The following blog is the 1st in a series on “Sacred Summer” from Matthew Eckert.
So, it's summer. How are you and Jesus?
Let’s get right to the point. I know that you haven’t forgotten about your business and all that it entails, but have you forgotten about Jesus?
I was a pastor for 17 years and every September, after the amazingness of summer would pass, I would have numerous conversations with people who “came back to church” after a summer away.
Now, let me clarify - this is not a judgment. We live in a part of the world that allows an entirely different way of living for a few months of the year. Great weather, kids out of school, money to get away and see new things, etc, etc. This is all good. Who doesn’t want to hang out at a lake in July?
When people told me that they were “coming back to church”, in reality, I discovered that they were in essence “coming back to Jesus.” In many cases, it had been 2-3 months of no spiritual rhythms, no church services, no personal quiet time with God, no prayers.
Then there would be the guilt of missing 2 months of spiritual engagement and they would super-charge the fall to play “spiritual catch up”.
Yet here is what I also know. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to engage with God, it was just that the rhythms from the rest of the year simply did not fit into these unique summer months. Perhaps you are resonating with this thinking.
Here is what I’m proposing - rethink summer, spiritually. Don’t simply dismiss it because your typical rhythms don’t fit. Don’t simply “hold your breath” for 2 months and then super-charge in the fall. Choose to rethink summer.
In this blog series, I simply want to invite you to think differently about this time of the year. As you are reading this blog post, it is already halfway through the summer months.
So here is what I’m proposing.
- What has the first half of summer looked like? How would you categorize your spiritual rhythms?
- Look forward to the remaining weeks. What could unique summer rhythms look like? Put aside what you perhaps think is the “right way” of engaging spiritually, and think about what is possible.
That’s all for now. We will pick this up again in the next blog.
Blessings for your summer. May you experience God in unique and unexpected ways.
