowledge that our hurt does not compare to the pain

of those who were touched more directly

through the unexpected and unfair loss

of family members, friends, and co-workers.

We shudder at the memory of those horrid images of death and destruction,

And we grieve over the succeeding conflicts which have resulted in even more deaths.

We mourn the deaths of the daughters and sons of our nation,

   As well as the subsequent casualties among our allies and our adversaries.

And we long for a civilized and lasting resolution

   So that wars may cease

   And that those who have longed for liberation from tyranny and terror

          Might govern and be governed with dignity and integrity.

Rather than being consumed by our grief,

          And controlled by our fears,

And plagued by our anxieties,

    Let us set our minds to addressing the injustices that preface hostility,

    Let us direct our souls to living out our moral and ethical convictions,

    Let us turn our hearts to loving the poor,

and the disadvantaged,

and the disenfranchised.

    And let us determine to fight terror,

          Not with our own terroristic threats,

    But with a responsible and courageous exercise of freedom,

          And with a proactive and authentic faith.

 And though it swims against the tide of our deepest instincts,

You continue to teach us to love our enemies,

so that we do not become like them.

Today we are grateful for first responders:

For emergency medical professionals, for law enforcement officers, for fire and rescue personnel,

And we pray for their protection and ongoing dedication.

Today, especially today, we pray for the leaders of our nation and our world,

          And for the leaders of our state and our community,

  To act and react with wisdom and discernment,

To choose a course that will defuse conflict

And to advance the cause of peace.

And we pray for the leaders of our churches and synagogues

          And for people of diverse faiths

  To promote transformative grace and eternal hope,

          And to proclaim and live by a truth that dispels propaganda

          And to pursue your path of justice, mercy and compassion.

We offer our prayer in the strong name of the One who came to bring peace on earth
and goodwill to all humankind.  Amen

• 

Fawn Weaver insists, “Happily ever after is not a fairy tale. It’s a choice.” When it comes to marriage, I chose wisely. 

I can readily identify with Churchill’s assessment: “My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me.”

Amanda and I are celebrating our 36^th wedding anniversary today.  We were married on September 7, 1985 at the Post Oak Springs Baptist Church near Jacksonville, Alabama, her home church and my first pastorate.  Since that time our journey together across these 36 years has been quite an adventure with lots of unexpected twists and turns, a journey that has enabled us to learn and grow, and to forge a remarkable number of treasured friendships along the way.

After a reception in the Fellowship Hall we departed for our honeymoon and the real work of marriage began.  Even for a pastor and wife, the merging of two lives is never easy and is often messy.  Amanda and I have tasted both the “for better and for worse” experiences of life, and our relationship has grown stronger and more durable as we have confronted obstacles and embraced opportunities. Marriage is perhaps the most unique of all human relationships.  The privilege of partnering with one person for life is a blessing and a challenge.  But for the pastor’s family, I think the stressors are specific and peculiar.  While every marriage has its challenges, a pastor’s marriage is lived out in a distinct context.

Here are a few of the factors that test the stability of a minister’s marriage:

• The glass house syndrome.  A minister’s family life requires a little more transparency and is often scrutinized more publicly than the average marriage.
• The swinging pendulum of emotions.  Because a minister deals with the emotion of everything in life from birth to death, a minister’s family is subject to lots of emotional fluctuation.
• The burden of confidentiality. A minister deals with sensitive confidential issues on a daily basis, and although a minister’s spouse is not privy to many of those issues, the duress of confidentiality often bleeds over into the minister’s home life.
• The flexibility challenge. A minister’s schedule is always tentative.  Interruptions are a constant.  Vacation plans change. Kid’s ball games and concerts are missed. A minister’s life demands extraordinary flexibility.
• The fatigue factor.  Many ministers confess that they teeter on the brink of burnout or pastoral fatigue.  A minister’s children and spouse often live with a parent or partner who is physically and/or emotionally exhausted. And without a sense of balance and a time for refreshing, this weariness can drive the entire family toward “church burnout.”

According to Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure.” Although this admonition is for the entire faith community, it is especially important for ministers.

To build a healthy marriage, a minister and spouse should take proactive steps to navigate the aforementioned stressors with faith, discernment, and intentionality. As we have grown through 36 years of marriage, we have gained a few insights into what makes marriage work for us as a pastor and wife:

