Small Group Emails: Whatever Week It Is Now...

(Below is an email I sent to my small group on May 19, 2009)

Hey Everyone!

Nothing like sickness and visiting relatives to keep a person away from small group. However, it was so good to be back! Things have really been picking up speed, haven't they? Planning for Cross the Street Ministry is off to a great start, I think, and I hope that everyone will continue with their awesome input and fantastic ideas! Quick survey: How many of us have finished reading Do Hard Things? I hope that everyone will finish reading their books, and that you don't leave it at that!

I know that collaboration is a powerful thing, and I think it is great that we are all going to be working together, along with others from the youth group, to accomplish these God-given goals. However, I want everyone to remember and consider that the do-hard-things mentality does not just apply to what we can accomplish together; it also applies to what changes we can make in our personal lives. You cannot give what you don't have; it will be incredibly hard to make an impact in the world for Christ if we are not taking care of ourselves spiritually.

Small hard things are probably my favorite topic, and I know I harp on them a lot, but that is because they are so very important! Case in point: King Saul. Saul had a lot of limitations placed on him; we first meet him when he's scouring the hills for his family's donkeys (not the most glorious job, looking for hoof-prints and horse-apples). His family is one of the least prominent in the tribe of Benjamin; Benjamin is a pretty low tribe on the totem-pole. But God chose him out of everyone else, and removed all external obstacles, declaring him king.

However, Saul had some major character flaws that he ignored, and they undermined his ability to lead Israel. He was fearful, impatient and impulsive, not trusting God's timing or asking for his guidance; he was consumed by jealous rage and had a hair-trigger temper, and worst of all, he lied to himself and denied his flaws and mistakes. These were all internal, personal obstacles to his leadership, which God could have helped him to overcome, only he never asked. He never even paid any attention to them. We can all take a lesson from Saul.

Sometimes it's hard to be introspective, especially with all the distractions of summer quickly approaching. But we have to keep at the small hard things that will shape our character and grow us in Christ.

This email is getting a little long-winded, so I'll wrap this up. I'll see a few of you early on Wednesday, and the rest of you on Sunday. I'll be praying for you all!