Rhythming

I'd like to share my route to rhythms of grace. It's easy, peace-giving, and restful to the soul.

As I sit here in my big comfy chair, the sun is still not breaking the horizon, and I am tempted to lie down on my big comfy couch. But work approaches, and my big blank paper tells me I must be ready to present ideas to those I can influence, impact, and invite to more God stuff in life today.

My greatest opportunity involves utilizing the ancient texts of Scripture to encourage you in forward progress or soul prosperity. Each day, message, articles, and pastoral appointment in this church-at-large is about progressively walking the rhythm of of spiritual life.

The individual segments of spiritual life and its rhythms are love, faith, give, receive, walk, and talk. As a pastor developing people, I must practice and live by these rhythms.  So, here I sit to write about my rhythmic way.

St Francis said, and I paraphrase, “Always be manifesting the message, and sometimes use words.” When I think about Paul’s words to the church in Ephesus, where he says, “Walk in a manner that advertises God,” I believe he was talking to me. I understand more and more of this in rhythm.

The late Dikembe Mutombo, NBA Hall of Famer and long-time player for the Atlanta Hawks had a signature finger wave to tell opposing players when he disapproved or disallowed their play or tactics. You can easily find it on social media gifs and use it yourself.

One day, I was driving through a large shopping center parking lot when a guy crossed in front of me, not using the lanes. Well, being the Law and Order fan I am, I raced to capture his attention. As I accomplished my goal, I wagged my finger like Dikembe to communicate my displeasure at his utter disregard for driving etiquette.

The following week, I was at our church, that met in a movie theater, and a man I had tried to befriend and spiritually influence greeted me in the lobby. He approached me and asked if he could ask me a question. I was ready to wow him with my spirituality and grace. His simple question was this, “Phil, what does this mean?” At that time, he wagged his finger in Dikembe Mutombo style at me. I asked sheepishly, “Was that you?” He said yes. He then walked through the lobby, out the door, and into the mass of cars in the parking lot gathered for the next showing of the early feature, never to be seen by me again.

Since that day, my finger has been retired. Now, mind you, it was not my middle finger but only my index finger. Still, my walk that day did not advertise the glory or goodness of God, and I lost a potential friend. I called that guy twice since that day. He did not call me back. He is now deceased.

As I sit here today and think about my walk, I am more drawn to my awkward rhythms than my grace rhythms. I bet you might be, too. But that gets us nowhere. I now live with a purpose to share the beneficial rhythms of grace. I want to let people know that even if you’ve had some awkward moves and your rhythm has been off, it’s best not to quit moving. Just get in sync.

May I suggest a few ideas to get you to listen to the movement of the Holy Spirit and get rhythmic?

• Sit down, with at least ten minutes to spare, and ask this question – How am I? Then write a few sentences that express how your life is moving in light of God’s desire for your life of abundance.

• Plan a significant Sabbath time (4-6 hours alone) to develop a rhythm of rest. I have a great resource that will guide you through a personal Sabbath if you ask me for it. All God's rhythms flow from rest, not activity.

• Find stillness in your day. Learning this rhythm, repeated 4-6 times each day, reminds you of trust, which is highly valuable and soul-strengthening.

• Cultivate Wonder. This rhythm builder takes you on a walk, to a park, or even on a drive into beauty and nature, recognizing God’s presence all around you. It will require 30-60 minutes at least once a week and get you out of your four walls of busyness.

• Surrender to Peace. This rhythm practice brings you face to face with Jesus, his will for you, and his way of life to submit to. This is what we call Lordship and it is the way of God’s Kingdom.

You can do all of the above on your own, exploring Scripture to support it and enhancing your rhythm. You can also do it with me if you are interested in a five-session micro-course where I develop these ideas more thoroughly. Each session is no more than five minutes long, and a one-page written guide is included. If you’d like more information, write me. This is available for a donation to Epic Global Missions. A suggested donation is requested, but if you cannot do that, it is yours for what you can afford now.

If you feel spiritually challenged creating and maintaining the choreography of graceful rhythm, Jesus would say, ‘Come on, move with my music, and dance like nobody is watching.’

So, get up. He has your rhythm.

Phil phil@philunderwood.com