• Embrace the uniqueness of the “ministry life.”  Life for a minister’s family is not abnormal. It is just a different kind of normal. We try to live into the uniqueness rather than avoiding it or denying it.
• Avoid unrealistic expectations. You will likely encounter a few church members who have unrealistic or idealistic expectations for your work schedule, your preaching topics, and your family life. You will be a more effective minister and you will have a healthier family life if you live out of the wellspring of your gifts and convictions, and not the expectations of others.
• Schedule time for dates. There is a lot of demand on a pastor’s schedule.  Calendaring can often be like doing triage. So I schedule appointments with Amanda for lunch dates, dinner dates, sporting events, and other fun activities. Otherwise, my schedule becomes full and we will miss spending quality time together.
• Avoid taking the stress and stories of work home.  Often when I leave the office, I am still in ministry mode, making evening visits or phone calls, working on preparation for upcoming services, or processing the events of the day. And while I may occasionally need to decompress by discussing an extremely stressful situation, I try to avoid discussing the daily debris of ministry with my spouse
• Take your off days and your vacation.  I am still working on this. Only a couple of times during our 30 years have I taken all of my allotted vacation time. However, the older I get, I find that it is more important to take time to rest, refocus, and rejuvenate, for my physical health, my spiritual health, and for the health of our marriage.
• Tell stories involving your marriage or family life with discretion. Our congregation loves stories and they seem receptive to illustrative stories from our personal experiences, such as our adventures in tennis, golf, or travels.  However, I try to only tell stories that highlight and illustrate how our lives intersect with the application of the biblical text, and I avoid stories that are intimate or critical.
• Do ministry together occasionally.  Amanda has her own passion for ministry and she invests her time and energy in serving, just like any other member of our congregation. However, we occasionally enjoy making hospital visits together, engaging in mission projects together, and even reading and discussing the same books.
• Take care of your health. During our wedding, we pledged to be faithful to each other in sickness and in health. Obviously, we prefer to be healthy.  We do a pretty good job of keeping up with our doctor’s visits and we are proactive in caring for our health.
• Learn when to say yes and when to say no to invitations. We enjoy being socially active, but there is no way to say yes to every invitation. It is a biblical imperative to “let your yes be yes and your no be no.”
• Keep growing… together.  I don’t think anyone, especially a minister and spouse, ever reaches a point where you can put your marriage on cruise control.  A healthy marriage requires ongoing nurture. There is a big difference in growing old together and getting old together. We want to grow old together by continuing to grow spiritually, intellectually, and intimately.

A healthy marriage may not necessarily make ministry easier, but an unhealthy marriage certainly makes ministry more difficult. If you neglect your marriage in order to preserve your ministry, you are likely to lose both.

I love being married and I love serving as a pastor. And I hope to enjoy both in some way for an extended season. Amanda and I have shared a partnership in life and ministry for 36 years now.  And I look forward to many more.

(Barry Howard serves as the pastor of the Church at Wieuca in North Atlanta. He also serves as a columnist and leadership coach for the Center for Healthy Churches.)

A few years ago after several consecutive days of conversations with friends and fellow church members who sensed their world was coming unraveled, I sensed the weight of the many concerns entrusted to me in a short period of time. As is my pastoral practice, I isolated myself in my study to pray over their many concerns and to process what was happening in the lives of those in our congregation and community.

While I was glad to hear their stories, privately and confidentially, I found myself wishing I could gather all of them in the same room to say something like, “You are not alone. Others in this room are also having a tough time. There are ways you can help each other through this.” And, “In the tough moments, do not give up. Press on!”

Although I could not bring such a group together, in my journal, I jotted down what I wished I could say to them, and I included anonymously many of the real life dilemmas that had been recently shared with me. I included these words at the end of a sermon the next week and in the church newsletter the following week.

Now we are in another season where many around the world are having a tough time, and once again I sense a cumulative heaviness deep in my soul. As I am praying for many current concerns, I recognize that the dilemmas that throw us into a spiritual or emotional tailspin haven’t changed much. When life is tough, we have to be tougher. When storms arise and fears dismay, we are called to “press on” with patience and perseverance.

Here are the words I shared then that are still pertinent now:

“Life is a fragile gift that often unfair, frequently unpredictable, and mostly uphill.
The journey requires faith, courage, and determination.
There will be moments when your commitment will be challenged and your motivation will waver.
When you are tempted to give up or give in, press on!
When life throws you a curve ball and the unexpected happens, press on!
When you have a bad case of the blues or you are suffering deep down depression, press on!
When you get angry at the incompetence of a neighbor or colleague, press on!
When you are at the foot of the mountain about to begin the uphill journey of recovery, press on!
When you are at the beginning of the treatment regimen, one that suppresses your appetite and oppresses your spirit, press on!
When you are tired of being tired, and sick of people being sick, press on!
When your friends are difficult to deal with or your family is difficult to live with, press on!
When you move to a new town or begin at a new school, and you are the stranger, press on!
When you feel lonely and isolated, even in a crowd, press on!
When the news is filled with gloom and doom, press on!
When your workplace is dominated by chaos or conflict, press on!
When you are tempted to settle for mediocrity,, or on the verge of losing your integrity, press on!
When death or disease takes away someone you love, in the power of the Spirit, press on!
Putting the past behind us and the future before us, let us press on toward higher ground!”

(Barry Howard serves as the pastor at the Church at Wieuca in north Atlanta. He also serves as a columnist and leadership coach with the Center for Healthy Churches.)

Sometimes you hear a song and it keeps playing in your head long after you have heard it. Such was the case around 2015 when I heard our choir sing the anthem “Press On.” At that time these words were especially relevant for me and other members of our congregation who had experienced grief, extra stress, job loss, property damage from storms, and/or family fragmentation.

The lyrics begin like this:

When the valley is deep
When the mountain is steep
When the body is weary
When we stumble and fall

When the choices are hard
When we’re battered and scarred
When we’ve spent our resources
When we’ve given our all

In Jesus’ name, we press on
In Jesus’ name, we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize, clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on.

Through the years I have practiced the discipline of writing prayers, including personal prayers, prayers for worship, and prayers for weddings, funerals, celebrations, dedications, and other special occasions. Most of my prayers are brief, primarily because I think God is a fast listener and doesn’t need to hear me wax on at length, except on those occasions where I need to unload and God willingly lends an ear for as I long as I need to lament, confess, or seek God’s counsel.

The morning after first hearing the anthem, I was still hearing the anthem. So during my devotional time, I scribbled down a prayer for me, my congregation, my friends, and my family to find the strength to press on.

This week as we have been dealing with yet another surge of virus-related risks and as my phone has been buzzing with news of friends who are sick and others who have passed to the other side, I have pulled out this prayer and reclaimed it as my prayer for all of us to find strength for the living of these days:

A Prayer to Press On

“As we navigate the twists and turns of life
grant us the wisdom to press on.
As we seize opportunities and confront obstacles
grant us to courage to press on.
As we deal with the grind of daily decision-making
grant us the insight to press on.
As we aim to live with passion and purpose
grant us the energy to press on.
When we encounter difficult people and difficult situations
grant us the savvy to press on.
When we experience worry and anxiety
grant us the peace to press on.
When we are perplexed and concerned about the future
grant us the vision to press on.
When the unexpected revises our plans
grant us the patience to press on.
When doubts arise and fears dismay
grant us the stability to press on.
As we practice justice and mercy
grant us the courage to press on.
Wherever our journey takes us
In the overcoming power of your Spirit
empower us to press on.”

In the good times and the tough times let us “press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:13).

(Barry Howard serves as pastor of the Church at Wieuca in north Atlanta. He also serves as a leadership coach and columnist with the Center for Healthy Churches.)

The prophet Amos, who served in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the 8th century BC, became acutely passionate about justice. During a time of great prosperity, Amos observed the rise of corruption, the decline of morality, and the increasing neglect of the poor. As he confronted these inequities Amos declared, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5:24 NIV).

During Vacation Bible School a few years ago I observed our students standing attentively as they belted out, “I pledge allegiance to the flag…”. We often recite these words in classrooms and at civic gatherings. When we pronounce the pledge, it is more than a mere obligatory ritual. Since it is a pledge or commitment, it is imperative that we listen attentively to all of the words and take them seriously. The last words of the pledge are perhaps some of the most counter-cultural words of commitment we can speak: “…with liberty and justice for all.”

Our ancestors envisioned a nation wherein liberty and justice would be for all people. For some, however, “liberty” has been reduced to a license for self-centeredness and “justice” has been diminished to mere retaliatory or punitive action.

Although dictionaries routinely define liberty as “the state of being free,” liberty involves much more. The historical American concept of liberty is not that one is free to do as one pleases without accountability for the consequences of one’s actions. Rather, our heritage of liberty means that we are not owned or enslaved by another person or power. We enjoy individual and corporate freedom within the boundaries of ethical and moral responsibility. True liberty calls on us to express ourselves with civility, and to respect the rights of those who think differently to do the same.

Justice is commonly perceived as “the assignment of merited rewards or punishment.” But the Old Testament prophets, especially Amos, knew that justice is much more than being affirmed for right behavior or punished for bad behavior. Justice strives to create viable opportunities for all persons to succeed economically, vocationally, and socially. Real justice seeks to create opportunities for the disadvantaged. The Bible gives us many examples of the disadvantaged: the poor, widows, orphans, the sick, strangers, the hungry, the homeless, and those in prison.

In our “Pledge of Allegiance” we commit our lives to the pursuit of “liberty and justice for all.” The phrase “for all” is inclusive, not discriminatory. “For all” means we aim to provide and protect liberty and justice for all individuals regardless of gender, race, economic status, political ideology, or religious background. To preserve liberty and justice for the privileged few is indicative of a shallow theology and an uninformed patriotism.

While you and I are blessed to enjoy the privileges of freedom, many around our world still live under tyranny and can only dream of liberty and justice. Therefore, on July 4th we celebrate our independence, even as we pledge ourselves to continue to work for liberty and justice for all persons in the future.

Liberty and justice are not just political ideals. They are social tenets which affirm intrinsic human worth, and spiritual values which reflect the image of our Creator, ultimately experienced through the liberty we find in Christ. John 8:32 declares, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  And Amos 5:24 urges, “Let justice roll on like a river.”

In order to truly “let freedom ring,” we must work together to “let justice roll!”

(Barry Howard serves as pastor at the Church at Wieuca in Atlanta, Georgia. He also serves as a leadership coach and columnist for the Center for Healthy Churches.)